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8/31/2007
Often, people who
know me make suggestions for bettering my life. Frequently, people
suggest that I go find a "real" job instead of working two part time
jobs in my home town. I know these people mean well, and I am sure
they think that I would be so much better off getting a "real" job.
Perhaps they are right, but I'm not so uncomfortable doing what I do.
It is true that I work long hours during the school year, putting in
close to 60 hours a week. It is also true that I don't earn $100K
a year. I do manage to get by though. I pay my bills every
month, no collection notices or phone calls from creditors trying to get
their money out of me.
There are some benefits that my jobs offer too. I
am never more than fifteen to twenty minutes away from home when I am at
work. I always have my own car, and my cell phone with me no
matter where I am. I can talk on my phone any time I want to
without fear of my boss seeing me on the phone and getting angry.
If an emergency comes up that I need to handle, it is never a problem
getting out of work to go home, and I can always be home in less than 20
minutes if I need to be.
Getting time off is never a problem either, if I need a
day off all I have to do is tell my boss, and they take care of it.
There is no pressure at either one of my jobs, I show up, do my work,
and go home. No one breathing down my neck, do deadlines, no work
that I have to take home with me. I don't have an hour commute
twice a day, or a time clock to punch. If I'm five minutes early,
great, if I'm five minutes late, no one says anything (though I am
rarely late). If I want to eat my lunch while I am at work, that
is fine.
The BEST part is this: All summer long, I only
work at night. I have the days off, so I spend every day all
summer long every summer with my kids. While other parents are
figuring out who is going to watch their kids, enrolling them in
expensive summer camps, or realizing that they are going to have to
leave their kids home alone, I am planning trips to the park and the
play ground, and a summer of fun with my kids.
I could certainly use more money, benefits would be
nice too, but there are some benefits to my jobs. I work where I
work because I choose to, not because I have to, so if you're thinking
about asking me why I don't get a "real" job, think hard about all the
benefits my part time jobs give me, and then decide if I would really be
better off with a different job. |