You might not realize it, but voice actors are some of the steadiest working people in the entertainment industry. You can't watch a commercial break or turn on the radio without hearing dozens of paid voice actors. From famous celebrities to theatrical actors, doing voice-over work is a great way to build up acting experience and earn an easy paycheck.

Voice-acting jobs are incredibly diverse and numerous. Just look at the following list of voice-acting gigs:

• Television/Radio Commercials: Almost every TV commercial has some sort of voice-over, and every radio commercial is based on voice acting. You might have recognized the voice of Private Practice's Kate Walsh in a recent car commercial, or James Earl Jones narrating a series of cell phone ads.

• Industrial Films: These are movies produced for training, marketing, and demonstrations within the corporate world. Voice-overs are standard and they pay well.

Animated Movies/TV Series: There are literally hundreds of animated projects in production at any given time, and they employ a large pool of voice talent of every kind. Did you know that Deal or No Deal's Howie Mandell was the voice of both Skeeter from Muppet Babies and all of the characters on Bobby's World?

• Interactive Computer Software: Lots of educational, instructional, and reference software have hours of voice dialogue to guide users along.

• Educational/Documentary Narration: Shows on networks like TLC, Animal Planet, and the History Channel rely heavily on informative narration. Sigourney Weaver was recently the voice for the hit series Planet Earth on the Discovery Channel.

• Books on Tape: Though most of them are actually on CD or audio files now, audio readings of books are produced in a high volume and the producers are always looking for different readers to match the tone perfectly.

• Television/Radio Promos: These are short informative audio clips about new shows, programming changes, and upcoming events that air frequently between programs.

• Video Games: Big game studios hire lots of voice actors for cut-scene dialogue, in-game voices work, sound effects, and back ground chatter. This kind of work ranges from the voice of a main character like Lara Croft to the dying grunts of an enemy alien. Even Sean Connery has appeared in a video game, reprising his role as James Bond, and the entire cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer reunited for a video game adaptation.

• Bilingual Programming: Spanish language stations like Univision are growing rapidly in the United States, and they have an increasing demand for bilingual voice actors to do promotions, narrations, and advertising in multiple languages.

• Podcasts/Websites: Many large entertainment websites employ staff to produce podcasts. These can be informal talk shows, product reviews, event promotions, or anything else that people want to listen to on their MP3 players.

The Voice-Acting industry is one of the most stable areas to work in. There is a high demand for voice talent and it only increases with new technology. Within just the last few years podcasts have become a major form of entertainment, and most video games have full voice casts. You never have to worry about body-type, hair-color, age, or race when auditioning for voice-acting parts. Because of this they're a great way to supplement your income when you're in between regular acting jobs.

There are a few things you should know before you jump into the market. Some of the union rules involving voice actors are tricky, but generally SAG (Screen Actors Guild) covers all voice-work that is broadcast on television or featured in movies. This includes TV commercials, TV promos, cartoon shows, Discovery Channel narration, ect. AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) covers all radio advertising, radio hosting, books on tape, video game work, and basically anything else that SAG doesn't cover. There are also many more opportunities for non-union voice-actors than there used to be. After the 2000 SAG strike, many advertising companies couldn't afford to stop production, so they started hiring non-union artists.

With all the opportunity out there, it might seem hard to know where to start. Check back for the next article in the series about how to put together your voice demo reel!

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