blackcalx Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 In the face of a debt that won't decrease itself I'm considering a second job. Perhaps a couple nights a week and weekends, just enough to suppliment the one-man income a little. Who knows, perhaps I could even suppliment my gaming fund with income other than old game sales. :shock: My reason in coming to you all is to ask for advice. I'm thinking that I might enjoy (as far as a second job can be enjoyed) a job at GameStop or EB. I would, of course, prefer something that offered better pay, but we are talking about a job that has to be flexible and part time. So, those of you who have jobs with game retailers, what are your thoughts? Would it be worth the frustration of dealing with other gamers and gamer's parents? I have years of customer service experience between fast food in high school and telephone support in later years, so I'm not afraid to deal with the public. Or, do you have other ideas? I'm not dead set on something game-related, but the discount is a tasty draw. If this topic is better suited for Controller Down please feel free to move it without fear of offense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeyN Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 to tell ya the truth , ive been thinking of doing something like that as well. Havent made up my mind yet capt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris The Rock Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I've thought about Circuit City or Best Buy, since I'm a big A/V buff as well as a gamer. But I wouldn't want people thinking I'm an idiot just because I'm wearing the red / blue shirt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLYING SE7EN Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 When I was going through undergrad and Chiropractic school I bartended to make extra money. There's really nothing better than getting cash every day. But I also tried some retail first. My reasoning was that I didn't want to work late at night and I didn't want it to get in the way of school. Because of my love of music and movies (and thoughts of juicy discounts) I chose to work at a local record store. I found this to be a huge mistake for two reasons. 1. I spent most of what I earned on music and movies. 2. You don't know the meaning of pain until you spend 4-5 hours on the mind-numbing task of alphabetizing an entire store of cd's, tapes and videocassettes. Not to mention the hours of tedium checking in boxes and boxes of merchandise on delivery day. :shock: :cry: There is just nothing fun, challenging, or interesting in doing this kind of work IMHO. If I could just stand around at the counter ringing people up and talking with customers it would be fine, but the reality is a lot of mindless organizing, categorizing, straightening, stacking, unstacking, shelving and unshelving....uuggg. Did I mention that you get the pleasure of doing all of this "fun" work for little more than minimum wage?? :evil: No thanks, when it comes to making extra money part time, I'd take bartending or waiting tables any day of the week over retail hell... YMMV. Cheers J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackcalx Posted March 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I have considered going back to waiting tables. I met my wife while working at a Cracker Barrel in Kansas City and for the most part enjoyed being a server. I also did some grill work which was a nice change of pace, not to mention a regular paycheck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calvin Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I kind of agree with what Flying Seyen said. While talking to customers about videogames is always cool - the tediousness of the work can easily get to you. While I worked at TRU, I was pretty valued for my expertise in gaming, & I wasn't making mininum wage. But I wouldn't go back. Too much crap going on overall storewide. If I ever did go back into retail - a videogame store would be my choice.. YMMV for sure... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamsappel Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Originally posted by FLYING SE7EN@Mar 18 2004, 09:56 AM When I was going through undergrad ... I chose to work at a local record store. What store was it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darius Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Having worked at both Circuit City and Best Buy I wouldn't recommend either for employment. Circuit City has gone down the toilet to Best Buy land where everything is prepared there is no actual thought process on the job outside of what company phrase should I say now and how can I steer this person toward what we have in stock so that my manager doesn't bitch at me. I worked at Circuit City when it was still commission based and it was a decent place to work. But now that it is all hourly they just want worker drones to ring stuff up. Not actual sales people who know something. I tried being the same sales person I was at Circuit City, at best buy but they don't like that. They want an army of clones willing to do whatever because thats the best job they can hope to have. Now Circuit City is right there with them. I would highly recommend staying away from retail if you can help it. Check out the serving thing first. Much better potential for money and you won't spend your whole paycheck at the place you work. On a side note I have a few friends who work as servers in Salem. I'm trying to remember where they work I want to say roadhouse. They both seem to enjoy what they do for the most part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLYING SE7EN Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 What store was it? Sam Goody at the Cumberland Mall in Marietta GA. