"I thought it was really interesting," she said. "I have a son, and when I read to him, I would do the voices and make each character sound different and use an inflection in my voice, so I thought to myself, 'I can do this.' "

Now, she works part-time reading to young children who attend at-risk schools and other learning programs. Foust spends her mornings using creative methods to tell stories to children. "We are trying to teach kids to love reading and love books," she said.

Foust says she finds deeper fulfillment now with her part-time job as a story reader, but she remains realistic about its ability to sustain her financially. "This job would not be enough support my family solely," she said.

Losing her corporate job helped her realize she wanted to spend her time differently. "I am happy in the way my life is going right now. My son is in grad school, and my husband's job is pretty secure," she said.

But she knows that if she did not have her savings and her husband's income to fall back on, she would have problems. "The quality of my life improved because I have more time for my family. But the drawbacks to a part-time job are no benefits and no insurance," she said.

Radio station worker turns entrepreneur

With more than 30 years of radio experience, Steve Hamilton could do practically every job in his Colorado building. Despite his years of experience, his varying skills sets and his degrees in mass media and broadcast meteorology, he lost his job.

"I was disappointed at losing the 'big money,' " he said. "But I was also excited about the new prospects of starting my own station and not having to answer to anyone but myself."

He took his job loss as an opportunity and decided to create his own Internet radio station, KHigh Radio, tapping into the smooth jazz genre that he knew had a long tradition in the Denver market.

KHigh Radio is just one of three part-time jobs he works, and he admits he was making a lot more when he was working full-time with a radio station.

"I see great possibilities with Internet radio and an opportunity to make even more than my previous full-time job," he said. "It will just take several more years to achieve it."

He does think the economy was a factor in losing his full-time job, and he says he did not expect to see himself working three part-time jobs at the age of 50. "I thought I'd be full-time in radio due to my large skill set. However, I learned that economics rules," he said.

From photography student to movie theater worker

Asci, the part-time movie theater employee, knows that the economy is directly affecting her employment situation.

"The majority of my friends are in the same boat as me," she said, explaining that many of them work part-time jobs as babysitters and restaurant workers.

But she continues to apply for jobs every day. "I feel like, if I stop looking, I wouldn't be as happy, because I will just be settling for something I don't want," she said.

Her new husband, who worked part-time for several months at a furniture store, finally got offered two full-time jobs. She says that definitely gives her hope, and she has not given up on the idea of heading back to school to continue studying art and photography.

"Overall, I'm happy," she said. "I'm a positive person, and if I'm at a movie theater for another year, I'll survive."