"Working, mostly," Sam told him. It wasn't a lie. He spent a lot of time hitting the books for research purposes, even if much of what he read didn't seem to relate to the portal at all.
"I've got a bartending-slash-bouncing gig at one of the local bars." The Wild Pony was, for the most part, pretty quiet. Unless Wyatt Long and his buddies wandered in. Then things could get interesting. "And I'm helping research the portal."
Plus he had a couple of teenagers living with him. Claire clearly needed an adult presence in her life, and while Jack was fairly self sufficient, he came from a world unlike this one, so he needed a bit of guidance too. Sam would tell Adam about the teenagers at some point. it didn't seem overly pressing to tell him right at the moment.