Do you have a second job? 6 Minute English

Neil: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute

English. I'm Neil.

This is the programme where in just

six minutes we discuss an interesting

topic and teach some related

English vocabulary.

Joining me to do this is Rob.

Rob: Hello.

Neil: Now Rob,

we know your main job

is to work here at BBC Learning English

but do you have a second job?

Rob: There's no time for two jobs Neil,

but if there was,

I think I'd take photographs and sell them.

I do love photography

so I might as well make some money from it.

Neil: Good thinking, Rob!

And having a second job,

particularly one that involves using

your skills and allows you to follow your

interests, is called a side hustle.

Rob: Yes, a side hustle.

It's something more and more of us are

involved with these days.

And that's what we'll be talking about shortly.

Neil: Well, my side hustle should be quiz master,

because I'm always asking questions

and today is no exception.

According to the employee ratings website Glassdoor,

which job is thought to be the best to have

in the UK this year?

Is it a) a software engineer,

b) a teacher,

or c) an audit manager?

Rob: Hmm, well, I suspect b) a teacher.

Neil: Well, you'll just have to wait until the end

of the programme to find out.

But let's talk more about side hustles - or a second job.

For some people having two jobs is a necessity

- a way to make ends meet.

That means 'having just enough money to pay for

the things you need'.

Rob: That's true but it now seems that

more people want to put their skills and passions

into practice to make extra money.

Neil: According to research by Henley Business School,

around one in four workers

run at least one side-hustle business,

half of which were started in the past two years.

Those aged 25 to 34 are most likely to be involved

with 37% thought to run a sideline of some kind.

A sideline also describes an extra job

you do alongside your main job.

BBC Radio 5 Live spoke to someone whose side hustle

was so satisfying that that it turned into her day job.

Here is Elspeth Jackson, founder of Ragged Life,

to explain why.

Elspeth Jackson: It's a different environment

entirely because you're leaving essentially

a very regular wage that you'd get the same amount

in month after month, you can

put aside savings, the same amount every month

and you have that certain amount of security

But now I don't think I could go back to one

of these big companies because

you'd essentially be sacrificing the flexibility,

which is something I've become

very accustomed to now.

Neil: Things have worked out well for Elspeth.

But there were risks - for example,

leaving behind the security - the safety -

of a regular job and of course, a regular income.

Rob: Elspeth liked making rag rugs.

This has given her flexibility in her life

and returning to work at a big company

would be sacrificing that.

That means 'giving something up or going without it'.

Neil: And for Elspeth, her side hustle has become

a full-time job

and she's become accustomed to her lifestyle.

It's become familiar or normal.

Rob: The BBC also spoke to Becci Mae Ford,

who works some of the time for a telecommunications

company to pay the bills,

but spends the rest of her time developing

her own crafting company Ellbie Co.

How did she find having two jobs?

Becci Mae Ford: I think it just gives me creative balance,

and obviously working for the telecoms firm,

it gets me out the house and gets me to meet people

in a social environment.

It can be difficult to juggle the two though definitely.

It's definitely a grind. It's a lot harder than people think

it's going to be.

Neil: So Becci implies that it's not always

easy to have a side hustle.

The benefit for her is the creative balance

- a good mix of doing office-based work,

regular tasks and a routine with working creatively,

making things and getting pleasure from it.

Rob: But juggling

- or balancing these two things is difficult

and she described her side hustle as sometimes

being a grind -

hard work, tiring and occasionally boring.

But overall, it does make her happy.

Neil: Now something that would make me happy

is to give you the answer to today's quiz question.

Earlier I asked you,

according to the employee ratings website Glassdoor,

which job is thought to be the best to have in the UK

this year?

Is it...

a) a software engineer,

b) a teacher,

or c) an audit manager?

Rob: Yes and I said b) a teacher

- always the best job in the world!

Neil: Sadly not, Rob.

Apparently, it is c) an audit manager

that is considered to be the best job to have this year.

Audit managers are responsible for organising

and overseeing internal audits.

The result was based on three factors:

average annual base salary,

the current number of job openings,

and job satisfaction,

according to ratings shared by employees

on the website over the past 12 months.

Rob: So sounds like an interesting job for a side hustle,

but before I head off for a career change,

let's remind ourselves of the main vocabulary we've

discussed,

starting with to 'make ends meet'.

Neil: When we make ends meet,

we have just enough money to pay

for the things we need.

Rob: Next, we mentioned a sideline,

which describes an extra job you do

alongside your main job.

Neil: Then we had sacrificing.

That means 'giving up something important'

or 'going without something'.

Rob: Accustomed is a word to mean 'usual or normal'.

If you get accustomed to doing something,

it becomes the normal way of doing it -

it becomes familiar.

Neil: We also talked about the expression

'creative balance'.

That describes getting the best mix of doing creative

and uncreative tasks.

Rob: And finally, 'grind' describes doing something that

is tiring, difficult, sometimes boring

and involves lots of effort.

Neil: Well this programme has not been a grind, Rob.

It's been six minutes of pleasure.

Don't forget you can learn more English with us on our website

bbclearningenglish.com.

Rob: Bye for now.

Neil: Bye.