In praise of the gig economy
As a kid, I went to school full-time, but I also delivered newspapers, earned money for cutting grass, tips for delivering groceries, received cash for being an altar server for funeral masses and weddings, and earned money for cleaning up my aunt’s storeroom at her little bodega-type corner store. I sometimes even made money for playing my trumpet. Plus, I always got change slipped to me by my grandparents for doing little chores and extra work to help them.
In college, I held two part-time jobs during the school year and worked full-time in the summers. The good thing that evolved from those experiences, however, was it fed my entrepreneurial skills, forced me to master time management, allowed me to tap into my creative potential, and, most importantly, provided a stream of income that removed what would have otherwise been a lot of struggle from my life.
As an adult who initially selected teaching as a career, those supplemental sources of income were critical in complementing my teacher’s salary. It helped us ease some financial stresses that we faced as young parents. It also enabled us to pursue personal interests that did not conflict with our regular jobs.
Working in other areas allowed me to diversify, develop new skills, and grow existing ones. Part-time work can also sharpen communication capabilities, perfect time management, master problem-solving, and any number of otherwise untapped abilities.
Playing professional trumpet allowed me to experience both the good and the bad of a musician’s life. It also touched on both my passions and my ability. Plus, it allowed me to continue to grow professionally.
Now, I serve on a paid advisory board, write these columns, consult part-time, and still do other side-consulting jobs that I choose to do.
We spend our entire lives doing something, and then someone figures out a name for whatever it is we have been doing.
This type of work life has become known as the gig economy.
As a musician, I was familiar with the term gig because that is what we called it when we got a job playing music, a gig. I carried my trumpet in a padded, form-fitting trumpet case called a gig bag that I could easily sling over my arm or carry in my right hand.
The new definition of the gig economy, which is what I have been doing my entire life, often leaves out that one major, stabilizing factor, the full-time job that was the center of my gigging.
We simply referred to what we did as having a boatload of part-time jobs, which later evolved into 1099 jobs. Now the gig economy means having flexible on-demand gigs that allow workers to supplement their lives with part-time jobs.
Oh, hey, wait a minute. That’s what it used to mean, too.
Of course, the workers get other benefits varying from financial independence to the development of skills, and the most significant benefit created by being part of a gig economy is that long-sought-after work-life balance.
When I was young, those jobs taught me about financial independence, responsibility, saving, and, most importantly, a work ethic. Plus, that money allowed me to cover casual expenses and part of my college degree.
The latest version of the gig economy post-COVID allows workers to select when, where, and how much they want to work. Their sometimes challenge is finding enough gigs to make a living.
This concept of a work-life balance was never part of this reality in previous generations. My gig-work experience meant working full-time and then working on nights, weekends, holidays, and vacation days. It was work-work, imbalance.
The primary difference in today’s opportunities is the low barrier of entry. With the enormous availability of online platforms, individuals can launch and market their products and services internationally. Content producers for social media are getting rich doing gig work, and some of them even deserve it.
Nick Jacobs is a Windber resident.