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I worked retail for a year after college. I sold keyboard and professional audio gear to musicians and what-not at Guitar Center. I had a blast doing it, but that's mainly because I was on commission and I was selling stuff right-and-left. It was fun to be around musicians all day long as well. My only advise is this: if you're gonna work retail or service, consider the people you have to pretend to like when making a sale, and go from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam P Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I work part time at E.B., so I might have some pertinent experience. Yes, there can be a lot of tedious work, like doing class counts of inventory, alphabetizing (though with E.B., that's not as big a priority as a music store), doing shipping/ receiving and filing stuff away. You also have to deal with alot more kids, which depending on your point of view, may or may not be better off than Best Buy type outlets. The sales part is actually pretty fun, comparatively. You don't get commission on what you sell, so I feel very little motivation to sell more than I have to. The pay sucks, and doesn't get any better. There are incentives, but those only come when you sell warranties with systems. Rarely happens. Highlights are helping sexy mothers decide what game is right, chatting with other gamers, and the nice discount. You also get first dibs on good pre-owned games and you'll know how to best take advantage of all the trade-in offers. Considering, however, that you're in debt, working at a game store probably won't help you any. Especially with that discount. Since working there I've spent more on games than I had previously. But as a second job that you don't need to rely on, it's not that bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baiter Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I've always thought getting a second job to be a bad idea. I considered it a couple of times myself, but always came to the conclusion that I would be much better off concentrating on one job instead of spreading myself too thin. I'd suggest talking to your primary employer and find out if they can swing a bonus if you offer to work a few extra hours every week. I'm billed out hourly so this arrangement is a no brainer for my employer, assuming we have the work to keep me busy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 What about doing some freelance projects on the side? Can you write? Can you do web design? Can you code? I write a few articles a year and make a decent supplemental income from that. I also do some usability testing and other consulting work when I can. All-in-all I add on average $10-20k a year to my regular income just from freelance side projects. If you get a couple short projects a month of that sort you can work from home and make more money than you'd make working 15-20 hours at $5 an hour. Check out guru.com and see what's out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackcalx Posted March 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I'm salaried at my current job so they can work me all they want without fear of going overbudget. I'm up for review in a month and will likely get a small raise, but I doubt it will be much to help. It's worth mentioning that I'm not catastrophically in debt, it's only one small credit card and a student loan, but I hate having any kind of debt hanging over my head and I'm not making any headway towards a down payment on a future home. The little bit that I might make on a second job would be enough to give my wife and I some spending money as well as helping with the bills and fleshing out the savings buffer. I appreciate your comments, Sam. It's not something I would take very seriously and for that reason alone I might have a lot of fun. I've dealt with kids and their rabid parents (I ran a traveling portrait studio that set up in various Wal-Marts all over the West coast area), the medicated (as a phone support analyst for a pharmacy benefits manager and a health insurer), and the hungry. I don't imagine gamers of all ages will pose much of a threat. I'm not very concerned with overspending on games as I tend to be very disciplined in regards to my hobby spending. That isn't to say that I wouldn't indulge on occasion, but that's part of the point of the second job anyway. Great advice, guys. I appreciate it. Originally posted by stencilWhat about doing some freelance projects on the side? Can you write? Can you do web design? Can you code? ... Check out guru.com and see what's out there. I like to think that I can write, but I've never done so on a professional level, though I would love the challenge. I do some web design. I'm not overly advanced but can do some basic work (check out my wife's site at www.coodlesbaby.com for an idea of what I can do) and my coding experience is limited to an Associate's degree. It's a great idea. I'll be sure to check out that site! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff W Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I've tried to tke a part time job at my local gamestop but they're so swamped with applications from high school kids who think it would be cool to work there I never even bothered to fill out an app. Too bad to, they could really use someone who knows what the hell he's talking about. I was in there Tuesday and the guy behind the counter was asking me what he needs to be able to use live on his xbox. :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustyjaw Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Didn't you say you did music at one point? How about making some music for games?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I like to think that I can write, but I've never done so on a professional level, though I would love the challenge. I do some web design. I'm not overly advanced but can do some basic work (check out my wife's site at http://www.coodlesbaby.com for an idea of what I can do) and my coding experience is limited to an Associate's degree. Take your skills, hobbies, abilities and look for something to do with them. Maybe you're a great photographer. Maybe you collect something unusual and can turn it into a venture. Just look at what Ed's doing with his bizarre habit of collecting Japanese toys. For me, the chance to write an article a couple times a year about videogaming is not only a pleasure, but an extra income that goes right back into games. I've got it set up so gaming pays for itself! The one big caveat to freelancing is that you'll get 1099's at the end of the year and will owe taxes. Be careful with that. I learned the hard way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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