Young people today juggle two, three, or more jobs alongside education and other responsibilities.
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A (formerly) typical view of life looked something like this: you go to school, you get a 9-5 job with benefits, you have a family, then you retire. Nowadays, it’s not an exaggeration to say that young folks have ditched this narrative, more specifically, the 9-5 job part. It’s true that many young people still work 9-to-5s, but the idea of working only one job is fast disappearing from the minds of young people. Side hustles are the norm now. Young people juggle two, three, or more jobs alongside education and other responsibilities.
The reasons young people give for the rise of side hustles are as diverse as the jobs they take. For some, side hustles are just a matter of making ends meet. The monthly salary they get from their 9-5 job just isn’t enough to cover basic necessities. Others do so to improve their lifestyle and career prospects. After all, who wouldn’t want a little bit more money? Gaining extra income means being able to afford better clothes, better gadgets, and better homes.
Some do this not for financial reasons, but for career prospects. For these people, side hustles offer a way to a new career or a profitable way of pursuing their hobbies. For others, it provides a way to “safely” explore entrepreneurship without losing the relative stability of a 9-5.
University students make up a significant portion of side hustlers in Ethiopia. Unwilling to wait until graduation, they build their careers early by taking on different jobs. According to an article by Shega, tutoring, freelancing, e-commerce, and forex trading are the most common types of side hustles among university students.
For this, and many other reasons, side hustles have become a culture in urban Ethiopia. This phenomenon brings massive changes to the way we see Ethiopia. A nation whose inhabitants are stereotyped for their tardiness and lounging, especially in work settings, is now being filled with an energetic youth that’s eager to go above and beyond the standard 48-hour work week.
It’s undeniable that side hustles have brought a positive change in the work culture of Ethiopia. That being said, there are some concerns worth raising. Firstly, there’s the issue of overwork and burnout. As young people take on more and more jobs, they are exposed to stress and burnout, which have both long and short-term impacts on physical and mental health.
The second concern is economic. As mentioned earlier, many turn to sidehustles out of necessity. Because one job isn’t enough to support a livelihood, people take on two. But inflation and the cost of living are yet to improve. Which begs the question, what happens when two or three jobs aren’t enough?
And finally, there’s the concern regarding education. Systemic failures have left many disillusioned with the education system in Ethiopia. Exposed to side hustles, young people might opt to leave education permanently and join the workforce early. This will have long long-lasting impact as the country will be deprived of an educated population.
Despite these concerns, the rise of side hustle culture shows a generation eager for autonomy, which seeks responsibility and craves independence above all. This is the spirit we all need to tap into, because it’s where real change for Ethiopia can begin.
