Part 4 - "In Search Of..."

Part 4

In Search Of...

To help make ends meet, Bridget had to teach a session of summer school, which she had not
wanted to do at all. My mother thankfully helped us out throughout the summer to stay afloat.
I have such a strong technology background, especially with helpdesk/tech support experience.
Having the job in Cartersville, a mere 30-odd minutes away from home, was a blessing. However, the vast majority of such jobs are in the Metro Atlanta area, and I was not looking forward to a grueling commute during rush hour. As it was, so many jobs that I appeared to be
otherwise-qualified for in the field also required that I be bilingual and speak English and Spanish, so I was instantly not qualified.

I finally had to break down and pick up a night shift job at the local Kmart, doing night
stocking, etc. This would bring some money in while still allowing me to have my days for
interviews that might come my way. I had a few, but nothing had panned out. I was expanding my search beyond the tech fields as well.

My mother told me about an article she had found online at MSN about retirees staying in the
workforce by working from home as agents in what was known as "virtual call centers". Although I was not a retiree, I was more than qualified for the types of work involved and have set about working from this capacity. I have so far met the entrance requirements for a company that uses independent contractors that are individually incorporated as their agents, but I now have to work out the process of getting incorporated, finish their training programme, and get on with one of their client companies before I can start making money. I would earn as little as $10 an hour, but according to the company the average agent earns about $14 an hour. I am hoping that my experience will translate my pay rate to be at or even above the average. The best part about this kind of work is that I can do it from home with my own equipment (some additions and modifications are required, but nothing I can't handle), and that the hours I work are flexible. Even working a forty hour work week would gross me more money than I was making with my previous employer, too! As it is, it looks like I will only be averaging about twenty hours a week anyway, due to another (part-time) opportunity. Stay tuned for further developments with this.

I had talked at length with Justin Morrison of Kid Chess a couple of years ago about coming on
board as a chess instructor, but the instructors, although very well-payed, worked only on a
part-time basis. We were not able to work something out at the time. In June, the thought
finally had occurred to me that I should rethink my focus of not utilizing Kid Chess as a second
(part-time) job, but make it my main job and find other work AROUND Kid Chess. I contacted
Justin and was delighted to find out that he was still interested in me coming aboard! In the
intervening two years, they had expanded a bit closer to home as well, making the commute a bit less of a hassle. My work hours with Kid Chess would be at schools in the afternoons and
after-school programs, so I might get caught with afternoon rush hour traffic, but not all the
time. And no morning rush hour to deal with at all! There are also chess camps run by Kid Chess in the summer that I will be paid to be part of. Between Kid Chess and the virtual call center and the amount of money I would gross from the combined part-time jobs, I would have full-time hours that are flexible and I would make considerably more than I had been making with my previous employer!

I will begin to work for Kid Chess proper sometime next week, with some training required before instruction in the schools begin after Labor Day weekend.

I am not giving up the Kmart job just yet. I have, however, greatly reduced my hours there with school starting for Bridget and the fact I might be working a "day job" any time now. I will
probably work there as long as I can stand it just to have a few extra dollars in my pocket, not
to mention that I get an employee discount there! ;-)

But the biggest news is yet to come! More on that in Part 5!