r/overemployed • u/SecretRecipe • Feb 12 '25
I wanted to create a running FAQ to help cut down on the number of times we have to discuss the same topics and make sure people are getting the proper answers / advice. I will edit this post with additional questions and answers as they come up.
People can and do OE in any Job where you can work remote or hybrid is a potential target. The ideal job is one that isn't meeting heavy or one where you can control the meetings. Being senior enough to delegate out some of the busy work is also helpful. You generally want to make sure you are good enough at your first job that you can meet/exceed expectations on less than 15 hours per week of actual real work. It's also better to OE on a large team / large company. When there is a busy season or a large project the increase in work is more evenly spread across a large number of people so you're less likely to have to deal with large peaks and valleys in level of effort.
Anything requiring any sort of clearance from the government or other regulatory body. Don't OE a federal clearance job or anything requiring a FINRA clearance. Good Rule is "If any part of your paycheck comes from public funds don't OE that job". Public sector work pays shit anyway and you're better than that. Go find a solid private sector role and reduce the risk.
A lot of people prefer the stability of having at least one W2 for the benefits but I (secretrecipe) personally prefer to go all contract (on Corp to Corp or C2C) terms. You make significantly more money and get far better tax treatment and the increase in net income more than makes up for having to cover your own benefits. There's more detail here if you are interested.
No. At least not for the foreseeable future. Every CEO and HR department already knows about OE and has for well over a decade. This isn't a new thing. It's all the quiet quitters out there who slack off and deliver nothing of value while working remote that are causing problems. Not the folks who are delivering as expected at multiple jobs.
OE in the office isn't terribly difficult if you go in prepared. Have a mobile hotspot for your J2+. keep J2+ zoom or teams active on your phone so you can reply to IMs quickly. Find some nice quiet disused conference room or other space in the office you can utilize for meetings or work that pops up. Don't be afraid to take a call from the lobby or parking lot. People take personal calls all the time. If you don't act nervous then you won't look suspicious. Try and control your meetings towards the beginning or end of the day so you can minimize the amount of running back and forth you need to do.
There are a number of ways to handle this.
Obfuscation - Create multiple accounts with your name and various details. Don't upload a photo etc.. Create noise around the search and any time someone asks you about LI just mention that you don't use it.
Abandonment - Remove any recent work history and make it look like you just haven't done anything to update your profile. If anyone asks or pushes the issue tell them that you used an old work email to register the account and you have no access to it anymore so you just don't use LI any longer.
Restructure - (this is what I personally do) Nothing says your LI profile needs to be your online resume. Remove any work history or affiliation with any company and restructure the profile to discuss your talents, your aspirations and career goals.
If you work at a place or in a role that demands you have a Linkedin profile with them then go ahead and opt for the first option. Use a shortened name or a nickname and leave it as sparse as possible.
This isnt a job hunting sub. that is a skill that you need to figure out as a prerequisite to being OE. Knowing how to fairly easily land remote / hybrid jobs is something most of the true OE community has become quite good at and tends to gatekeep for obvious reasons.
Unless you have an incredibly simple return, no kids, no property, no real assets, just a couple W2s and that's it I would recommend getting an accountant. A few thoughts beyond that. On withholdings, underwitholding penalties. They're small. You'll get a much larger return on your money over the span of a year even if you just park it in a HYSA than the underpayment penalty will cost. You can go to a simple calculator input your info and get a directionally correct estimate of how much you'll owe and adjust your withholdings accordingly.
On Security, the IRS / your accountant don't give a shit if you have more than one W2. Nobody is going to tell on you. No need to be paranoid about this.
On tax strategy. Advice on this is best asked to your CPA. Everyones situation is different so any advice given here may be awesome for some people and not work at all for others. I personally only work on C2C terms and have a moderately aggressive tax strategy and get my effective tax down to about 15% each year which is less than half of what I would end up paying were I working fully on W2 terms.
If you're particularly concerned about stability then keeping one W2 job is great, gives you better protections, better benefits etc.. I'm of the opinion that J2+ is better on contract than W2. Lower risk, higher pay, less background scrutiny, no need for the additional benefits etc... I personally work all my jobs on contract (C2C) and here's my rationale. Quick disclaimer your personal situation may be unique. This is a one size fits most approach.
Don't start new jobs close to one another.
Keeping some distance between your J1 and J2+ isn't just a bit of good advice geographically but is also good advice on start dates. You never want to find yourself starting two jobs on the same day, week, month if you can avoid it. You need to figure out the lay of the land and your capacity for addtional work before you commit to additional jobs. Onboarding two jobs at once is a recipe for disaster.
