Working multiple jobs isn’t for the faint-hearted. It takes a huge amount of ambition and determination to succeed as balancing two jobs can literally drive you mad, especially if you don’t know what the heck you are doing.
Overworking can turn you into a crazy person while desperately trying to fit all of your responsibilities into a day. The most challenging task of your day would be to finish your regular workload, get some family time as well as find some quality time for yourself. But it is hard enough to fit everything in when you just have one full-time job, why risk it all for the prospect of getting a bigger paycheck?
Just to clarify, I am not saying that living on a starting salary isn’t difficult. Living the good life while still managing to pay the bills and cover life expenses is hard even for those who have been working in their field for years. But what’s rather interesting is that the trend of getting a second job has become very popular nowadays. In particular, the younger generation supports the belief that the only way to afford a good life is to get a second job.
But is having multiple jobs necessary or effective?
Before taking this step, I suggest that you take your current situation into consideration in terms of your finances, job security and life priorities. Looking closely at your financial budget and how you are handling living expenses will help you figure out if you are in real need of a second stream of income. For example, do you need extra money to cover a specific expense? How long will you need to work two jobs for?
Obviously, there are many things you need to consider before making the big commitment. To help you out I have narrowed down the benefits and possible disadvantages of having two full-time jobs:
The benefits
1. Income increase
Making more money is the first benefit that people think of when considering getting a second job. In fact, in many cases this is the only reason why they get a second job in the first place. However, how much you will be making will largely depend on what you are doing and how much time you are willing to devote to it.
2. The back-up plan
A second job can work as your backup plan to achieving job security. With the current economic environment and rising unemployment figures, you never know when you might get fired or made redundant. If this happens and you lose your primary job, you will still have the other one as a backup. Also, the benefit of having two jobs is that you get to build up experience in the field that you are most interested in while working another job that helps you cover your expenses.
3. Professional development
Having two jobs gives you the chance to develop further professionally. In terms of skills, there are many areas in which you can develop and increase the knowledge you need to advance in your field. Even though your jobs might not relate to each other, the skills that you learn in your first job might complement the other. In addition to that, the skills that you learn in your second job can be a great addition to your resume.
4. Networking
A second job can boost your networking efforts. Not only do you get to meet people with different experiences and diverse backgrounds but also attract more customers to your other job. Your clients in your first job can easily become your clients in your second job and vice versa. No matter how related these are if you are doing it the right way and you are eagerly promoting your work, you can get more visibility in your profession.
The threats
Maintaining two part-time jobs isn’t the same as having two full-time jobs. In a full-time job, responsibilities are bigger, and you need to do a lot more work. So imagine what your life will be like having to work between two full-time jobs. Would you be able to handle the pressure? Perhaps you should first consider the impact this will have on you in regards to burnout. After working two jobs for three months what will be the effects on your health? There’s always the danger of becoming physically and mentally exhausted.
This raises yet another important question: When working two full-time jobs, how can you ensure that you are giving 100% in both jobs? Your performance in both roles could suffer if you end up using all your energy by the end of Friday after working for over than 60 hours a week. Provided that you haven’t lost your sanity by then, you’ll need to distinguish which job is going to be your main focus. Taking into account your long-term career plans, you need to put more effort into the job that offers the best prospects in regards to your own career interests.
Director of TotalJobs, Mike Fetters agrees that this job trend is starting to get a bit worrying. In an interview with The Guardian, Fetters refers to the problems that this phenomenon can cause in the future in terms of the career development of workers. As he states, “people often forget the career problems it could later create, such as a perception among employers that they are job-hoppers, unfocused, or hedging their bets between two careers.”
Even though this is true, there’s also another side to it. Employers might actually see having multiple jobs as a positive thing precisely because it is extremely demanding. They may view second jobbers as exactly the kind of hardworking employees that they are looking for.
Prior to becoming a second jobber you need to assess how badly you need the money and/or the experience. However, if you are already working two jobs, with careful planning and time management you can learn how to work efficiently between two jobs while still keeping your sanity.
So, can you think of any other benefits or downsides of working two full-time jobs?