If you are taking on a second job, you need to plan carefully so that it’s worth your time. You should have a long-term plan to solve the situation. You may even want to ask for a raise before committing to a second job. If that doesn’t work, here are some tips to make working an extra job a little easier.
Find the Best Possible Second Job
Consider all available options when choosing what your second job will be. Consider your schedule, and what kinds of jobs might have hours that would fit with yours. Driving for a rideshare company, for example, may allow you to work flexible hours whenever it works for you. If you have the necessary skills, try to find something that will pay more than minimum wage. Working for tips as a restaurant server or pizza delivery driver can increase the amount you make an hour. Additionally, look at your professional skills and see if you can apply them to your part-time job options. According to data gathered by Care.com, tutors make $15-$23 an hour on average in major cities.
Schedule Your Time
When you’re working two jobs, you may find that other areas suffer. You may not have time to keep up with the housework or to cook at home, so it’s important to create a schedule that allows you to do these things efficiently and only as necessary. It can be easier to do this if you can set up a schedule for your second job. That allows you to schedule errands and chores on specific days and gives you time to plan to do things with your friends.
Take Care of Yourself
Don’t take on too many extra hours if you can help it. It’s a good idea to start with two nights a week and then move up if you think that you can handle it. You don’t want to work yourself to death. Take care of yourself physically, especially if you know you are going to be doing this for more than three months. Be sure that you are eating well and exercising regularly. If you don’t balance your time effectively, you will have a difficult time lasting long enough to benefit from the second job.
Apply the Extra Money to Achieving Your Goals
Apply all of the additional money you are making directly to the financial goal that you are working toward. It will help you to achieve the goal more quickly, and make the extra time you are spending worth the effort. Monitor your spending with on the second job carefully. Make sure that you are not spending a lot of extra money to work at this job—for example, blowing half your earnings on clothing or transportation to the second job. All jobs are going to cost a bit extra to do (gas, taxes, and other small expenses), but once you subtract the costs of working, you should still be making a significant amount of money. If you take on a retail job, make sure you’re not spending your entire paycheck at the store. A job at your favorite retail store might sound like fun, but if you end up spending extra because you see the new items all of the time, then it’s not benefiting you. Similarly, if you see a sharp rise in your expenses because you are eating out more, then it might not make sense to keep working that second job.
Protect Your First Job
Make sure your second job doesn’t cause a conflict of interest with your first job. This means that you should inform your manager at your first job that you’re working a second job at a specific company. Concerns may include a fear that you could leak company secrets, or that the energy and time you spend at your second job will interfere with your first job. There may not be any problems, but it’s better to protect your full-time job by taking this precaution. Along those lines, don’t let the second job encroach on the quality of your work performance of your first job. If your first job provides you with benefits and usually a larger paycheck, it should always take precedence over your second job.
