I feel a bit hypocritical here Because I do have a part-time job right now. But I'm not relying on it, The same way many others do. I make enough without it to survive. But I'm using my job as a personal gym to lose weight, And the extra cash is nice.
So many people think that their life will be set, If they get the job they want. They will just work there until they retire, and they'll be set for life. The sad truth of all of this though, Is it's rapidly becoming a bad and risky choice to live like this.
When you have your one income source, Your job. You rely on that job to pay all your bills. I don't care how much the job is paying you. This is risky behavior.
If the company you work for goes out of business Or has layoffs. You'll be in big trouble. Or heck even just cuts your hours.
You need to diversify your income. They say that the average millionaire has seven sources of reliable income. This is why it's important to have something on the side that can back you up if needed. And I don't want to hear "my company won't go out of business." Sure big companies like Walmart, UPS, etc. Might not go out of business TOMORROW. But it's certainly possible down the road if they can't adjust to the rapidly changing market. I mean, Look at companies like Blockbuster and Hostess. (They came back, But still).
This can be a hard one to swallow especially when you love and respect your job.
When I quit UPS. They replaced me. Even though I was one of the fastest people, They still were able to replace me with a couple people.
While we like to think that the company truly cares about us as people. It's often they don't. Your supervisor or boss may care, If you are lucky. But at the end of the day, You need to take care of yourself. Because if you don't. The company won't do it for you.
I don't care if it's a part-time or a full-time job, They own you. And your time. Don't believe me?
I only work 20-25 hours a week at my job, But guess what?
If I wanted to go on a week-long vacation starting tomorrow, I probably wouldn't be "allowed" to.
If I wanted to change my sleep schedule and sleep at night like a normal person. Again, I'd have to "ask for permission" to change shifts so I can do that.
Even when I'm not at work, My job still OWNS my time in a way. I can't go to the movies at 7:00 P.m. Because I'd be late for work. I can't drink during the week. Otherwise, I'd go to work drunk.
Sure these may sound like extreme examples. But even things such as being mentally or physically exhausted when you are AWAY from work, aren't compensated in any way, And that is how they control you more.
I'm not saying you should be petty about how you work, But this is to emphasize the power that a job can have over your life, Making it tough to diversify.
When we are owned by a company, We are offered fewer opportunities, because we aren't out seeking them.
Sure, Some companies open doors to other opportunities and can help beef up our resumes. But sometimes being out and about and doing random things outside of your daily routine really helps you gain those much-needed opportunities.
We underestimate how much a job can affect our entire lives. And it's really important to look at our jobs and ask ourselves if it's worth our time. Life is short, Don't stay at a job that isn't going to help you grow as a person.
