After years of searching for the right full-time job, Emily Wilson created her own alternative: She patched together a full-time career from three part-time jobs.

Today she teaches English as a second language for a nonprofit organization, helps students get their high school equivalency certificates and books program guests for a public radio station.

“Doing the same type of thing every day would not be very fun,” said the 32-year-old San Francisco woman. “I do a mixture of different jobs. It’s challenging but there’s also a lot of running around involved.”

Wilson is among a growing group of people who hold more than one full-time or part-time job. Some do it to earn extra cash, others to satisfy diverse interests or create economic security.

About 8.2 million workers, or 6 percent of the nation’s work force, hold more than one job. That’s more than double what it was in 1970, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In one survey, a quarter of the workers said they held a second job - usually a part-time evening or weekend position - because they liked the work and wanted to get more experience or to start their own business. About a quarter said they worked for themselves in their secondary jobs.

“They like having control over their own destiny,” said Joe Meissner, president of Power Marketing Career Management, a San Francisco job placement firm. “They like being able to define what kind of work they do, who they do it for and at the same time, control their own calendar - the number of days they work a year and how many hours they work.”

Organized moonlighting rose in popularity during the early-to-mid 1990s, when companies did a lot of downsizing.

Some people have doubled their earnings working as independent contractors or consultants, Meissner said.

“But they’ve had to come to terms with things like paying their own health care expenses and the insecurity of searching for the next project.”

Wilson said her work schedule let her pursue varied interests while still making a decent living.

“I knew that full-time jobs in adult education were virtually non-existent but I pursued it anyway,” she said. “That’s what I chose because I really love setting up literacy programs and teaching ESL (English as a second language). I don’t worry much about making a whole lot of money right now because I’m in a different position than a lot of people. I don’t have a mortgage, a car or kids.”

Even though unemployment is at a record low, the lingering fear of downsizing is still very real for many workers, labor experts said.

For men, the highest percentage of moonlighters came from the 25 to 34 age group. Among women, those ages 20 to 24 were most likely to moonlight.