I picked up 2 part time jobs, but it actually made me-happier?

Alright, a bit of a doozy here. But in Summer of 2025, my job position was being cut due to funding issues with the new administration. Although I was applying to very similar jobs for 3+ months straight, I was having no luck. I wasn’t in a tight space just yet (because ya girl eats down when it comes to budgeting okur!) but I wanted to find something (and soon because since I was working in education), I knew that once August came it was pretty much a wrap.

I was tired and burnt out. I asked myself, “since money wasn’t an issue, what’s a job that I’ve always wanted to try?” and that was the beginning.

Then on after the light bulb went off, I started applying to the jobs my 16 yr old self would be elated to work at. From Starbucks to Sephora, Red Lobster to Target, and it was history. I ended up getting call backs almost instantaneously from Red Lobster and Starbucks and once I went to the interviews, I was immediately hired, so all in all this was a quick 1 1/2 to 2 week process.

Now I won’t lie, going from education to entry level customer service, something I haven’t done since I was in high school and a freshman in college made me feel a lot of things, the main one being failure. I couldn’t get the thought of going from having my own office, being more of a person in a higher up position, with my own key card and key to the building, annual pay and more- to having shift leads and store managers and the mentality of “the customer is always right”, it was a big transition for me.

HOWEVER, I will say the thing that made it tolerable was my first point of this post. My inner 16 year old me was freaking out!!! I can’t count the amount of times I applied to Starbucks in high school and never got a call back. Listen, this was something on the same level as crossing something off of the bucket list. Same with being a waitress, I’ve always wanted to try it out (especially to see what the tips were talking about), and this was my chance to! And that thought process is what helped out, I was a fresh 24 years young, no kids, no obligations and I feel like it was the perfect time, and the freedom of being able to try it out and quit if I didn’t like it without worrying about money or bills was exhilarating.

Starbucks for the most part went pretty much how I expected it to. I loved, loved, loved making all of the drinks I’ve been obsessed with for years, and of the course the TikTok recipes and just other drinks I’ve heard about but never got to try. Similar to the freshman 15 in college, I had my own barista 10 going on. I was like a kid in a candy store, 7 free food items, mark-outs I was able to take home, free coffee/ espresso bags weekly, and of course, all of the drinks I could ever dream of for completely free. What I didn’t expect was how high the standards were, for drink quality, store cleanliness and everything else. Starbucks don’t play. Although I don’t get much bar time, which is pretty annoying and probably the 1 of only 2 or 3 con’s, it’ still a pretty exciting gig in my book. The benefits are outrageous, including getting a bachelor’s degree through ASU for free (damn the hiring committee who never called me back in high school!) Spotify premium, health insurance and more, although because this is my part time job I don’t think I clock in enough hours to partake anyway. Pair this with it being super close to my house, I have nothing to complain about really. I do at times experience a sort of burnout since I’m constantly being set at the same stations like drive through and ovens/front support, so having to deal with the different demands of the teams plus the customers for 4+ hours a day for 3 or 4 days straight have me wanting to yell. But nothing a day or 2 off can’t fix.

With Red Lobster, it was a bit different, but the challenges were pretty similar. Waitressing was pretty much what I thought it was. I mean, we all go out to eat, me more often than not due to having a busy work schedule, so sometimes a home cooked meal at 10pm is not it. So I know the introduction, the clean up, the table check in, the use of the notepad, and the concept of ringing things in. Very few things surprised me, but among the few were the rules when it came to the bar, the kitchen, and experiencing a weekend/holiday in the service industry. Once again, I was a kid in a candy store. Although at Red Lobster there weren't as many employee “perks” and benefits, I was still in awe of working behind the scenes in one of my favorite childhood restaurants. Because there was only 2 places Christie took me and my sister out to eat when we were younger, and that was AppleBee’s and Red Lobster! So even though I was surprised that we weren't allowed a free employee meal per shift or something, I mean we were welcomed to the fresh biscuits (barely) and that was… something!

But the sudden plot twist came less about a month after starting both jobs. I got an email that my previous full time job in education was coming back! I was asked to join the team again and after the sudden departure/notice last year of the programming ending, I was overjoyed to send my new cohort off right. I did tell myself that even though the program was back on, this year would be last anyhow due to my own personal choice. It was time for me to move on to the other things I wanted to accomplish.

I thought it would cause a stir with my 2 part time jobs I’d recently joined, but surprisingly it wasn’t. I told both store managers my dilemma, and they were so gracious to switch my previous open availability to closing shifts, but mornings on the weekends. Not going to lie, having 3 jobs total, 2 being new-I thought I was not going to make it. But it went so much better than I’d ever thought it could!

First, the scheduling intertwined impeccably. My full-time job, of course, started at 7am and ending in the early evening, I’d have about an 1 1/2 hours to go home, change and prepare for the next job that day. Starbucks and Red Lobster never overlapped, and I still had 1 day off from all jobs and about 3 days where I’d only work my full-time job and go home for good afterwards. I could count on 1 hand how many times I had an interanal panic with being scheduled at both Red Lobster and Starbucks at the same time, and even then I’d just but the shift up on the marketplace and my team at both places would help me out!

Of course all 3 jobs had their challenges (blog post to follow soon), but for the most part they all pushed the right buttons in me. With my full time job I was able to help my students go to college, which was both a rewarding and challenging thing to do. But I was more independent at this job, I didn’t really work on a team and have to pick up the slack of others or be told what to do or be set in a certain position every day. But I was also the youngest person on staff in my school (I was young and turnt). Whereas at Red Lobster and Starbucks I was amongst people my age as the oldest or in the middle of(not the oldest but not the youngest), I was surrounded by my peers. I was able to refer to a TikTok or crack jokes without having to feel as though I was being childish. It was a nice contrast. Another huge thing was the MONEY. Gosh the money was great! 3 different income sources???? I was able to pay off $4,000 worth of debt ( read “How I paid off $4,000 debt” coming in 2 weeks!) , travel to a few different places, enjoy a solo day trip, attend the concerts I wanted, and more.

Listeennnnnnnnnn a time was had!

Now, take this with a grain of salt. There were pros and cons, but overall it was a nice balance to me! I met new people, I made money, and had a great (for the most part) time doing it. And it happened literally in such that I couldn’t have planed it, I was literally going with the flow. Would you ever do something like this? Let me know in the comments why, or why not.

Love you, mean it!

Khyra C