School’s out and the holidays are here for the next four months or so. For those of you planning to earn the extra cash during this period, I’d like to share with you my paltry experience of being an odd-jobber. An odd-jobber as defined in dictionary.com means to work at a series of unrelated or unspecialized jobs, often of a low-paying or sometimes degrading in nature. I’d like to differ with that. This definition actually reflects society’s perception towards such group of working class – lowly paid, menial and irresponsible people who would let life take them where ever they may go. I too was of the same view not so long ago and I bet that most of you reading this post would feel the same way.
You see, I had the privilege of experiencing what it feels like to work in both worlds. Before I started taking up odd-jobs, I previously worked as a full-timer in Holiday Inn Melaka as an F&B Assistant. I know it sounds fulamak-ish but it actually means ‘waiter’. Most of you would’ve contemplated on taking full-time jobs such as in hotels, cafes, boutiques, fast-food chains, cinema or etc. One which provides you with a steady monthly income and fixed working schedules. I had no qualms being a full-timer until I felt the grass on the other side of the fence.
Odd-jobbers are mostly part-timers. We do various jobs from being promoters at shopping centers or events to being mascots, surveyors, merchandisers, flyers distributors and event crews. These are only a handful of jobs which I’ve explored so far in my reasonable ‘career’ as an odd-jobber. When I first started out, I was paranoid as to what people would think of me. Lowly paid? No direction in life? Frankly, it is not a job where every youth would jump into. However, the lucrative salary kept me going and since then, I’ve never looked back to working as a full-timer.
If I could persuade you to take the road less traveled, I’d like to highlight a few benefits of being an odd-jobber. Firstly, an odd-jobber earns at least 2.5 or 3 times more than any full-timer. You’ll be able to earn salaries up to RM150 per day depending on the type of jobs you take (emphasis added). Secondly, for the same amount of salary that a full-timer is earning, you’ll only have to work during weekends. So why would you want to work for twelve hours a day for the whole week when you could just work for an average of eight to nine hours daily during weekends? You don’t need to be a rocket-scientist to work out the maths. Besides, the working schedule is also flexible. You’re not tied down to any obligation or contract and the jobs you get are on weekly basis. How convenient!
You see, I had the privilege of experiencing what it feels like to work in both worlds. Before I started taking up odd-jobs, I previously worked as a full-timer in Holiday Inn Melaka as an F&B Assistant. I know it sounds fulamak-ish but it actually means ‘waiter’. Most of you would’ve contemplated on taking full-time jobs such as in hotels, cafes, boutiques, fast-food chains, cinema or etc. One which provides you with a steady monthly income and fixed working schedules. I had no qualms being a full-timer until I felt the grass on the other side of the fence.
Odd-jobbers are mostly part-timers. We do various jobs from being promoters at shopping centers or events to being mascots, surveyors, merchandisers, flyers distributors and event crews. These are only a handful of jobs which I’ve explored so far in my reasonable ‘career’ as an odd-jobber. When I first started out, I was paranoid as to what people would think of me. Lowly paid? No direction in life? Frankly, it is not a job where every youth would jump into. However, the lucrative salary kept me going and since then, I’ve never looked back to working as a full-timer.
If I could persuade you to take the road less traveled, I’d like to highlight a few benefits of being an odd-jobber. Firstly, an odd-jobber earns at least 2.5 or 3 times more than any full-timer. You’ll be able to earn salaries up to RM150 per day depending on the type of jobs you take (emphasis added). Secondly, for the same amount of salary that a full-timer is earning, you’ll only have to work during weekends. So why would you want to work for twelve hours a day for the whole week when you could just work for an average of eight to nine hours daily during weekends? You don’t need to be a rocket-scientist to work out the maths. Besides, the working schedule is also flexible. You’re not tied down to any obligation or contract and the jobs you get are on weekly basis. How convenient!
I’ve made my point now about being an odd-jobber. If you’re someone who lives by the saying ‘work smart, not hard’, I’ll strongly suggest that you go look out for these part-time jobs instead. Where? Well, Google it! You’ll probably feel shy when you start your first job. I mean there’s always that ‘youth pride’ which is hard to swallow. You might even be paranoid as to what other might feel about you especially your friends when you wear that ridiculous promoter outfit. I know how it feels like but never let how others feel about you to influence you. In fact, I wouldn’t mind if my friends or acquaintances saw me because they’ll go like, “Hey, isn’t that Eugene, the guy who has a Sime Darby scholarship and a would-be future lawyer in three years time?” Yes, the peculiar look on their faces is just - priceless. Awesomeness.
Event Coordinator in a Concert
Mascot. RM60 for 1/2 hour.
Typical Promoter
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