With this in mind, do consider your next career during your venture into the modeling world. It always is certain that you will need another form of livelihood during your lifetime; it's just a matter of when. Granted, it will be a difficult transition to any real job after the big bucks from modeling, but try to invest some of that money so that you can enjoy as good a financial level as possible for many years after the modeling career has dimmed.
RELATED WORK
The type of work most frequently sought by models when their modeling careers are waning is in the field of acting. This is a natural sort of extension, in that you are still working in front of cameras, still being the ham. The major difference is you have to have or develop acting ability. Many models have tried this route only to discover that they fizzled as actors and actresses. Others are still out there in the public eye doing everything from videos to full-fledged Hollywood movies. They were smart enough to use modeling as a stepping-stone and made the connections needed while they were models. Television commercials prepared many of them with the knowledge of how to handle auditions and with the self-confidence and experience needed to cross over into movies.
Movie starlets are rarely acting wizards. Most of them are extremely attractive, so with a little luck the acting ability can be perfected on the way up. It is paramount that you photograph well, and you have that under your belt from the modeling experience. If you were or are a successful model, your chances of getting a part in a film are reasonable.
You have to follow your own desires when you are seeking another job. Though movies, television or Hollywood-style, are in the offing, don't just take them because someone else thinks that they are a terrific career. There are many types of work that you could do happily and well, so look around.
PHOTOGRAPHY
If you really are enthralled with fashion, there are many possibilities in conjunction with this area. Some models have made excellent photographers, because they understand something of the work after years in front of the lens. The creativity in this field has been fascinating to some models. A wide field of work could come from your endeavors.
Photography is very competitive and pretty much a self-sell occupation, much like modeling. The income to be made from this profession would depend on your choice of location, but if you pick a fashion center like New York City or Los Angeles, you could expect to start at $35,000. Good fashion photographers make salaries many times that amount on an annual basis.
You may want to apprentice yourself to a photographer for a while and learn all of the inside tricks of the trade. As an assistant you won't make much money, but it may be the best way to enter the field.
There are several other areas of work that are involved with the photographic world, from stylist to makeup artist.
The stylist is responsible for the "look" to be created on the model. The hair, clothing, makeup, mood, and composite of the entire picture falls to the stylist. A real fashion sense comes into play here. You would put all of your past experience to work and be creative as well.
FASHION WORK
Fashion coordinators do work for department stores, fashion shows, and the like. Their work entails putting together clothing ensembles from shoes upward. There are many ensembles put together by fashion coordinators that are eventually the way the outfits become worn on the street or as a special costume.
Fashion designers are another whole group of fashion-conscious men and women-the core of the business. The designers create the look, and the model and the press carry it to the outside world. Fashion design entails an awareness of art, pattern making, the ability to sew (enough to understand how the pattern is going to fit), color coordination, marketing, and promotion.
This is a pretty tough field to tackle, but you may really love the area. In that case you will need schooling at a fashion institute and a great deal of luck. This is a very competitive and overcrowded field. Many start in it, but many drop out due to the number of talented people already in it.
If you have any writing talent, you may want to go into the editorial end of fashion. Beauty editors are often women who were or could have been fashion models and who have that sixth sense of what makes fashion and how to describe it to the public. Many fashions are presented to the world on the written page. These are not only exciting but also key jobs in the fashion world.
Some Seventh Avenue fashion models go directly into the retail business, as the work that they are involved in often includes sales. There are commissions to be made in this area, and if you are adept at sales, you may want to consider retail. Sales is the area that is currently opening to women at the fastest pace. There are several ways that you could stay in the fashion world with retail work.
Promotion and sales of every possible product in the fashion world could be handled by women. They understand the product and are excellent at the sales end of it. One of the biggest markets outside of the clothing industry is the makeup industry. This is another huge area in which women excel. Many directors of beauty and fashion are women, and some are former fashion models. Who could be more qualified than a beautiful woman who understands what women aspire to be?
When a fashion model leaves her chosen field of modeling at an age somewhere in her early twenties, she is at the prime point in her life to take responsibility for a decision-making job. She certainly will have had much experience in discipline, self-sell, fashion awareness, and competition along with a healthy dose of maturity. All of these traits are tremendous assets for the beauty industry to utilize. The wisdom of what makes fashion and beauty is the ongoing interest of the field. The women and men who were involved in one area of the fashion job market have often circulated to other areas and enriched all the facets of fashion in so doing.
Fashion illustrators are another critical group in the fashion world. As a model you may have sat for these artists. Their contribution is one of the stylized trademarks of the printed fashion world. Their work can be viewed everywhere, from museums to the daily newspapers. This is a very competitive field, one that employs a fine art.
Art school and a good bit of natural talent are the criteria. Some models have made it in this field, as some of them started out as illustrators and switched to modeling while the chance was offered. The four-year fashion school is the usual channel for entering fashion illustration; that schooling could run concurrently with your modeling career.
As the third largest industry in the United States, the fashion business has myriad job possibilities, and you'll want to put this foremost in your mind during your modeling career. The contacts that you make while you are modeling could be extremely helpful in your pursuit of future areas of work. Keep the contacts in mind, and keep their business cards as references in case you are interested in that particular area of work.
CAREERS FOR MEN
For male models, the decision will not be so critical. Male models who are successful can continue to work long into their late-middle years if they so desire. There are male models who have never had to seek another type of work and have lived well on their modeling incomes their entire adult lives. The fact that many major modeling agencies have expanded to accommodate male model divisions testifies to the fact that the men have really made their own mark in a once totally female-dominated world.
Male models who want to leave the field of modeling for various reasons (not the least of which could be lack of work) could easily fit into the sales end of fashions. Their fashion awareness would hold them in good stead, and the money to be made is substantial. Many men go into design from modeling work, as they have learned what is needed and desirable to the market. Many innovative styles are initiated by models. Much of the fashion world overlaps, and it is not surprising to see the needs of one area fulfilled by the intuitiveness of another.
