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Workers look to second jobs

Rather than wait for a break in the recession, many people are getting debt relief to find debt relief. More and more households are resorting to moonlighting to fend off unemployment woes, high expenses, wage cuts, and layoffs. The unemployment rate as 10.2% in October, and full-time employees are averaging a record low 33-hour work week. It’s estimated that 7.5 million people hold more than one job.

14-hour work days

Kelli Conway, a graduate of University of Louisiana, works as a junior publicist by day and a restaurant hostess by night. Her average workday is from 10am to 4pm, and then 5pm to 11pm. When she was hired for her job in the earlier part in the day, she told her employer about her second job. “The founder of the company was great about it from the get-go,” she said, “he completely understood that I need two jobs to be able to survive in the city.”

Depressing survey statistics

In a recent Yahoo! Survey, almost 15% of respondents had taken a second job because of the recession. The survey also found upwards of 30% of workers felt “less satisfied in their jobs” than a year ago, and 68% don't make as much as they'd like to. The revealing statistic is that 42% were concerned about job security and worried they would soon be targets of layoffs or furloughs.

Second-job remorse

Experts warn that people should be careful about taking on second job. Andrea Kay, a Cincinnati based career consultant said, “If the second job detracts from time with your family, will you be creating new problems in your life? Who do you need to have a conversation with about that? How will it affect your health? People can get easily overwhelmed when they take on second roles.”

There are also financial issues to consider in taking on a second job. Commuting, taxes on extra income, daycare, and equipment purchases can add up. For instance, some call centers employ people from home at about $ 8 an hour, but they must pay for their own landline, a $ 25 to $ 30 monthly expense. Employees with small children may also still need some type of babysitting care to handle children while they answer calls. If consumers are taking on a second job to find debt relief, they need to be aware of all additional costs involved and make sure the net earnings are worth it.

What is the motivation?

Career counselors caution that if extra funds are the sole motivation for getting a second job, other options might be worth exploring first. Kay thinks it may be more advantageous to look for ways to increase pay at a first job: “Is there something you can do on the side — education, training — that would enhance your value so you’ll be paid more at your current job or at another one? Or maybe help you towards your future goals?" Like a lot of experts, Kay posits that people should figure out what they'd like to be learn and what excites them as a possible career path, rather than looking just for more money.

Focus on building a better career

The bottom line is that consumers should do what they need to do to handle their budgets wisely. A second job can be a viable strategy, but there are other options that can be explored to get debt relief. It could be a better idea to augment your education and skills, because a commodity's utility (specifically, the more jobs a person can do) is directly linked to the demand, and therefore asking price – and being a more valuable worker means you'll earn more, instead of working MORE to make extra cash, at least for awhile.

Tags: Better career, debt relief, second job, the unemployment rate