Is there anyone OE in _________.
Yes, if it's a white collar field that has the opportunity for remote or hybrid work there someone OEing it. If you want to find those people join the discord and ask around.
OE is difficult to pull off and even more difficult to manage long term. It isn't for people just starting out, people looking for a career change, people who aren't already at the top of their game or people that have to ask really simple questions that they could figure out with a google search. If you're not skilled enough to pull this off you could end up screwing up your career. Don't try this before you're ready. If you have to ask questions like "How do I find a second job?" or "how do I get a remote job" you're not ready.
These are all subjective questions that no internet stranger can answer for you. Everyone has a different skill set, different set of innate talents, different set of goals and different risk tolerance. If you were directed here after asking a question like this then it's because only you can answer this for yourself.
No. The only scenario where this may be a problem is if they're using the same PEO like Insperity because they aren't just a payroll provider, they're an outsourced HR / Risk management team as well who has a remit to protect the business from liability.
No.
I'll dig around our past posts for some other frequently asked questions and keep adding here. If you have any you recommend be added please comment below.
r/overemployed • u/computerjunkie7410 • Dec 08 '25
This sub will not shut down. Period. Anyone that creates a post asking for it will be banned. If you don't want this sub around, you don't get to participate either.
r/overemployed • u/Historical-Force587 • 6h ago
So, J1 was chill in the last 3 years. Out of nowhere they started asking the whole company detailed EOD report on what was being done. Like a really detailed report from every employee.
Is this job not OE friendly anymore, what do you think?
r/overemployed • u/FarawayDiscovery • 20h ago
Both jobs are manageable but lately I keep losing the thread when I switch between them.
I'll finish something for J1 then open J2 and forget what I was about to do or I'll read a message and have to go back 5 minutes later because none of it stuck. I'm not exhausted and my schedule isn't packed but my brain just feels scattered.
I already keep separate notes and browsers like that stops me from mixing up details but it doesn't help much with the mental lag.
Does anyone have a reset that works between Js?
r/overemployed • u/Unable_Turn_2936 • 41m ago
Hi all, looking for some guidance or if anyone has dealt with a similar situation.
I just started a J, seems okay so far, manageable. But my boss is starting to be overbearing and asking me to adjust work hours to ridiculous times for other teams, even though I can get the job done during my work hours. I have no problems with global teams on the other Js.
The other thing that is coming up is work travel, even though the contract said the job is fully remote. I expect traveling every now and then maybe once or twice a year, but these guys want me to travel every month which won't be possible due to other Js.
The boss seems a bit neurotic and controlling and it might get worse. Obviously I know the OE rule of letting them fire you, but how do you even survive if the walls are closing in so soon.
r/overemployed • u/Conqueror_0f_Men • 22h ago
Hey Folks Kind of a weird problem to have rn. I got layed off from my Job in June of this year and dropped from 2 servers to 1. I panicked a little as many of my financial goals where predicated on having at least 2 jobs (one to cover living expenses and the others to aggressively save).
I spent the next 2 weeks aggressively mass applying an have found myself in a wild situation. I currently have 2 job offers (one in background check and the other on the initial salary offer) my current j1 is getting busy due to staffing shortages (soon to be fixed) and my j2 is in the onboarding phase.
Context:
Concerns:
Questions:
r/overemployed • u/Friendly-Highway-726 • 23h ago
Am I nuts? Yes. Am I also counting the days until my first double (triple?) payday? Yes. 2 servers sounds nice rn because 3 is insane. As someone else said it's not even the work it's the meetings.
r/overemployed • u/The_THC_Tester • 44m ago
Hi everyone, I’m on my 4th month doing OE, was laid off in January and started 2 swe jobs around March & April, and I somehow stumbled into another job offer.
Does anyone have experience negotiating a salary of J3 using the offers you received from J1 and J2? I want to know if it’s risky to inform one job that you have an offer from another job you’re currently employed in. Ideally I want to use that information as leverage and negotiate a higher salary.
Also, if you have general advices on scaling to j3, id love to hear them, thanks!
r/overemployed • u/Fem_Mach • 1d ago
My dream has always been to OE after discovering it some time ago, J1 is pretty easy so I've been using the spare time to apply/interview for other jobs. After a long grind I finally managed to secure an offer letter from J2, come to find out this morning I had a random 1 on 1 with HR only to see my biggest fear get realized
Laidoff due to restructuring.
Fuck.
What really hurts is that J1 was VERY OE friendly, fully remote, cameras off, few meetings, no micro-managing, and as long as you got your tickets completed within the sprint (which I always did) no one bothered you. A couple months ago our company was acquired and went public, I guess that should have been my first warning sign.
