It occurred to me tonight that the most fun jobs I’ve ever had in my life were the ones I didn’t actually need. They were seconds jobs and/or side hustles that supplemented the income or at least gave me an outlet to do something I enjoyed when they didn’t (and yes, I understand that this makes for an extremely loose definition of “job,” but just go with it).
Warning: I am going to be extremely vague as to the specific nature of the jobs for reasons. Nothing illegal, but there are some things I’m not inclined to share.
I can only think of one that went bad, and that was largely due to it being a job with part time pay and full time hours, but even that would should have worked it. I was working in a dream industry for me, but the timing was wrong and it wound up being more stressful than it should have been. It took enough of a toll on me that my main gig was in put into jeopardy and there was no opportunity for growth in the second job, so I had to give it up.
The others, though? They’ve been a blast. I worked in a record store when I had another job. I needed the money, but I could have just taken more work at my main job and gotten by. I love music, I love helping people find music, and the fact that I didn’t need this particular gig made it almost completely stress-free. It was just fun with a little money on the side.
I worked on a book with my father back in a while back and it was brutal. This would have been during the “early home computer and internet” era. I was in charge of the graphics and layouts, and the publisher wouldn’t take emailed files at this time, so I had to print every page out on my little Panasonic KX-P4410 and then we’d drive to the airport to get to drop the pages off at FedEx right before midnight. This was four or five times a week and I had a full-time job. But, you know what? It was a blast. I’d do it again.
I’m currently writing for one of the site in the Vox empire a couple of times a week. The pay is…heh…it’s Vox. That’s OK, though. I get to write and publish stuff and it’s fun and I get to be terribly silly with it because it’s not like they have a great deal of leverage. I absolutely love doing it, but if it disappeared tomorrow, it wouldn’t materially change my financial situation.
The point of all of this is not “People should take second jobs.” Lots of folks have to take second jobs (I’ve been there) and that’s no fun. The point is a little hazier: A job you don’t need, one you can leave any time, can be a lot more fun than one you have to have. There’s now “Paycheck and Benefits of Damocles” hanging over your head. You’re on much more equal standing with your employer when you don’t have to be there. Imagine a universal basic income that allowed people to only work when and where they wanted to.
Helluva nice dream, isn’t it?
-RK