In the last 20 years or so, it has become common for people to change careers multiple times but a newer phenomenon is earning a living from multiple careers at the same time.

An article in the WSJ discussed boomers who have Slash Careers.   These are folks who spend a good part of their free time pursuing a passion, while still working at a full-time professional job.

Some examples are a lawyer who does caricature portraits on weekends; a hotel manager who writes mysteries in his off hours; or an English professor who sells her summer travel photography through local galleries.

Another recent article called them Portfolio Professionals and a third used the term Eclectic Professionals. An example would be a teacher who spends the summer doing different jobs that reflect her personal interests or to gain experience in a different field.  And I know a man who is a stock broker by day and a Wine Expert who stages wine tastings several nights a week.

You don’t have to be a professional to have a Slash career.  A story in the Philadelphia Inquirer told of a local man who loves to make independent films and documentaries, but who works intermittently as a longshoreman on the docks to earn income to pay bills and put his daughter through college.

An acquaintance of mine is a very successful executive consultant who always dreamed of being in the opera.  Now she works part-time in the evenings as an extra for the local Opera Company, dressing up in fabulous costumes, wigs and make-up to strut and dance her way around the stage.

If you are daydreaming of doing something new and different to earn your living, you are certainly not alone.   And the need to create additional streams of income is growing for many.  There are very few rules anymore- feel free to start working on an old dream, a new dream, or that long-held, really big idea. Combining two disparate careers is definitely possible.   There are no limits to what you can do!

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