The Hidden Benefits of Part Time Work
97% of new jobs created in 2012 were part time. With the growth of freelancers and those working from home, this number will only get larger.
What would you do with 10+ extra hours a week?
- Rest for a day
- Spend two hours every afternoon with the kids
- Start a new hobby
- Go back to school
- Add value
- Whatever you want!
Part time work is <30 hours a week according to the Affordable Care Act.
But part time doesn’t mean you can’t support yourself.
High paying part-time gigs:
- Attorney: $147.40/hr
- Clinical Psychologist: $125.30/hr
- Senior copywriter:$85/hr
- IT security consultant: $81.80/hr
- Management Consultant: $75/hr
- Senior Software Engineer: $75/hr
- HR consultant: $72.20/hr
- Life Coach: $70/hr
- IT consultant: $69/hr
- Certified Financial Planner: $61.40/hr
- Speech language pathologist:$60.80/hr
- Senior Graphic Design: $60.00/hr
- Physical Therapist:$59.20/hr
- PR consultant: $58.90/hr
- Interior Designer: $57.70/hr
- Education/Training consultant: $56.30/hr
- Real Estate Agent: $55/hr
- Licensed Massage therapist: $49.60/hr
- Private Investigator: $49.60/hr
- Marketing Consultant: $49.10/hr
And you aren’t alone. Many people don’t want to work full time.
[%’s who would forego full time work if possible.]
Mothers: 67%
Unmarried Mothers: 51%
Married Fathers: 28%
Ya, maybe we should all just embrace the rise of PT.
Remember before you had to work? Your life had meaning then, right?
The benefits of part time work
Flexibility: Maybe you’re a routine person. Maybe you’re not. People achieve in different ways.
Transition: Part time work can lead to full time work. Or full time something else. Again, flexibility.
Balance: It’s hard to achieve when you’re fried. And remember those friends, kids, partner, you had?
Thoughtfulness: Humans need time to recharge. Mindless earning and spending is easy to get into. We spend to our capacity, remember?
Quality Jobs: Skilled workers can still get insurance at 25 hours a week. And you’re a lot likelier to get your dream job PT than FT.
It’s Natural: Early foraging and horticulture based peoples only worked 6.5 average hours per day. And they survived in prehistory .
But What if you didn’t intend to work part-time?
Experience: Part time work often leads to full time work. PT lets you learn the field without as much of a time investment.
Foot in the door: Make valuable connections with your part time position.
Age of the contractor: We live in the age of the contractor. Embrace the challenge, learn new skills, save for time in between jobs.
Unemployment: You can still get partial unemployment checks and work part time.
View part time work as a tool, not a penalty. Part time work helps you live your life!
[citations]
- http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/08/14/jobs-a14.html
- http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2012/08/30/the-highest-paying-part-time-jobs-in-america/
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter-gatherer
- http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/03/14/modern-parenthood-roles-of-moms-and-dads-converge-as-they-balance-work-and-family/2/
For Further Reading:
