Best Part Time Job to Fund Sidegig?

[Orvell]

Overall question: what types of part time jobs would you guys recommend looking into, with the specific purpose of giving me enough time and energy to work more fully on the thing that makes me happy outside of work?

Ideal Traits:
* 20-25 hours/week
* The sort of job I can punch in/out without having to mentally bring it home
* Pay 21K/year gross
* Located near me (medium sized city in Wisconsin)
* Not work from home. I want to leave the house for work.

Current background:
I have a BA, have worked roughly 4.5 years as an Admin/Executive Assistant at my current company, with a year and half of sales assistant before that. I am looking to transition to part time work in the next year or two (and want to leave my current employer) in order to spend more time working on my artistic goals. I have worked retail, and as a barista as well. I'm open to those, but I'm not confident they'll pay enough to avoid me dipping into my stash.

I currently have some money saved up, and am totally accepting that this will significantly delay actual FIRE. I'm not sure whether or not this transition to part time work will be for a year... or if it will be for longer. I just need a change. And I need to find a way to spend more time on art.
Ideally, I won't have to ~rely~ on my art producing any income. I'm not ready to put that pressure on it. It's making me about ~$200/month right now, but that's project specific, and I am not counting on that continuing.
What I'm really striving for is more time. :)

All that laid bare...
What sorts of jobs do MMMers recommend I start investigating? :D

[SC93]

What type of 'art' do you currently do?

I have just a small knowledge of art, my wife is over about $1 billion that she is in contact with every day.

[Orvell]

What type of 'art' do you currently do?

I have just a small knowledge of art, my wife is over about $1 billion that she is in contact with every day.

The part time job I would be looking for would (ideally) not be art related, so that I can leave as much of my energy for my own work intact. :) I don't think I could do something design-y and then come home and work on my own art without feeling drained. And as I said, I'm not ready to rely on my art for income, even if it may produce some-- that's a level of pressure I don't want to put on it (or me) just yet. Maybe someday. But not right now.

I'm asking on the Entrepreneurship side of things because I figured I'm not the only person whose had to have a regular source of income to (at least) bootstrap their side gig while they had to put a lot of energy into it. I can't be alone, yeah?

But to answer your question: I do illustration, drawings, and paintings, and am developing a short comic.

[SC93]

I think you have things a little mixed up. What you want to do with your art is have it as a hobby while you do something else to make money. So, you will need to put your hobby aside and do what it takes to make money to survive and any EXTRA time you have, spend that time on your art hobby. So, with that said, go to work in a art store. Deliver pizza's. If you are looking for a dream job/answer, I'm afraid it is just that... a dream. I know a guy that works at a very famous museum and would LOVE to be able to sell his art. But, he chooses to put life in this order.... family, work and then art. So, while he spends time on his art, it's not going anywhere because he doesn't put it first. He knows this, it has been discussed.

See, when a person wants to go in to a business and do something they love..... they are ALL IN!! It's not about, "Oh, it's going to be a lot of pressure and I don't want it to be pressure because I can't handle that. I don't want to have to bring home my work". If you want to make your art your life you WILL bring it home, atleast at first. That's what you think about 24/7. That's what you will do 24/7. That's what you will talk about 24/7. If you loved your art and wanted to make money with it, you would be doing everything about your art 24/7. But, you clearly said that is not the case, so what you want your art to be is a hobby and hobbies are done with EXTRA time.

Dreams are easy, real life isn't. This is just the truth, sorry if it comes off harsh.

[robartsd]

Your requirements work out to $14-18/hr which should be obtainable for a good admin assistant (assuming your 18K/year is a gross pay requirement). The problem is you need to find someone who wants a 20-25 hour/week admin assistant willing to pay what you need. This will be easier if you're willing to work the 20-25 hours in the week that they choose. I'd recommend looking into temp agencies, that's probably where people looking for part-time admin assistants try to find them. Good luck.

[Orvell]

I think you have things a little mixed up. What you want to do with your art is have it as a hobby while you do something else to make money. So, you will need to put your hobby aside and do what it takes to make money to survive and any EXTRA time you have, spend that time on your art hobby. So, with that said, go to work in a art store. Deliver pizza's. If you are looking for a dream job/answer, I'm afraid it is just that... a dream. I know a guy that works at a very famous museum and would LOVE to be able to sell his art. But, he chooses to put life in this order.... family, work and then art. So, while he spends time on his art, it's not going anywhere because he doesn't put it first. He knows this, it has been discussed.

See, when a person wants to go in to a business and do something they love..... they are ALL IN!! It's not about, "Oh, it's going to be a lot of pressure and I don't want it to be pressure because I can't handle that. I don't want to have to bring home my work". If you want to make your art your life you WILL bring it home, atleast at first. That's what you think about 24/7. That's what you will do 24/7. That's what you will talk about 24/7. If you loved your art and wanted to make money with it, you would be doing everything about your art 24/7. But, you clearly said that is not the case, so what you want your art to be is a hobby and hobbies are done with EXTRA time.

Dreams are easy, real life isn't. This is just the truth, sorry if it comes off harsh.

Hi.
I think you maybe didn't read my post fully. I'm not asking for some magic dream job like you implied, nor am I asking for my art to make me money-- I am not your friend you mentioned. :) I currently have a full time job and save roughly 40% of my take home pay. That's not what we're discussing.
I'm not going to put art on hold until I FIRE. Life's too short. So this is a possibility I'm exploring instead. I think the dichotomies you presented are unfair to everyone involved.

[Orvell]

Your requirements work out to $14-18/hr which should be obtainable for a good admin assistant (assuming your 18K/year is a gross pay requirement). The problem is you need to find someone who wants a 20-25 hour/week admin assistant willing to pay what you need. This will be easier if you're willing to work the 20-25 hours in the week that they choose. I'd recommend looking into temp agencies, that's probably where people looking for part-time admin assistants try to find them. Good luck.

Thanks! Yeah, admin work is probably the best bet. :) Thanks for reminding me about temp agencies! I got hired on at my current gig for $15/hour back in the day through a temp agency, which bodes well I think. That was 4ish years ago. I need to go back and adjust my OP though-- I think I'd need around 21K gross.
This isn't a tomorrow plan. Just something I'm considering more and more seriously, and trying to get my ducks in a row before I consider executing it. :)

[snacky]

Have you taught art? Worked with kids? Worked with disabled people? waited tables? There are so many part time/ on call gigs that can be cobbled together. You want something that you can leave work at work. Shelving books? Banquet server? Security guards make better than minimum wage, at least where I am, and many are part time.

[Fresh Bread]

Have you taught art? Worked with kids? Worked with disabled people? waited tables? There are so many part time/ on call gigs that can be cobbled together. You want something that you can leave work at work. Shelving books? Banquet server? Security guards make better than minimum wage, at least where I am, and many are part time.

I wouldn't understimate the time it takes to coordinate multiple part time jobs and on-call assignments though. It could end up taking time away from art.

I worked retail briefly and found it the only job where I could truly leave it at work. There's the physical standing aspect though which can make you too tired to do other things the same day.
 

[lexde]

If you want a truly "leave work at work" type job it will be something verrry basic. Retail, delivery, reception.

You could try bookkeeping since that generally isn't 9-5 and will get you out of the house and pay well. Learning quick books isn't hard.

You can drive for uber or lyft and deduct mileage at the end of the year.

You could deliver pizzas if you're willing to work nights and weekends. That way you could wake up, work on your art, and then deliver at night since it doesn't require a ton of mental energy.

Substitute teaching.

Massage therapy, aesthetician, hair or nail tech? Might take a bit up front to learn but those let you control your hours and may be a good fit if you're willing to put in the time up front.

Gigs on Craigslist, part time child care, nannying, etc.

Bar tending (same hours as pizza), food service, things like that are options too.


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[birdiegirl]

I'd second the recommendation to look into an entry level bookkeeping role.  I see PT opportunities for bookkeeping all the time and once you have some experience, the pay can go up significantly. 

[JanF]

server/bartender. If you can get into a nice restaurant/bar it can pay really well. When I was in college I worked for a brunch place and average about $15-18/hour including tips most of which I didn't have to claim tax on. If that place had alcohol I probably would've average more than $20/hour

[stashgrower]

I've seen plenty of part-time admin jobs advertised by companies that are smaller and need the extra help but not full-time help. I don't know about the pay in your location.

If your goal is to free up time, then a stable long-term part-time job for one company seems to fit. Temp agencies probably pay more with a trade-off of less control over the time and less regular work.

[ministashy]

Security.

Seriously, security.

You can work part-time, security jobs are EVERYWHERE, most places offer health insurance (though the quality can vary and often you have to work at least 30 hrs a week) and other bennies, the requirements are minimal (read and write English legibly and have a clean criminal record and you're a shoo-in), and it requires little to no investment and brainpower to be a basic security officer.  (Obviously if you move up the ranks, more brainpower and time investment is needed.)  Plus, if you stay as an on-call officer, rather than having an established shift, you can work as little or as much as you like, above a base threshold anyway.  Have a big gallery event coming up that you have to prep for?  Only work a day or two that week.  Having a slump with no customers or money coming in?  Go grab all the overtime you can get your little hands on. 

Speaking as a fellow artist, security is probably one of the best jobs out there for flexibility in schedule and earnings.  The only downside is that it can often be boring work in boring places (warehouses, etc.)  But if you're reliable--you show up on time for your shifts, you keep your nose clean and do your job correctly--you'll find most security companies will do their best to find a schedule that works for you (within reason, of course).

[ElleFiji]

Medical offices are often desperate for good part time admins. FT is easy, but the PT staff are hard to get

[Orvell]

Thank you everyone for your contributions!
I'm currently transitioning to 32 hours a week at my current job (admin role) and hopefully that will work for me.
:)