We’ve spent a lot of time discussing the highest and lowest paying jobs in Canada, and even uncovered 10 surprisingly high-paying jobs. To continue the project of uncovering how much money different Canadians are earning, this week we take a look at nine glamorous yet surprisingly low-paying jobs.

    1. Fashion magazine intern: If you’re a magazine intern, chances are you’re working for free – a hotly debated topic that is leading to many industry reforms.

    2. Actor/Actress: In Canada, if you’re a member of the ACTRA union, and have some landed some paying gigs for the year, you could expect to earn $11,269 in one year.

    3. Novelist: If you’re imagining the life of a novelist to be full of book tours, fancy cocktail receptions, six-figure film deals, and best seller lists, think again. $5,000 book advances for your first novel are the norm and the average fiction writer in Canada earns about $500 a year in royalties.

    4. Fashion designer: if you work on the creative team at a well-established clothing brand, you look forward to a decent salary and the panache that comes from working for an industry leader. However, you’d be surprised how many relatively young but established brands are actually struggling.

    5. Fashion model: A model who makes $30,000 a year is considered a successful one, by industry standards. For every Coco Rocha, there are thousands of models who often have to work for very little pay or even free, especially for the privilege of modeling for major fashion labels and magazines that can boost your career and give more exposure.

    6. Professional athlete: Not all Canadian professional athletes are signing million-dollar contracts. Professional athlete salaries vary by sport. For example, a National Lacrosse League player earns an average salary of $19,672 per year, the average CFL salary is around $80,000 per year, and the average NHL player salary is $2.4 million a year.

    7. Professional sports team cheerleader: Apparently, NBA cheerleaders in Canada (and the U.S.) can look forward to receiving $25 per rehearsal, $75 per game and $100 an hour for appearances.

    8. TV Host: while insiders say the average salary first year $30,000 to $71,000 for a TV Host or presenter in Canada, a friend in the industry filled me in on a little secret: many popular television VJs taken on additional administrative responsibilities (i.e. desk jobs) in order supplement their on-air wages.

    9. Flight attendant: The promise of free travel, on and off the job, make flight attendant a popular career choice for men and women who can expect a starting yearly salary of $19,000, increasing to $41,152 after 10 years of service.

The one common theme in all of these jobs is that those who take them on, often do so out of passion, choosing to forgo higher salaries to do what they love (not to mention all the free swag)!