Quick buck or valuable experience..?. Review on Choosing a Part Time Job

Recently, one of my friends had come over to seek my advice (Ok you are wondering if  this indicated my good sense of humour or just a lie) on her future plans and how she could best leverage her knowledge without compromising on the study time. She happens to be doing an MCA which for the uninitiated is Master’s in Computer Application and has had a lot of exposure in the field of software already.

In some of the recent Business Today issues ( Help Tarun) and other newspaper features on career guidance (Jayanti Ghose ET), very regularly, one common question seems to come from people who have already acquired specialized skills and knowledge in one particular area who are anxious to know their career prospects as a teacher, advocate, DJ, customer care executives at call centers either as an avocation or the lure of lucre attracts them.

Imagine a young graduate who wants to pursue master’s in his field but family pressure compels him to look at various job opportunities irrespective of his interest or the lack of the same in that area.

All these instances seem to reflect a common desire of people of all ages, socioeconomic classes and regions to make the most of their time. And with the call centers mushrooming in every part of the country, this importance of clarity of goals and ambitions cannot be overstated. So what is that set of criteria which would help you decide the part time job you want to take up?

The following are in my view various steps which need to be taken to ensure that you do not end up choosing a job which is neither challenging nor well paying.

Alignment with long term plans

Many a time, people start applying for jobs indiscriminately without realizing how important and effective it is to have a clear objective in mind. For example if you intend to take up software as your career at the end of your education ( here I am presuming that you want to take up a job alongside your regular studies), working part time at a call centre makes little sense unless of course the situation demands you to opt for such a move. Otherwise the financial and family conditions remaining stable, its important for the candidate to look for synergy in his current job and future career prospects. A judicious mis of education and experience is the surest way to reach the top in these dynamic times.

Let me also attempt to clear this misconception that many people have about usefulness of experience in case of a part time job. We do not realize that any job that you take up has something you can learn from and if applied well later, can do wonders to your future growth in a company. If as a novice in a company, you can give a mature well rounded perspective, its widely appreciated and this is something that can be achieved if a little planning is done before taking up a job. At the same time, an aspiring scientist cannot be expected to imbibe a lot by teaching Salsa. If we ignore the emotional psychological benefits that is.

Caution

Many people read those multicoloured posters which adorn the walls of local trains in Mumbai and other important buildings as well and apply for “part time/work from home/easy money” jobs without so much as sparing a thought for taking up such jobs can have long term repercussions. PLEASE FIND OUT ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION IN ADVANCE LEST YOU GET INTO TROUBLE. Very often, people are duped into signing bonds, made to do abominable jobs (Now then, ideas of dignity of labour, anyone? Do I need to elaborate on it??), paid peanuts and most importantly has nothing whatsoever to do with the skillsets you possess which brings us to the next one…….

Self assessment

Identify your strengths and interests. Recently, I saw these newspaper ads where in some organization claims to set up a design studio for stain glass painting for individuals willing to go through a course. So far so good. The trouble however starts when people do not understand that for you to make some additional money apart from your regular source of income, you need to possess the requisite skills for being an artiste, a teacher, a voice specialist or a musician for that matter. I am not getting into this debate about whether skills can be developed but I firmly believe that one should do a critical assessment of goals and skills before jumping onto the bandwagon just because its “coll” to be working as so and so at such and such place.

Teaching is a wonderful way of learning so many a time it is observed that people take up teaching along with studying. I consider it a smart move because it enables you to clarify a lot of your doubts without being irrelevant to your preferred career.

Time is precious

Please value your time and use it effectively. Money is important but if it overpowers one into taking up something which gives one neither the pleasure nor the appreciation, then it’s a waste of time and money cannot on its own offset the time lost. Therefore take up some activity which would help you grow in your career and life in general.

Afterall, a part time job is not necessarily so if you can wholeheartedly contribute to your job and do justice to it. Its no longer part time you see. A job is a job is a job. You either work or you don’t. You cannot partly do it.

Keerti

Don’t forget to RRC the review. Bouquets and brickbats are more than welcome.