Katria Farmer has never felt comfortable in a traditional office. Even during an internship at a graduate school, she remembers it feeling “wrong and stifling.”
“I was sure I would die early if I had to continue living like this,” she says.
Farmer is not the only one looking for another solution. Nearly half of American workers – 47% – now earn money through several jobs in the gig economy or side hustles. For many, it’s a question of survival: more than half say the extra income is essential to cover basic expenses. For others, it’s about freedom and flexibility: choosing when to work, who to work with, and how many commitments.
Farmer juggles a mix of roles: she co-founded Little Dipper Interactive, an independent game studio, streams her creative sessions on Twitch, freelances as a designer, and maintains a part-time job as a legal assistant. “It’s a heavy lift – and my doctor would probably tell me I’m sleep deprived – but I love what I do,” she says.
His story illustrates the paradox in which millions of people live. Working multiple jobs promises independence and creativity, but it can also mean exhaustion, unstable pay, and a stalled career.
This is the trap of freedom – and understanding it is the first step to avoiding it.
The new form of work
Having more than one job is nothing new – it used to be called “moonlighting”. But in 2025, we are more often talking about “multi-working” or building a “portfolio career”. Whatever the name, it means juggling two or more sources of income at the same time.
For many, these flows can be very different. Some workers combine regular W-2 pay with late-night shifts. Other workers piece together through part-time jobs, freelance projects or online sales. DollarSprout 2024 Secondary Activities Survey found that the most common activities are online surveys (73%), selling goods (39%), self-employment (30%), and ride-sharing or delivery apps (23%).
The lure of additional income is strong: nearly 70% of Americans now say they keep extra income. side hustle. Social media adds fuel, glorifying multi-professional living as a sign of ambition and independence. But this change of identity comes at a cost. What is presented as a carefully curated “career portfolio” can just as easily become a portfolio of instability. The same entrepreneurial spirit that seems empowering today may make it more difficult to re-enter structured employment tomorrow.
Why is everyone hustling harder
So why do so many Americans have multiple jobs and side hustles? In short: money and freedom.
Kelsey Szamet, an employment lawyer at Kingsley Szamet Employment Lawyers, says she has had a front-row seat to the rise of the gig economy. “Gig work continues to be attractive because of an interlocking system of perceived flexibility and economic need,” she explains. Rising costs are forcing people to look for additional income, but they don’t necessarily want to turn to another traditional job. “Working and being paid only when and if they want to join the job market has a certain appeal,” she adds.
The financial pressures are clear. Consumer prices are up 24% from pre-pandemic levels, according to Bankrate’s analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data.(1) Inflation remains above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, leaving many households struggling to afford housing, care for children and health care. Some parents take on extra jobs just to cover childcare costs, while others turn to gig platforms that make it easier to make money from home.
A Monster survey found that the top motivators for polyworking include:
- Cover basic living expenses (68%)
- Seeking financial independence and flexibility (47%)
- Pay off debt (46%)
- Build a safety net against job loss (34%)(2)
But not all motivations are strictly financial. Some workers take advantage of missions to try new careers or develop their skills. For others, the appeal is the independence itself.
Take Eva Kirie, for example. She left a marketing job that had left her exhausted and built her own gig mix. Today, she manages social media for clients in New York and creates content for an audience of over 40,000 followers.
“I needed flexibility,” she recalls. “I had to determine my own salary. I had to be creative without anyone’s approval and control.”
Kirie says this decision has given her peace of mind and control of her time. It’s not unique: Many workers rely on their job income to reduce debt, save for big goals, or fund side projects that don’t fit neatly into a 9-to-5 schedule.
But the same independence that Kirie rewards comes with hidden tradeoffs: constant customer churn, revenue tied to fickle algorithms, and the risk of slower long-term career growth.
This is the freedom trap in action: victories are real, but they rarely last without a plan.
Related: How These Two Gamers Built a $140,000 Tabletop Accessories Brand
The hidden costs of juggling multiple jobs
Gig work has real appeal. Extra income helps pay the bills, flexible schedules make it easier to manage family life, and side projects open up creative outlets that most day jobs don’t allow. For a lot of people, that’s the draw when they land a second gig for the first time.
But freedom comes at a price – and for many workers, it is high. Nearly 70% of respondents to a SideHustles.com survey said their extra assignments caused burnout.(3) But these gains come with tradeoffs: irregular pay, constant paperwork, and even the pressure to stay visible on platforms. What starts as flexibility can quickly turn into obligations that eat up free time.
And the challenges don’t stop at exhaustion. Szamet warns that those who trade their main job for multiple jobs may not get the economic boost they expect. Gig workers often lack inflation-related wage growth, stable wages, or benefits. They also lack legal protections such as paid sick leave and unemployment insurance, leaving them in a state of ongoing financial uncertainty.
Exiting the gig economy is not always easy. Side hustles develop useful skills – time management, adaptability, entrepreneurship – but these don’t always match what traditional employers want. Businesses always place importance on things like communication, organization, and teamwork. And after years of independence, many gig workers struggle to adjust to the rigid schedules of corporate jobs.
This transition is made more difficult by the loss of professional networks. And without colleagues, mentors, or internal connections, returning to a traditional job can seem like a difficult task.
This is why the gig economy can feel like a false promise: it starts with freedom but can end up feeling like a cage that’s hard to escape from.
Related: The side hustle you haven’t tried might be… a W-2 job
The future of multi-gig work and the Gig Economy
If the gig economy continues to grow, workers will need to adapt just as quickly — or risk getting stuck. Turning a patchwork of jobs into a sustainable career requires planning ahead, especially as tax rules and regulations evolve.
The Department of Labor recently signaled that gig workers will continue to be treated as independent contractors, not employees — a reminder that benefits like paid sick leave and unemployment insurance are still out of reach for most.
Szamet advises workers to view their side hustles as skill development opportunities rather than permanent solutions. “To convert gig work into higher-value jobs, workers need to use transferable skills such as customer service, time management and Internet skills, and (they should) find ways to formalize these skills through certification or training programs,” she says.
This type of planning is what sets workers like Katria Farmer apart. Farmer doesn’t view stage work as a finish line — she treats it as a stepping stone toward her bigger goals as a game designer and artist. “At the end of the day, I built something that I’m proud of,” she says. “It’s very different when you’re working to build someone else’s legacy.”
For Farmer, gigs create the space to build his own career on his own terms. But not everyone works so strategically. For those who simply accumulate jobs without a plan, freedom can quickly give way to instability — and the gig economy can become a trap as confining as the 9 to 5 that many workers have tried to escape.
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