Is It Possible To Balance More Than One Career?

When you are interested in learning a new skill or increasing your income, it can be tempting to apply for a new job in addition to the job you already have. But can you do both? Experts suggest you can — and many Americans already are. Regardless of your reason for wanting to pursue multiple careers, the consensus from multiple sources is that doing so can serve you well. You’ll gain valuable skills, grow your network and be able to further decide what it is you want to do long-term.?

By Helen Harris?

The reasons for looking into another career, or side hustle, in addition to your current job, can be many.?

Maybe you simply need more income. Or maybe you’ve always wanted to open your own business, and you want to do that while still having an income from your current job. You could also be interested in learning new skills from another industry that could serve you in your current role to help propel your career to new heights.?

Whatever your reason for wanting to pursue more than one career, you should take comfort in knowing that by doing so, you are adding to your professional skill set and building your marketability long term.?

Why Are Professionals Doing More with Their Time?

Developing New Skills?

“I think that in today's day and age, just with the rapid pace of change, people have to be very innovative and creative and open to expanding their skill set,” said Heather Spiegel, career coach and founder of Hidden Squirrel Consulting. “And usually the most successful people are those who can draw upon what they've learned or developed in a variety of different areas, even though they might seem totally different from what they're currently pursuing.”?

She gives the following example: Imagine you were someone who has been in journalism for a while but also wants to open a marketing agency. You'd be drawing on a very unique set of skills compared to all of your competitors in marketing. Additionally, you would also be benefiting your journalism career as you would have a better understanding of how to package content that entices your reader and translates it into something of value.?

Keeping Up with Inflation?

It would be remiss to leave out the fact that many people are also taking on multiple careers as of late due to the effects of inflation.

The Guardian recently reported that millions of Americans are currently working two or more jobs in order to make ends meet and keep up with the prices of food, gas, housing, health insurance and other necessities this past year.?

“More Americans have been working two or more jobs over the past few decades, according to data from the US census, with women more likely than men to have multiple jobs and multiple jobholders most prevalent among low-wage workers,” writes The Guardian.?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 400,000 Americans work two full-time jobs. And in September 2022, 4.9% of all the more than 164 million U.S. workers held two or more job positions (over 7.7 million workers).

The Benefits of Having More than One Professional Career?

Besides just being interested in another career field, you may be wondering how pursuing more than one career can benefit you — and why.?

Harvard Business Review (HBR) reports that just by working many jobs can not only simply leave you happier and more fulfilled but also perform better at each job.?

“When you follow your curiosities, you will bring passion to your new careers, which will leave you more fulfilled,” writes the source. “And by doing more than one job, you may end up doing all of them better.”

Spiegel furthers that regardless of the path you stick with, or if juggling two careers is just temporary, it shows initiative and builds skills you can bring with you to your next professional path.?

And if you do choose to start your own path and become a business owner, Spiegel again references the example of the journalist-turned-marketer. She adds, there are so many elements that not only go into marketing, but also being a business owner in general — and these values will transfer over into any career.?

“As an entrepreneur or business owner, you need to intimately understand your customers' needs,” said Spiegel. “You need to understand business development. You need to ensure that clients are satisfied and that you're delivering exactly what it is they need. You need to be innovative in your approaches. There are definitely transferable skills at play in terms of understanding what it is your customers are looking for and delivering it in a way that's going to resonate and ensuring you're meeting those relationships.”?

The beauty of balancing two different careers comes into play as you learn new skills in one career and then those skills flow into the other career, even if it’s a completely different career.?

Even if you only balance multiple careers once in your working life and never again — it’s okay. The process will still have served you well. Spiegel elaborates on this, saying if you were to hypothetically hang up your shingle with your marketing agency and return to being a journalist exclusively, those experiences aren’t lost.?

“[In this hypothetical situation], you will have developed something that will aid you in being a better journalist and that will give you unique insights and unique visions that other people who have just had one career path may not have access to,” said Spiegel.?

Entrepreneur India adds to the list of reasons to consider pursuing more than one career:?

