Lillie is “pretty much always looking for more and more work,” often juggling more jobs than she can legally handle. But that’s what you have to do to achieve it.
The 25-year-old theater teacher, who chose not to share her last name to protect her privacy, did not finish college. When he attended four years and several changes in different universities, he told me fortune, the pandemic and mental health struggles kept him from getting his degree. But that didn’t stop them from joining the 43.5 million Americans who have federal student loan debt.
“I owe a lot from school and the mistakes I made when I was young,” said Lillie, who lives in Atlanta with her fiance, who went to school to become a therapist. “Even though I’m not in debt as much as some people think it is, it’s hard enough to spend a little money.”
Finding a substantial job that pays well without a college degree is proving difficult. So, Lillie started juggling multiple projects in 2020 to make ends meet. During the early days of the pandemic, she said she mostly taught online and edited student videos for music “so the kids could still perform, but in a digital setting.” Most recently, she worked at Barnes & Noble, taking shifts in escape rooms, giving private voice lessons, and getting any contract work she could to teach kids at schools, after-school programs, and other organizations.
Rushing to work because many jobs are bad for his mental health and social life, he says, but he earns $2,500 a month — “mostly what he needs for expenses.”
Lillie is one of the eight million working Americans, or 5%, working multiple jobs, according to the latest data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. While this is about the same as it was in 2019, side gigs may be twice as common as job data shows: Nearly 10% of workers have a main job and at least one other side gig, according to WFH research. And more Americans report having a busy schedule than they did in 2020. As inflation rises to a 40-year high and the housing crisis leaves Americans reeling, balancing side gigs to cover expenses is a position more Americans are finding themselves in. alone in
About 41% of Americans with side hustles say they need extra cash to cover day-to-day expenses, according to a 2022 Bankrate survey. This is up from 31% of US workers who said the same in 2019, reflecting the state of the nation’s finances and people’s lives — women and millennials , especially younger millennials, are suffering the most. A separate study found that 64% of US consumers, equal to 166 million Americans, feel they are living paycheck to paycheck; even almost half of those raking in at least $100,000 a year are reported to live this way.
But juggling various jobs to keep up with the cost of living is tiring and draining, Lillie said, adding that it puts a strain on relationships and keeps her from seeing her friends as much as she would. There are days, he adds, where the thought of talking to other people is overwhelming. But they also know this is what they have to do now to make a living.
It’s just breaking the minimum wage
But for now, Lillie is working on just one project — a five-month contract with a traveling children’s theater that requires her to work anywhere from 45 to 60 hours a week. They do what they love but make less money than when they collect multiple paychecks, making less money. She anticipates working many more jobs after her contract is up; he must.
“As much as I love working, I earn minimum wage based on the countries I travel to,” Lillie said. “I didn’t even break $800 in two weeks of work for many weeks, which was the most unpleasant thing… There were days when I came home and went straight to bed and cried.”
Lillie says she will tell her employer that she works a lot, and that her schedule can be a nightmare. He recently applied for a position at an interactive museum that wanted him to sign an exclusivity clause. The pay is good, but it won’t be enough without additional income, he said.
It took some time, but he says he’s learned to deal with stress better — not to mention making things easier. It helped that she and her fiancee were able to buy a house with the money her fiancee’s grandmother left her. The mortgage is a fraction of the rent paid in advance. The little money you make now is for food, paying off debt, or saving. He also sent a small amount of money home to his fiancee.
He admits that he needs to find a “real” full-time job soon, even though it’s not what he’s passionate about. He will soon be 26; there is a feeling that it is time to “grow up,” she said, plus she needs health insurance. Her ultimate goal is to open her own business that runs after-school art programs where parents will pay tuition, so she can work on her own time. His dream is to eventually also create a non-profit that, with money from grants, will create special productions and workshops for schools. But now, he will be struggling, working on a project he loves.
“I’ve decided that I’m willing to fight for a little cash if it means I get my sanity intact,” said Lillie. “I know not everyone has that choice, so I feel lucky. However, I still think that having to live this way is pointless.
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