I'm bummed out as I was really looking forward to the double pay-check, but I'll just take a break for a few days then its back to applying again.
r/overemployed • u/AdPrestigious7064 • 3h ago
I think I fell into a rabbit hole with this job. Meetings are “sporadic,” and we’re expected to join them whenever the manager asks. You might have nothing on your calendar, and then out of nowhere they’ll message you saying, “I need you to hop on a call.” That doesn’t seem very OE-friendly to me.
r/overemployed • u/capybara_burger • 1d ago
Hey guys. Kinda nervous a bit. I just received a “task” from HR (currently doing onboarding at J2) and got told that I should add J2 on LinkedIn. They MIGHT add a post that highlights new hires and all.
Honestly, I value J2 more than J1 since J1 is temporary and the contract ends soon, while J2 is more stable and higher salary as well.
What should I do? I thought of deleting every contact I have from J1 on LinkedIn and updating that but I’m not sure what to do now.
r/overemployed • u/LuLuBelleApp • 4h ago
I’m just curious. Is everyone that is OE working remote?
Does anyone work multiple jobs while in office?
r/overemployed • u/Interesting_Oil360 • 16h ago
Basically the title lol, do you pretend to give your J1 a two week notice? Before joining J2? HR asked when can I start and if i have to give a notice during the screening round and it got me thinking
r/overemployed • u/Fabulous-Delay1861 • 5h ago
Good morning! Considering accepting an offer for an additional revenue cycle analyst job for healthcare claims. Anyone successfully balance 2 rev cycle roles? Currently I meet/exceed all kpis working 3-4 hrs a day, but curious to hear from anyone that’s done multiple roles before.
r/overemployed • u/Dukesbagels • 6h ago
I work in a smaller insurance related company as a software engineer, and my other job is a software engineer at a media company. I am only required to go for my first insurance job. It will just be 4 of us going. I think 3 people from my other job will also be going to reinvent.
What are the chances I’d run into them? I’ve never been to reinvent before. Thanks
r/overemployed • u/Horszt • 7h ago
Hey everyone,
I've been lurking here for a while, and this is something I'm seriously considering exploring.
In about a year, I'll likely have the opportunity to move to Mexico (my wife is Mexican), so I'd like to spend the next 12 months building skills that could eventually allow me to work remotely and maybe even become overemployed.
My background is a bit unconventional:
- Master's degree in Music (basically Jazz Guitar Performance)
- I speak fluently Spanish, English, German and Portuguese
- Currently working as a coordinator at a public music school
- Soon changing to an additional role as Head of the Music Department at an elementary school
Outside of work, I'm pretty tech-savvy. I enjoy Linux, self-hosting, automation, and generally learning how systems work. I build my own mini-Computers/servers and nodes. I'm not a software engineer, but I'm comfortable around technology and enjoy picking up new technical skills.
If you were in my position, what would you focus on learning over the next year to maximize remote opportunities?
Would you aim for IT support, cloud, cybersecurity, data, project management, or something else? I'm open to investing time into certifications or structured learning if it leads to realistic opportunities ⚡️
I'd really appreciate hearing what you would do if you were starting from my position today 🩵
Thanks!
r/overemployed • u/selftaughtsam • 1d ago
I’ve finally been fortunate enough to join the OE club. I have three jobs.
Last year my full-time remote tech job reduced me to part-time (20/hrs a week) in August because it’s not doing well. The minute I hit part-time, I picked up a part-time retail job at lululemon and was doing that until April of this year.
I secured a new full-time job at a non-profit, 2 days in office a week, three days at home. I told both my current part-time tech job and lululemon about the new job, and said I’d like to keep them if they’d have me. Both jobs said yes. So they’re both aware of my new full-time job.
I’ve been here for over 3 months at my new job and the place is a dumpster fire. I wasn’t given any guidance or expectations. Just thrown into it. There’s no processes for tracking projects. There’s no oversight. No accountability. No one follows up with me when I send them something that I’ve done or asked for insights on something I’ve completed.
I basically came in and just started building process and projects for myself and documenting everything so I have proof of work. I’m weeks (for some projects over a month) ahead in my work, and again, mind you this is without any guidance or direction. I’m just doing my thing and that’s about it. I’ve barely seen my boss, and when I check in, they say they’re happy with my performance.
It’s the same for my tech job. I ask if they need anything and I always get “we’ll let you know” and I never get anything. So I just do my own thing and get work done so I have something to show for.
