Being a Lineman is Getting More Complicated

From flipping through magazines to watching TV to passing billboards, we see models everywhere. But what does it actually cost to be one?This week on So... How Much Do You Make?, we're talking with Zeni Perez, a data analyst, freelance model, and dancer who's pulling back the curtain on the modeling industry.From spending $1,000–$3,000 on Fashion Week trips to navigating unpaid gigs and constantly chasing the next opportunity, Zeni breaks down the financial realities behind an industry that looks glamorous from the outside.We also get into how she balances her corporate career with her creative ambitions, why working for free rarely leads to paid opportunities, and why she's speaking out about pay transparency and exploitation in modeling.

Olympian Veronica Fraley is back on So... How Much Do You Make? with a lot of life updates!In this episode, Veronica gets candid about the cost of competing at the highest level, from paying for coaches and international travel to earning just $700–$800 in prize money during a month of competition in Europe. We also talk about why she's looking for a job outside of track and field, what people misunderstand about Olympic athletes, and how she's finding balance while rebuilding her career.Plus, Veronica shares what it was like competing in her first Diamond League meet in China, her thoughts on the growing popularity of women's sports, and why she's excited about what comes next.

For Victor, his job is a daily reminder that you can't take your money with you. So, how does that change the way he sees things?Victor is a small-town mortician and funeral director who turned down a job paying more than double his salary because it conflicted with his values.In this episode, Victor shares what it's really like to work with the dead (and the living), why he rewrites his own obituary every year, and how spending his days surrounded by death has completely changed the way he thinks about money, work, and what makes life meaningful.

Lineman Alex Wakeland is back! After giving us a behind-the-scenes look at one of America's most dangerous jobs in Season 1, Alex returns to So... How Much Do You Make? to catch us up on what's changed.This time, we're talking about the viral "Mike the Lineman" scandal, why relationships can be so difficult to maintain in the industry, and the hidden costs of a career that requires spending months away from home.Alex also breaks down how AI data centers are driving unprecedented demand for electrical workers, what that means for wages, and the work he's doing to make the industry safer.From balancing work and family to navigating a rapidly changing industry, Alex shares what life as a lineman really looks like, both on and off the job.

Burnout doesn’t always arrive with a breaking point, sometimes it creeps in quietly, disguised as dedication, ambition or even survival.In this powerful compilation, Amanda Swetish, Alex Wakeland, Maggie Perkins and Cinneah El-Amin share deeply personal stories about exhaustion, identity and the toll of constantly pushing forward. From teachers slowly boiling under invisible workloads, to parents and partners carrying unseen emotional labor, to professionals juggling multiple jobs just to stay afloat, this segment captures how burnout shows up long before we realize it.The guests speak honestly about identity crises, sunk-cost guilt, hustle culture versus survival mode and the physical and emotional wake-up calls that force change. They reflect on the pressure to keep going, the fear of slowing down, and the difficult process of redefining success when your health and wellbeing are on the line.🗓️ New episodes every Tuesday📱 Follow us for more:Instagram: https://instagram.com/howmuchdoyoumakepodTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@howmuchdoyoumakepod#BurnoutIsReal #JanuaryBlues #WorkLifeBalance

What does it really mean to be your own boss, beyond the highlight reels, flexible schedules and “freedom” everyone talks about? In this compilation, Alex Stewart, Cinneah El-Amin, Kathryn Hubert and Alex Hooper pull back the curtain on the realities of self-employment. From the quiet panic of inconsistent income and the pressure to constantly hustle, to the unexpected loss of time, stability and peace of mind; this conversation explores the emotional and financial trade-offs of working for yourself.Across multiple journeys, the guests reflect on budgeting through slow seasons, missing the predictability of a paycheck, questioning whether they made the right decision and learning (sometimes the hard way) that being your own boss doesn’t mean working less. It often means carrying everything: the finances, the responsibility and the mental load.Perfect for anyone feeling the weight of January blues or reassessing their path in the new year, this segment offers honesty, nuance and reassurance that uncertainty is a shared part of the journey and not a personal failure.🗓️ New episodes every Tuesday📱 Follow us for more:Instagram: https://instagram.com/howmuchdoyoumakepodTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@howmuchdoyoumakepod#BeingYourOwnBoss #EntrepreneurReality #JanuaryReflection

