Sometimes Side Hustling Hurts Your Pride | brokeGIRLrich
I’ve written a few times about how my main side hustle outside of stage managing is substitute teaching.
What I don’t think I’ve written about is how much I dislike it.
Besides the fact that teaching is totally not my thing and I’m not a huge fan of kids, substitute teaching is incredibly, mind-numbingly dull most of the time. You’re really just a baby-sitter trying to keep nearly grown ups sitting in their seats and not touching each other. This is more difficult than you’d think a lot of days.
In a small way, the boredom is a motivator to constantly keep searching for theater jobs I can do instead whenever I find myself in a slump that requires some substitute teaching to get through.
Furthermore, I’ve been a registered substitute for 10 years and there hasn’t actually been one slump yet where I had to substitute teach to get by – I just have always known it’s smarter to have money coming in if you can, even well before I was financially savvy.
And I’ve been pretty lucky. I subbed a lot when I was in college on breaks, a couple of times when I was 25 and a few more times when I was 28 and this is my first time back to doing it. As far as a career in the arts goes, I’ve had to use my backup plans a lot less than most people I know….
I’m going to be really honest here:
I don’t know what it is about this time around that makes me super defensive. I want to tape a plaque to my chest that lists all my degrees and my resume and my net worth to point out I’m doing this to be smart about money, not because I’m failing and all I’ve managed to do with my life in a decade is wind up a substitute teacher.
I was on lunchroom duty the other day and bumped into a teacher who recognized me (I substitute teach in the school district I graduated from), who asked me how I was doing. And if I went to college after high school. Did I go to college? Did I even just go to college? What. The. Eff.?
I just said yes and waited for her to wander off, but that was the moment when I realized I wanted to tape my net worth to my forehead and a note like “I am making good life choices by doing something I don’t want to do and making money, instead of just sitting around in my parents house on a 10 week vacation. But I could if I wanted to.”
That same day I was on hall duty with another substitute teacher who graduated from there 10 years after I did. She asked me what I want to do with my life. I almost responded with a crazy tirade of “I am doing what I want with my life,” but it sure wasn’t her fault I was having a crazy mental day and calmly explained to her that I am already doing what I want with my life and I’m actually a stage manager.
I guess I’m sharing this because I never realized before that pride can totally stop you from making money.
The other day I had an unusually expensive day. I got a massage, took the train into the City, had dinner an overpriced but fun restaurant (Ninja New York – if you life ninja’s, check it out) and then had a few too many drinks at a bar catching up with several friends. Altogether, the day cost about $200. And to be honest, I totally didn’t plan to have a day out during this time off cost that much.
But, it’s more than covered by subbing. I didn’t even think twice about it (ok, that’s a lie, I’m a personal finance blogger, I thought, “dang, $200… but it’s worth it and I have the money, so it’s fine”). When I’m completely unemployed, even if I have savings to cover an unemployed period, I don’t feel comfortable spending like that. Sucking up my pride and subbing even just a few days a week makes it ok with me.
Partially because of subbing, the first action I did in 2016, even though I’m not getting a regular paycheck right now, was to dump $1,000 in my Roth IRA, because I didn’t have to touch any of that money in December.
Side hustles are great, but some of them can certainly make you wonder what you’ve been doing with your life to be there right then… honestly, if you’re making money when you otherwise wouldn’t’ve been – what you’ve been doing with you life has probably been taking a lot of wise steps.
Substitute teaching might be the roughest side hustle out there! That’s a thankless, hard gig for sure! Keep it up though, you’ll get the last laugh and you’ll be stronger for it!
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Thank you for sharing so honestly. I almost spit out my coffee when I read, “What I don’t think I’ve written about is how much I dislike it”. Haha, I was fully expecting to read another blog about how everything is great. (Nothing wrong with positive blog posts btw. They’re just a lot more common). However, it’s true that not everything is easy or fun or rewarding. It’s great to read another person goes through similar WTF moments. Thanks Mel.
