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Second Shift: Working overtime to enjoy life’s luxuries – Metro US

Second Shift: Working overtime to enjoy life’s luxuries

angelica wilk Angelica uses her weekends to write travel articles and, oh yeah, to relax.
Credit: Provided

We all know living in New York City is expensive. How does the average person make it work? Our new column features people working more than one job to make ends meet. This week, meet Angelica, who works overtime so she has more money to spend on traveling. If you want to be featured, email emily.laurence@metro.us.

Name: Angelica Wilk
Age: 27
Home:East Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Lives With:Boyfriend and two roommates
Number of jobs: 2

Tell me about your jobs.

My full-time job is with the Behavioral Health Agency. I work from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday with mentally ill individuals who come through the court system, meaning they have a present criminal history or have been incarceratedin the past. I help link them up topsychiatry services, treatment programs, housing and anything else they might need.

I work a second job Monday through Thursdays from 5 p.m. to about 7 p.m. helping them adjust to their new way of living.

And you also do travel writing on the side?

Yes. I love traveling and one of the perks of working in health care is that you get so many vacation days, so I started traveling and started a travel blog. That’s freelance work I do in my spare time. I write for a travel website for women on a regular basis and also pitch articles to other websites.

Where have you traveled?

Mostly the Caribbean, but I’ve traveled to Europe as well. I’m going to Australia on Friday. I take four- or five-day vacations about four times a year.

Do you work your second job helping brain trauma clients so you can afford to travel?

Yes. I do it to afford more of the lifestyle I want. I definitely wouldn’t be able to travel if I didn’t have a second job. Working in health care, you don’t get the benefit of a high salary, but you get the benefit of helping others, so I do more to make ends meet and also to enjoy the luxuries in life.

How does your boyfriend feel about you working two jobs?

He likes that I’m making more money and feel better about myself. It’s actually motivated him to work harder in his job, which in turn keeps me motivated. So we motivate each other.

Do you think your relationship with your boyfriend moved faster so you could save money and share rent, or would you have decided to live together anyway, regardless of money?

I would have moved in with him and his roommates anyway, but we are trying to find our own apartment (without roommates) and that would have happened sooner if we were more financially stable.

Overall, are you happy with your lifestyle or are you hoping to cut down to one job?

I’m happy right now, but I wish I could make more money working the same amount. Ideally, I would like to make more money at my full-time job so I didn’t have to work as much and could write more freelance travel pieces. I want travel writing to play a bigger role in my life.

Follow Emily on Twitter: @EmLaurence