By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
Twenty-six-year-old Curtis Lee's day begins at 6 a.m. sharp. Jumping from one location to the next, he translates for businessmen and foreign travelers all day. And at 7 p.m. unfolds the second part of his daily grind as an English teacher for 15 students. The 12-hour+ work sounds too tiring? Yes, but typical, says Lee.
``Everyone pulls off a two-job shift these days,'' said the double jobholder who's been juggling both for the past year.
Maybe not everyone, as he says, but recent surveys show that an increasing number of full-time workers are looking for an extra something after their nine to five.
Part-time employee online recruiter Albamon said the number of its service users has increased from 74,066 July last year to 100,387 last month, and about 30 percent of them already have a full-time job.
Among the ambitious, many also noticeably took advantage of the summer vacation period, where six out of 10 workers said they are willing to give up their seasonal break to make money instead, according to another Internet recruiter's poll of 770 men and women.
``Twenty-four hours may not be enough for some of these heavy workers,'' job search engine Incruit spokesman Jeung Jae-hun said, adding that money and experience are the two biggest reasons that drive them.
The expansion of the five-day workweek in July also prompted more people to turn their eyes to side jobs over the weekend, he said.
``It's not only part-time jobseekers but also employers who want added staff just through the weekend,'' said Jeung.
Recruitment site Job Korea said the number of hirers looking for weekend employees jumped more than five times since last year.
The same poll results showed that service and sales positions were most popular among second-job seekers at 37.5 percent, followed by computer design (27.5 percent), customer services and promotions (17.percent), clerical work and publishing (10 percent).
``Graphic designers can easily do extra work over the weekend for some side income,'' said Jeung of Incruit. ``Likewise, many workers look for jobs that fit their daytime profession.''
While the younger generation go double to make money for studies or leisure spending, many of the older do so for their children's education costs or retirement savings, he added.
Although solid reasons back their hard labor, Jeung stressed that managing two jobs can bring negative effects to both.
``Health is one problem because you can only push your body to a certain point,'' he said. ``Another is not performing best in either _ like chasing two rabbits and losing both.''
Industry experts said more two-job workers are expected as living costs rise and the five-day workweek system expands again next year.