Second Jobs

[GlasgowGirl]

As we all get more and more worried about the coming recession, with predictions that up to 1 in 10 of us will lose our jobs, I wondered how many of us had thought of getting a second job? Not necessarily one with regular hours - for example, I know someone who sells hand-made clothes on the internet to top up her income, and another person who does freelance acupressure as a sideline. Many of us will have saleable skills, so perhaps now is the time to be thinking of making use of them?

[scotchlass]

I think it will become more of a feature if unemployment begins to rise. My hubby works offshore and seems to be safe but I have been working as a freelance writer for about 4 months now. It is not big money, but an average of £50 a week helps to pay a bill or top-up the food shopping. I do work a fair bit but pay is low due to the recession just now so it will be interesting to see how the freelance market reacts to the credit crunch if more people go freelance.

[Witch consumer]

I have a 2nd job in a local Spar, I've been doing it for about 6 weeks and really enjoy it, the pay isn't good but I enjoy the company and having something different to do, I have even lost a few pounds with the walking and lifting!!!

Thing is tho, should we feel guilty about taking a second job when so many people are losing theirs?

[Tony]

There are a number of sites that allow people with skills to sell them online, a bit like ebay for goods.

Elance | Connect with Qualified Professionals
Guru.com ? Find freelancers at the world?s largest online service marketplace.
PeoplePerHour.com - Outsourcing to freelance programmers and freelance professionals. Find freelancers, freelance work, web designers, developers, freelancing jobs, freelance projects

The last one is British which protecets you from fluctuating exchange rates.

Tony

[scotchlass]

Originally Posted by Witch consumer

Thing is tho, should we feel guilty about taking a second job when so many people are losing theirs?

Hmm I never really thought of that!! That's a tough one to answer- I'm not really sure where I stand on this..... I suppose that I would have to be in that position before I make my decision on whether it is morally wrong!

[Tony]

Most second-jobs are part-time and employers will offer these for the added operational flexibility. I don't think it is a case of taking opportunities away from the unemployed, as most won't, I guess, do a number of part-time jobs instead of a main full-time job.

Tony

[katealpha]

I teach adults for my local authority. I'm currently teaching two courses, so its one morning and one evening a week until Christmas and I'm currently getting £188 a month (after tax).

If you go into adult education now to teach you do have to have qualifications to become a qualified teacher within 5 years. I did the first part (PTTLS) last year, which was 3 hours a week for 16 weeks plus coursework but my employer paid for it and so I only had to pay the assessment fee (about £40).