Taking short videos, tutoring, part-time translators, driving online car Hailing... Under the epidemic, more and more young people plan or are developing a sideline. The reporter found that some young people have tasted the benefits of sidelines through reasonable planning, and more of them are impulsive, making sidelines "negative".
Some people are happy and others are worried about developing sidelines
Linzehao, 27, joined a state-owned advertising company after graduating from graduate school. In the face of irregular overtime work and low salary, she chose to develop a sideline - shooting short videos. As soon as it was time for a break or a holiday when he didn't work overtime, linzehao and his boyfriend studied the popular videos and shooting techniques on the short video platform, and finally chose to locate the theme of "lovers' stories".
Through the early "water test", Lin Zehao's account has gained many fans. In order to attract more traffic, Lin Zehao chooses to update every day. "No matter how tired I was after work, I would also discuss the script with my boyfriend and send out the video before the end of the day."
After six months of persistence, linzehao gained nearly 1million fans. She also quit her job and concentrated on making short videos.
Compared with linzehao's success in sidelines, the reporter's investigation found that more young people are worried about developing sidelines.
Miss Yu is an employee of an information technology company in Shanghai. She also works as a part-time shop manager of a community group buyer. She said that the monthly income will fluctuate due to the order volume, about 3000 yuan to 6000 yuan. The income of the month with large order volume will exceed that of the main business.
Although her work is online and her time is relatively free, Miss Yu has her own troubles. For example, frequently publishing products in the circle of friends every day makes some friends feel bored, and irregular online training activities of part-time companies occupy her working time.
"Although the income is still considerable, I always feel that it affects my work and interpersonal communication. Now I am in a state of giving up and unwilling." Miss Yu said.
There are not a few young people with the same mentality as Miss Yu. Zhang Dan, a post-90s girl, runs an offline clothing store in Guangzhou and drives online car Hailing part-time every day. "Offline business isn't as good as it used to be. Take an extra job to earn some rent." Zhang Dan said frankly that the main business has consumed a lot of time and energy, and he often feels impatient when doing sidelines.
Beware of being cut off by the sideline
According to the survey on the sidelines of workers released by 51job.com in 2021, half of the workers with sidelines have less than 20% of their main business income, and only about 6% of the respondents said that their sideline income is higher than their main business income. The reporter's investigation found that some young people not only did not make money in sidelines, but "spent money to buy lessons".
Zhou Jing, who is now working in a bank in Guangdong, had the experience of being cheated by advertising for sideline training. She said that she saw the advertisement of "dubbing training class" on the Internet last year, saying that she would conduct professional dubbing training for students and contact the professional platform to distribute orders after learning.
"After paying the 599 yuan training fee, I found that the course was very watery, and I didn't give resources in the later stage. As an amateur, I basically couldn't get the list of professional platforms, so I had to pay for it." Zhou Jing said.
"Learn to dub in three months", "learn to Python in six months" and "zero foundation Xiaobai can also become a master of editing"... Today's short video platforms and social platforms are full of fast-paced classes such as "dubbing", "programming" and "editing", playing the tempting banner of "low threshold" and "high return" to attract students.
Some young people who are eager for success do not distinguish these advertisements, so they "go into the pit" with a passion. In the early stage, I invested thousands of yuan, but only learned the superficial results, and could not reach the entry threshold of the industry at all.
In addition, according to the investigation of the half month talk reporter, some network platforms are also virtually creating sideline anxiety. For example, when searching for "sideline" on a popular social platform, there will be tweets with the words "young people around you are engaged in sideline" and "young people, it's time to think about your sideline". The sideline is packaged as a career "just need", which arouses the anxiety of many young people.
Dengyang, who works in an Internet company, is suffering from sideline anxiety. He said that in recent years, some of his colleagues have been laid off, and his unemployment pressure has doubled. Many articles on the Internet are analyzing the necessity of sidelines, and he is also considering whether there should be more ways out.
"I know that the so-called 'quick money' sideline on the Internet is not reliable, but I can't find a sideline that suits me. I'm afraid that one day my main business will disappear." Dengyang said.
Sideline anxiety has nothing to do with sidelines
Some people are aware of the instability of their jobs and try to relieve their anxiety by doing sideline work; Some people want to increase their income through sidelines; There are also some people who want to expand more skills through sidelines... Lifengliang, an associate professor employed by the dean of education research at Tsinghua University, said that for whatever reason, young people engaged in sidelines want to make their lives better, which is worth encouraging, but do not be eager for success and blindly follow the trend.
First, we should distinguish the primary from the secondary and not put the cart before the horse. Lifengliang said that in modern society, knowledge and technology are rapidly updated. On the one hand, a job requires people in the workplace to continuously learn to be competent. On the other hand, it is possible to maintain a competitive advantage by spending more energy on their own work. "The premise of developing sidelines is to have extra time and energy on the basis of completing the main business. Don't see others engaging in sidelines and follow the trend. Only by doing well in the current main business can we provide support for the development of sidelines."
Second, clear plans and objectives should be formulated to develop sidelines. Linzehao suggested that once you decide to develop a sideline, you should not only determine the fields you are suitable for, but also give full consideration to its market prospects. She said that the short video industry has been very hot in recent years, and many young people around have tried to get rich quickly by shooting short videos. However, most of them are not familiar with the operation process of short video, nor are they clear about the theme and positioning of the video. "Watching a certain kind of video fire, I also follow the trend to shoot, but everyone is shooting. The market has already been saturated, and the video sent out ultimately can not attract traffic."
Third, the development of sidelines is best related to the main business and based on their own ability. Lifengliang said that the best sideline is to effectively use the knowledge and skills of his main business, and the knowledge, skills and experience accumulated in the sideline will help promote the progress of the main business.
"Whether it is the main business or the sideline, we need to pay time and energy seriously to gain." Said Li Fengliang.
Article / banyuetan, issue 11, 2022