To be quite honest, I think like 90% of my life moments are WTF – but my blog makes me try to see the upside in life. There are few upsides in substitute teaching other than the paycheck. :oP
After graduating college I could not land a full time job and was out of work for a bit. I eventually landed a job at Target. I had to get over myself and the feeling I was beneath the job. I had to just put those feeling aside do a good job and make some money. The encounters you had are people just making a quick judgement of you and not knowing the real story. Their opinions should not matter.
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Oh, I totally agree they shouldn’t matter. But I’m human, so sometimes they do. And I keep on subbing, so they’re haven’t done enough damage to make me quit yet.
I definitely swallowed my pride every day in college when I went to work at Best Buy while most of my friends had parents who paid their bills. It’s hard to subject yourself to something like that, but every time I got my paycheck, it reconfirmed why I did it and the job at Best Buy ended up getting me my investment banking job post graduation. My interviewers were so impressed that I worked almost 40 hours per week while in college that they wanted a person with that work ethic on their team. You never know where the hustle will take you.
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That’s true – maybe I’ll find people who think it’s good that I tried to take advantage of anything that would provide me with a little more financial cushioning.
Oh man, I love this post so much. I hate the “what do you want to do with your life” question. It makes you want to beat certain people over the head sometimes.
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I just want to look them in the eye and in my best soul dead voice say, “this. Exactly this. Forever.” Like the girls from The Shining “come play with us.”
Thank you for this post. I hate my side hustle too (a part time job at a discount clothing store). I have my dream job and I just don’t make enough money to live on. In the years I have been at it, the cost of everything has gone up while my salary has taken a beating. There have been only slight raises and then we had to pay for our healthcare, effectively creating a salary decrease. I knew when I followed my calling there would never be wealth and fame, but I didn’t expect that I would find myself in a situation where I made just enough to survive and not one cent more. As much as I want to kill myself folding my 700th sweater of the night, the part time job allows me to have: clothes without holes, a social life, a gym membership, and a savings account with actual money in it. The worst is when I run into people who “know” me and they assume my part time job is what I do full time and or that something tragic has happened and I have lost my real job. I am learning to shake off the embarrassment and patting myself on the back every time I transfer money into my nest egg. Folding sweaters sure beats the worry that one emergency would pretty much ruin me.
Definitely! Good for you for sucking it up and doing it anyway! I know it’s not only “not always fun” – sometimes it’s just never fun and completely sucks. :/
I busted my hump to get my 5 year teaching degree in 4.5 years. Unfortunately, that meant graduating in December when there weren’t a lot of jobs available. So I wound up subbing. It’s comforting knowing that I could go back to it any time I needed to. (Wouldn’t pay much right now with the 2 year old at home, but it would be something.)
That said…it’s a thankless job! The kids try to get away with murder and the other teachers usually don’t acknowledge you at all. But I’d do it again, too, if it meant getting ahead.
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Mel, Pride gets in my way a lot because I am very proud and I turned down many opportunities to make more money because I do not think it is worth my valuable time.
I will not do something that pays a little income for too much time.
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i have this issue because up until recently I had been a waitress. I don’t have any degrees or anything (I’d like to eventually), but its the main point that people just don’t treat you with any respect. I hated putting on that apron and going to that greasy stinky place. I’m sure my serving days aren’t over, but I guess it’s something I’ll always be able to do on the side if needed. Hang in there, you know your accomplishments and that’s all that really matters!
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I loved this post. Always be thankful for what you have. I have side income as well and at times I feel like “Why am I doing this, I have bigger goals”.. but then I remember that it allows me to do the extra little things I want to do in life. #grateful
Very true!
I totally know where you’re coming from with this post. I think the worst can come from your own friends, who can’t understand why you aren’t at the bar or at brunch with them. But I’ve been able to gain an extra 25% of my income from side hustles- whether it’s working at a bar, grocery store, giving tours, tutoring, dog sitting, coaching, catering, or working at farmers markets (I’ve done it all). I have a net worth close to 50K and am 27. When my friends complain, I just think about how most of them are either still in debt or haven’t even started saving for retirement- that’s how I get through the mocking, guilt trips and reaction from strangers.