Heather Rivera doesn’t need to leave her office building to work her second job.
The 53-year-old holds two roles — as a production manager and an operations manager — for brands that run out of the same single-story facility in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
“It’s really a matter of prioritization — knowing which fire to put out first,” Rivera told Business Insider.
When Rivera started her second role in 2020, her pay increased to about $100,000 from roughly $60,000. Additionally, when she accepted the extra position, she initially worked 80-hour weeks but has since scaled back to about 60 hours. While Rivera admits she’s a bit of a workaholic, the extra income has allowed her to boost her retirement savings and put money toward a side business teaching arts and crafts.
“I probably wouldn’t have taken the second job without the money,” she said. “But it was more about fulfilling something, adding value.”
Over the past two years, Business Insider has spoken to more than two dozen Americans who are working multiple jobs to boost their earnings, afford expensive items, and save for retirement. While many appreciated the extra income, they said it can come at the cost of burnout.
Working on her side business helps her manage stress
In 2011, Rivera began working as a production manager at BPI Outdoors, a sporting goods manufacturer. In 2020, she was coaching the operations manager of Quake Industries — a brand operated by BPI Outdoors — on ways to improve processes when this person left the company, and this position became available.
Rivera said the CEO of BPI at the time asked her if she’d be willing to take on the extra job because of her expertise and the time she had spent coaching the previous manager. After thinking it over and negotiating her pay increase, she decided to accept the offer.
Rivera said juggling two jobs was particularly difficult when she started, in part due to COVID-related disruptions. But she said she’s streamlined processes over time, which has helped make her workload more manageable. She added that having insight into both companies — one of which sources parts from the other — has enabled smarter inventory planning. For example, if she sees BPI is running low on parts it gets from Quake, she can help adjust accordingly.
Rivera’s main strategy for reducing the stress of working two jobs is one that she acknowledges sounds counterintuitive: She’s taken on a third job.
“I handle my extra stress through my own personal business — by taking on more work,” she said.
In her spare time, Rivera makes crochet items like hats and blankets. She also has an Etsy store where she sells her handmade items and crochet-related materials. She said crocheting calms her and has helped her manage stress over the years.
Her dream is to build a business teaching crocheting to older people and children — two groups she believes can benefit from accessible, hands-on activities. She said it’s an idea she’s been working toward for years. She’s taught classes at her local public library and hopes to eventually launch a mobile, in-person classroom that can travel to senior homes and youth programs.
“This is something I’m building so when I retire, I have that company as kind of a supplemental income,” she said.
Rivera said the additional income from taking on her second job has helped her invest in the business and allocate more money to her 401(k) — she estimated that 25% of her earnings go toward retirement savings. Additionally, she said juggling two roles has strengthened her leadership and communication skills — qualities she believes will be critical in getting the business off the ground.
“A lot of what I’ve learned from managing people at the two companies I get paid to work for has helped me work with individuals on my dream job,” she said.
Do you have a story to share about working multiple jobs? Contact this reporter via email at jzinkula@businessinsider.com or Signal at jzinkula.29.
