Four days into the government shutdown, Jack Criss, an air traffic control specialist at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, assumed a second role — driving for DoorDash.

“My financial obligations were mounting. I wanted to get ahead of the situation. The writing was on the wall,” Criss told NBC News.

That financial pressure is only expected to grow Friday, when Criss and other air traffic controllers are set to miss their first biweekly paycheck for work performed during what is now the second-longest shutdown in U.S. history. The expected $0 checks, to be delivered by Oct. 28, follow a check that paid only 90% of their total pay, reflecting work mostly done in September.

While back pay has been promised , thanks to a 2018 law that requires compensation for workers who work durin

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