Introduce Yourself : New to the field by Travis Barrett

you don't have to be SAG to land a role. to be SAG eligible, you just need to take a SAG job and be actively seeking membership. you don't need to actively seek membership UNTIL you take a SAG job. my suggestions is, take as many non-SAG jobs as you can get to build experience, a resumé, and get a reel.

btw, you can find non-paying roles on craigslist, at your local colleges where they have film departments, in local film groups (check meetup and facebook). and check the jobs section here on Stage 32

I check the jobs section everyday, and i am a member of a movie film group in allentown

After a long time in the unions, I have gone Fi-Core and my agents and I love it. Just on avail for a SAG AFTRA commercial actually. I have more auditions for TV co-star roles, commercials, films than I ever did before. Please be in no hurry to join any union. If you land a SAG job stay SAG eligible as long as you can before joining and you can choose to be Fi-Core right away and not join. Always take your cues from your agent or manager. There are far less union jobs than there used to be and they are of course very competitive. I audition for union and non-union now thanks to going Fi-Core. I still pay dues and have all of the rights I had before in terms of health insurance etc... The only thing I cannot do anymore is vote and do union conservatory workshops. More and more agents want their union talent to go Fi-Core. Cds do not care if you are union or not, if right for the audition. They all cast union and plenty of non-union work too. Again I still pay dues so I am a member, a Fi-Core member.

Thank You, Patty. Many people don't know about Financial Core. The SAG site is not very informative on the subject, as a matter of fact, they're deceptive. It's a good way to go, like you say, when you're ready to join a union. Travis, no one should rush to join any union. They require dues, so wait til you have the work to justify the expense.

I dont have enough income for acting classes, and at the moment i do not have an agent

you don't have to do paid acting classes in the beginning. you can watch youtube videos on the subject, and get into as many student films and 48 hour film challenges as you can. if you feel confident, go to auditions and try out. community theater can be a big help too. there's a difference between stage acting and film acting, but theater is excellent training. none of this costs money, and it will help you tremendously in your career. many of the great film actors are also stage actors