What makes someone walk away from a stable, high-earning job behind the bar to chase crabs and end up transforming their entire life in the process? Tia Clark shares the unexpected journey that led her from burnout and health crises to becoming one of Airbnb’s top experience hosts.Tia opens up about slowly testing the waters of crabbing while still bartending, why she feared turning her passion into a business and how she finally realized the magic of her dockside experiences had nothing to do with how many crabs her guests caught. She reveals the conservation work that gave her the confidence to leave the bar for good and how restoring oyster reefs, teaching visitors about the ecosystem and reconnecting people with nature now fuels her purpose.🗓️ New episodes every Tuesday📱 Follow us for more:Instagram: https://instagram.com/howmuchdoyoumakepodTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@howmuchdoyoumakepod🔗 Learn more about Tia here:Website: https://www.casualcrabbingwithtia.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/casualcrabbingwithtia/?hl=en#Crabbing #EntrepreneurStory #AirBnb #NatureHeals

What does it really take to bet on yourself when you’ve had to figure out life alone since age 16? Entrepreneur Dawon Matthews breaks down the mindset that turned his past, his setbacks and his hustle into the foundation for a fast-growing food-truck empire.From teaching himself how to survive without parental support to navigating jail time, college and entrepreneurship with nothing but determination, Dawon explains why he doesn’t see “risk” the way most people do and why losing money never feels like a loss when you gain the lesson behind it.🎧 Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts📱 Check out our social accounts to stay updated...Instagram: http://instagram.com/howmuchdoyoumakepod/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@howmuchdoyoumakepod🔗 Learn more about Dawon here:Website: https://www.dawonmatthews.com/appointments-5Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_the_elite_entrepreneur/?hl=en#FoodTruckLife #EntrepreneurshipJourney #LateNightEats

What happens when you fight your way into a career you know you’re meant for, only to realize the path there demanded more sacrifice and heartbreak than anyone ever told you? For pediatric chemo and bone marrow transplant nurse Emah Jayd, becoming a nurse wasn’t a straight line.After being denied from nursing school twice, bartending multiple jobs to afford her prerequisites, to then graduating in the middle of COVID, she pushed forward anyway. Today, she cares for some of the sickest children in the hospital: kids facing cancer, sickle cell disease and months-long bone marrow transplants and still finds the heart to show up with compassion.In this episode, Emah shares what it’s really like to be a travel nurse moving every 13 weeks, the loneliness of rebuilding your life over and over again, the emotional weight of losing patients and the joy of watching a child smile after days of being too sick to sit up. She opens up about burnout, pay inequality in nursing, the instability of contracts and the deep purpose that keeps her going.🗓️ New episodes every Tuesday📱 Follow us for more:Instagram: https://instagram.com/howmuchdoyoumakepodTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@howmuchdoyoumakepod🔗 Learn more about Emah here:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emah_jayd/?hl=en-gbTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@emahjayd#NurseLife #TravelNurse #PediatricNursing

What happens when you follow the traditional path: serve in the military, build a stable corporate career, become the family breadwinner and still realize the life you’ve built no longer fits? For former Army officer, corporate director and foster care advocate Elizabeth Beggs, that realization pushed her toward a complete reinvention.After years of leading soldiers and climbing the corporate ladder, Elizabeth found herself burned out, undervalued, and questioning the cost of “doing it all.” Leaving her job wasn’t part of the plan, but the moment she stepped away, space opened for what she truly wanted: more time with her family and the chance to build a career rooted in purpose.Today, Elizabeth is self-employed, growing her real estate business, creating mission-driven content and preparing to apply to law school to become a child advocacy attorney. In this episode, she shares the courage it takes to walk away from a “safe” path, the realities of being a woman breadwinner and how trusting herself led to a life she actually wants to live.🗓️ New episodes every Tuesday📱 Follow us for more:Instagram: https://instagram.com/howmuchdoyoumakepodTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@howmuchdoyoumakepod🔗 Learn more about Megan here:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bunchesofbeggs/?hl=enTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bunchesofbeggs#CareerReinvention #WomenWhoLead #FosterCareAdvocate