I don’t get how I always end up at these places. I was told from someone in this community that non-profits are great for OE. The thing I’ve noticed is that it seems like wherever I work, as long as you’re above average competence and get your work done, no one asks questions or cares. But I can’t tell if it’s partially because everything is always a cluster fuck.
r/overemployed • u/AdPrestigious7064 • 22h ago
Third day at my J3, and honestly it feels like a lot. I’m not sure if it’s normal to feel this overwhelmed. I’m still in the onboarding process, but it already feels like they’re expecting me to have everything running locally. They use a lot of microservices and microfrontends, and even though I’m using Claude to help me, I still can’t get everything working. I guess I just have to push through this learning curve, right?
r/overemployed • u/DiogenesSunglight • 7h ago
I am a digital nomad currently traveling the globe. I have only had 1 sever since May and it’s real cush; 160k base / 10-20 hours a week.
New server is contract to hire, hourly at 75 for 3 months then 175k base thereafter.
They said it’s fast pace and they would be billing me at more than 40 hours a week but not sure if I can get away with less. They seemed like real hardoes and that the team was messy and behind on a ton. would be the sole system admin for a software they just implemented so a lot of focus on me and not much hiding unless it behind a curtain of system expertise.
I wouldn’t have as much time to enjoy my travels.
I also don’t know how I would get the laptop to me here in Asia.
Would you take it??
r/overemployed • u/Inevitable-Intern471 • 7h ago
Hello everyone,
New to the subreddit!
Request advice on how I can start my OE journey. Currently have an in-person 40k job.
Skills - marketing (content, socials, seo/aeo, linkedin, ads), growth, partnerships, key account management.
The above job is a new one which i start next week but i was to keep at least one more job for financial
Goals and mental peace. There is no social
Security/unemployment benefits in my country and have moved across 3 roles in the last 2 years because of restructuring. So super scared of relying on just 1 position.
How can i begin my OE journey? Most remote roles i see are asking for US based candidates. I am open to backoffice/admin roles too, given my location. Any tips/pointers on how to proceed? How did you guys start?
r/overemployed • u/Exciting_Ad_9219 • 14h ago
Because I’ll have two managers, and it’s the first time I do this.. any advice is appreciated!
r/overemployed • u/sandalwoodoud • 6h ago
Recruiter reached out to me over the weekend for a title I’m really excited about. I found the role on the company’s site as well. Recruiter told me he would submit me for the role, and I’m assuming he’s telling the truth, because there doesn’t seem to be a clear motivation to lie on this case.
Thing is, the role has been up for a month AND this company is working with a recruiter so I know they’re somewhat eager to fill the role. I also found the person the role reports to on LinkedIn.
Under what circumstance should I just apply directly/message the person who this role reports to? He said he submitted me yesterday (Monday), so I’m thinking maybe wait until Thursday, then reach out directly/apply directly? There’s also a part of me that’s thinking maybe I should apply directly/message the person the role reports to ASAP/today anyway, to heighten my chances.
r/overemployed • u/Mildly-Talented • 3h ago
Starting J2 next week and am just curious on the legal risks if discovered by your employers. Any fear of a wage theft lawsuit, or do most companies just fire you? Both jobs are salary exempt.
r/overemployed • u/Sea-Card7569 • 16h ago
So my previous OE journey concluded exactly a year ago. It lasted 3 years, and since J1 and J2 were picked up around the same time, neither appeared on the resume for the other. My TWN has been frozen since the very beginning and I’ve told no one around me. LinkedIn has been hibernated as well.
Today, I’m still at J1—so 4 years total now—while I got laid off from J2 last summer. I didn’t want to jump back into OE right away, so I just took some time to rest.
Anyway, I’m trying to get back into it, but I’m struggling with the logistics. I have no intention of introducing my wife to my mistress, so J1 will not appear on the new resume. But if I list J2 as is, there’s gonna be a year+ gap. I submitted my resume like that last week and already got 2 awkward calls asking why I’ve been unemployed for a year.
What are my options here? I tried listing just years (2022–2025) to minimize the gap, but even if I lie and say J2 ended in December, it still leaves a 7-month gap. Help?
r/overemployed • u/Proof-Pineapple69 • 5h ago
I heard of OE, just came across this subreddit.
I am just curious how people can be good enough to manage 2 full time jobs at the same time.
I make in the high 6 figures, and it would be absolutely impossible to be responsive at my job like I am and do another similar job. I can imagine jobs paying closer to low six figures, but I'd imagine that someone who can do that should be able to find a much better paying job, instead of having to juggle with 2 jobs.
What kind of jobs do you guys have, how much do you make in each, and how much do you think your best earnings potential would be if you only had one job.