JACKSON (AP) — Rob McCollum starts most days off waiting tables at Fenian’s Pub, then heads to his full-time job as an aircraft electrician.

That’s the routine he’s followed since November, but through the years he’s most always had multiple jobs.

“I average $20 to $30 in tips a day,” he said. “It’s good for an extra $100 a week.”

McCollum is among an estimated 16.7 percent or 57,838, adults in Hinds, Madison and Rankin counties who work more than one job, according to a 2007 Clarion-Ledger study that polled 2,515 adults.

Many people take a second job for extra income, so they can get out of debt or improve their cash flow. Some happen upon a hobby that turns into a small business. Still others view a side job as a creative outlet — or a way to try a new career.

Ann Homer Cook, a Jackson consultant, said most people who need extra money turn to credit cards first and then ask family members for money before considering second jobs.

“Trying to get a second job isn’t always the first thing they think of,” Cook said.

Bob Allsbrook, chief economist at Regions Bank, believes some consumers take second jobs to gain power over their economic conditions.

“Higher housing prices have squeezed consumers with higher property insurance and property taxes due to home values that went up. Consumers have to pay that if they want to stay in their homes ... add higher gasoline prices on top of that. Then we have the problem where consumers feel something bad is going to happen. I call it general malaise.

“Put it all together and they think, ’I better get Plan B going,”’ Allsbrook said.

Keith Manning, 41, of Clinton works three jobs because he’s motivated by the economics of the future: Retirement.

“I’m not counting on Social Security to be here, so I’m trying to plan for retirement,” he said.

Plus, he has another mortgage on a home he purchased shortly after Katrina. Manning fixed it up, but has not been able to sell it.

Manning works as a team leader in the flooring department at Lowe’s in Madison. He also has his own business, Manning Distributing, and stocks boiled peanuts and pigskins in convenience stores and grocery stores from Clarksdale to Fayette and west to Monroe and parts of southeast Arkansas.

Some weekends, Manning installs flooring in homes being rebuilt on the Gulf Coast.

“This morning I got up at 3:30, drove to Fayette and worked my snack food distributing business,” he said. “I came to work at Lowe’s at 1 p.m., and I’ll get done at 10 p.m. Tomorrow, I’ll go to Hazlehurst and Crystal Springs and be here at Lowe’s at noon.”

Manning, married with two sons and a stepson, said anyone who works two jobs — or three in his case — has to be energetic.

Preston Stringer of Ridgeland works seven 12-hour days as a pharmacy technician at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and then he’s off for seven days. During the week he’s off, he works four days at Vintage Time Works clock and watch repair in Ridgeland.

“I find it fascinating,” he said. “It’s something I’m learning to do.”

Stringer, who is single, said the extra cash is good, too.

“You can travel and do other things,” he said.

He said it’s hard to find a second job where you can work every other week.

Cook advises anyone considering a second job to make sure it won’t conflict with full-time employment and to have a clear idea about why it is important. “Otherwise it can become drudgery,” she said.

Having a second job can mean less time for family and relationships, she said. And, many times, a second job is difficult to quit because most people get used to the added income, she said.

Cook advises clients to inform primary employers about a part-time job if it will last longer than a few weeks and be in a highly visible location. You wouldn’t want a co-worker to inform your boss you’re moonlighting, she said.

McCollum said he’s had no problems working two jobs. He said his boss at Fenian’s works with his schedule.

“They cater to my National Guard duties,” he said.

Working two jobs allows him to meet new people and the extra money comes in handy, he said.

“Everybody tips at lunch, but lunch is so fast,” McCollum said. “It’s $2 here and $2 there. If you can turn 15 tables at $2 each, that’s enough to buy a tank of gas for the Toyota.”

McCollum works Monday through Friday from 2:30 p.m. to midnight as an aircraft electrician with the Mississippi Air National Guard’s 172nd Airlift Wing. “I maintain the electrical and environmental systems on the C-17 Globemaster,” he said.

As a result of his two jobs, McCollum said he’s not at home much. “My electricity bill was $25,” he said.

Antonio Magee is an assistant principal at Morton High School, but he also sells real estate.

“I don’t do real estate for the money,” said Magee, a real estate agent for a year. “When I went to purchase a house I had someone (a real estate agent) who wasn’t too good.”

Magee said he’s sold 10 houses during the last year, just two short of his goal.

“I mostly save what I earn as a nest egg,” he said

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Information from: The Clarion-Ledger, http://www.clarionledger.com