What is Everyone Doing & How Can I Be One of Them? (employee, alternative)

[Forever Blue]

I don't know about you, but I notice more & more people of ALL ages & genders, out & about, at the shopping malls, etc. in the late morning/middle of the day on weekdays. It has really made me wonder more & more often...what do people do for a living & how can I be like them? They must be making some kind of money, otherwise, they couldn't afford to shop at the malls.

You may ask me how I was able to se these people if I weren't out & about too? Well, the only way I saw them is because I'm on some kind of holiday break from school since I'm a school employee (which is ending in another day & I'm having to find work elsewhere).

Are more people working at home or what? I wish I knew what everyone's "secret" is. Please people, share your knowledge because I know I'm sick & tired of working for someone else!

[wireyourworld]

People who's schedules include weekends often have days off during the week. People which work nights run errands in the morning after work.

[EzPeterson]

Yep. Quite a few more service sector and alternative work schedule jobs out there

[Hemlock140]

We have the option of 1/2 hour or full hour lunch, I take 1/2 hour and start early to get off at 3. And yes, people do have money, despite the still high unemployment rates a large majority still have jobs. Here in our area with a median family incomes above $120,000 the luxury car dealerships have never missed a beat throughout the bubble burst years, and home prices are almost back to what they were in 2007.

[pit2atl]

Younger professions like myself are living with they're parents therefore paying no rent, so I have an extra $600-800/month to spend on what ever. Not including savings

[Quitters_Win]

I've always wondered the same thing. I would see people out during the day and wondered what the heck do they do for a living? I guess I'm not the only one. My assumption is that they own their business? odd/flexible work hours like retail or something like that. Maybe they are just unemployed living off of their savings. Only one for sure to find out is to just ask them.

[groar]

i would guess that if they're out spending money, they work odd hours for some reason. retail, food service, manufacturing, call centers, hospitals - there are a lot of jobs with weird hours. i used to work midnight to 6am for the postal service. the nurses and support staff where i work now work 3pm-11pm, 7pm-7am. 11pm-7am, weekends, holidays, and lots of other strange shifts. most of them work 3 12s so they also tend to have lots of weekdays off.

plus there are some people who work from home and make their own hours.

if you really envy someone who works overnight shifts or weekends, being open to those things (and the lower wage that comes with some of these jobs) does make it a bit easier to find a job!

[ccm123]

The unemployment rate in the past five years has also gone up. Fortunately, it is going back down.

[Teckeeee]

Just remember perception is greater than reality. A lot of the people you perceive as having it better are just acting in public, their public face.

Remember how they showed people several years ago that were weeks from foreclosure and eviction some had more material stuff than I ever had.........perception.

[Merjolie8]

I used to ask myself the same question but now I have some answer: some work in restaurants, 2nd or 3rd shift in factories, retail, hospitals, etc. Some are self employed or retired or unemployed or part-timers.

People usually think that most workers have the 9-5 schedule, but that's untrue. I found this online without a source, but it's a start: "60% of Americans work 9-5 style jobs, while 31% work jobs with no set schedule. The rest of the nation is unemployed."