• You will have more than one income stream. Especially in today’s economy, it can be assuring to know that you will have another paycheck coming in the event of a layoff at one of your other jobs. More than one job is also helpful for retirement planning and saving for those big financial milestones.?
• You will have the opportunity to make more professional connections. As you attend more events, interact with clients, or meet more colleagues as you work for more than one employer — you will be expanding and growing your professional network. This is extremely valuable should you ever need to reach out for job leads or professional advice.?
• You will get to “experiment” more with what you’re good at. Another value of getting out there and testing multiple careers is seeing where some of your hidden talents are. Maybe you have incredible customer service skills or are inclined toward computer science. Try to find a way to further your skills while within the safety net of your current job.?

How To Start Your New Career or Side Hustle

If you are currently working for a company, and you are starting in a full-time, part-time or freelance capacity for any other company, it is a good practice to check in with your manager and make sure that there isn’t any conflict.?

“You want to ensure that your present employer is okay with [what you are doing] and that there isn't any sort of perceived conflict of interest,” said Spiegel. “You also want to make sure everybody is on the same page and that there is full transparency.”?

This also applies to starting your own business. Make sure that you inform your manager of your intentions, and make sure that what you are doing doesn’t put your current job in jeopardy.

You may wonder what this means exactly.?

Here are some questions to consider:?

• Do you currently have enough time to balance more than one full-time job??
• How flexible is your current employer??
• Are you willing to leave your current employer if they aren’t flexible enough to accommodate your side hustle or another job?
• Will you be doing the same job or working with the same type of clients for another employer (or for your own company)? This could be considered a conflict of interest.?
• Do you have a way to stay organized and set dedicated hours to each job? If you have trouble with organization or time management, consider starting small and only dedicating a few hours a week to your new job or gig (if possible) until you’ve mastered your new schedule.?

HBR offers a couple of additional pointers to consider as you set out on your multiple-career journey:?

• Let your most stable job subsidize your skill-development journey into your new career. You may need to put in volunteer hours, intern or charge a lower rate as you set out on an additional, but new career path. Because you aren’t as seasoned in this aspect of your career, you can use your other job to your advantage and let that salary pad any paid professional development courses, equipment or materials you need to get started.

For example, Kabir Sehgal writes in HBR that his corporate job paycheck subsidizes his record-producing career, as he had no track record as a producer.

“ … nobody was going to pay me to produce his or her music, and it wasn’t money that motivated me to become a producer in the first place — it was my passion for jazz and classical music. Therefore, I volunteered so that I could gain experience in this new industry. My day job not only afforded me the capital to make albums, but it taught me the skills to succeed as a producer.”

• Socialize with people in different networks and social circles.?

“By being in different circles, you can selectively introduce people who would typically never meet and unlock value for everyone,” said Sehgal.?

While you do have to ask yourself a few questions, and perhaps meet with your manager to make sure you are squared away to work more than one job, it is possible to balance more than one career. And as you do so, you will not only begin increasing your income but also growing your time management skills and other industry-specific skills while making endless connections.?

“You don’t always have to see the entire path laid out in front of you,” said Spiegel. “In today's world, just even taking small baby steps forward and trying something out can be so positive and can generate all sorts of different avenues to go down and new skills. Even if you decide that's not the route for you, you can take [that experience and what you learned] with you to whatever it is you decide to do.”

Top Takeaways?

Is It Possible To Balance More Than One Career??

• People may take on multiple careers for many reasons, including keeping up with the cost of inflation, learning new skills or even pursuing an area of passion.?
• By working in multiple career fields simultaneously or taking on a side hustle, you will make valuable connections, increase your professional marketability and realize where your skills and passions lie.?
• “When you follow your curiosities, you will bring passion to your new careers, which will leave you more fulfilled. … And by doing more than one job, you may end up doing all of them better.”
• You will want to be fully transparent with your current employer about taking on another career or side hustle and also make sure your schedule allows you to fully dedicate yourself to each job.?