What do animators do to keep afloat?

I know the job market is pretty bad right now so I mean how it typically was. What did industry professionals do to stay afloat? Did you try to line up jobs when you knew the project you were working on was about to end? Did you take on commissions? Working part time somewhere else? Working and monetizing your own work? Is it possible to line up jobs? What happens for shorter projects like movies? I know that’s a lot of questions but I’m very curious. Thank you!