Portfolio career

Bouncer, dog-groomer, tutor – when combining side hustles expands your skill set and enables you to thrive.

The number of people with “multi-hyphenate” or “slashie” careers (as in “I’m an designer / animator / vlogger”) is growing as people combine two or more part-time positions into a portfolio career. In the UK, 320,000 people have a “side hustle” – a second self-employed job. An international survey found 64% of millennials would consider taking on side gigs alongside full-time employment.

Portfolio careers are common in the creative industries, where freelancing is normal and low incomes often make a second job a necessity. But many are actively choosing the creative freedom, variety and opportunity for self-expansion that comes with wearing many hats.

Tempted? The transition to a portfolio career “is much more difficult than most anticipate”, business psychologist Michael Greenspan told Harvard Business Review. He recommends making yourself an “outlier” – getting a specific, unique skill set and experience you can bring to niche roles. Some caution that your portfolio should develop complementary skills, for example by being an executive coach and a MBA lecturer. But others happily combine private tutoring, dog-grooming, crochet-teaching and working as a bouncer. In an automated future where many jobs change beyond recognition, the thrivers may well be those with the most surprising skill sets.

This is one of the 101 indispensable things you need to know about work today. Click here to see the rest.

Image credit: Piero Zagami and Michela Nicchiotti.