I saw a headline on LinkedIn the other day that said 8.9 million Americans work two or more jobs. It said the number is going up, too. I didn’t read the article, so I’m not going to lay this out as an argument where I’m trying to prove some point. I just want you to think about it. And I mean really think about it. According to statista.com, there are about 158 million Americans in some form of employment. That means that almost 6% of the workforce is working multiple jobs. That seems like an outrageous injustice.
6% may not sound like a huge number. Heck, 8.9 million may not sound like a huge number compared to 158 million. But think about what it means. There are almost nine million people that cannot make do with one job. Obviously, jobs don’t pay enough.
Right now, I’m working two jobs and I’m nowhere near making ends meet. In fact, I’m currently looking for a third job. I’m simultaneously looking for one job that would pay the bills on its own, but I’m getting more and more pessimistic about ever finding one.
I’ve noticed something in my job search, but I don’t really know what to call it. The phrase that keeps coming to mind is “pay gap”, but I don’t mean the difference between what men and women make or anything like that. I mean that there are a lot of jobs that pay $40,000 or less and there are plenty of jobs that pay $75,000 or more. All I want is enough money to pay the bills, put a little in savings, and maybe have enough left over to go see a movie every once in a while. There’s nothing in that sweet spot.
$40,000 isn’t enough, especially with a house and a kid. $75,000 would be plenty, but when jobs pay that well, they get awfully picky. They either want someone who has had the same role already, so they don’t have to train the person. Or they want someone with a specific major and very specific experience. I’m absolutely positive I could do these jobs well, but I don’t check all the boxes. Almost no one does. Anyway, the result is that the only gettable jobs don’t pay enough. That forces people into working more than one job.
The thing is, it’s only getting worse. No one should have to work multiple jobs to make a living. I’m not just writing this because I’m in this situation. I’m writing it for the other nine million, too. It sucks, and I want everyone to take some time to think about it.
