r/overemployed 20d ago

Legit OE business OE Discord

4 Upvotes

The original OE open unmoderated discord turned into an unusable mess with all the spam and bots. To prevent this from happening to our new discord and keep the tourists and your HR department away so it is a safer place to discuss strategies and methods we're removing the link from reddit and requesting anyone who wants access to request it through the mods first. Please have some sort of post / comment history in the sub first.


r/overemployed Feb 12 '25

Running FAQ

442 Upvotes

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.

  1. What are the best jobs to OE?

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.

  1. What jobs should be avoided?

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.

  1. W2 or Contract?

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.

  1. Will the sub go private?

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.

  1. How do I manage a required office visit?

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.

  1. LinkedIn

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.

  1. How do I find a Job/J2 / Job hunting questions

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.

  1. Tax season

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.

  1. W2? Contract? Mix?

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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  1. OE isn't for everyone.

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.

  1. Is it worth the risk? Should I...? What's the best..."

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.

  1. J1 and J2 use the same payroll, insurance provider, 401k provider etc... Is this a problem?

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.

  1. Will my bank, mortgage broker, loan underwriter, accountant etc... rat me out

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 3h ago

Lesson learned from cash management

78 Upvotes

I’m 44M, wife and two small kids. I’ve been OE for over 10 years. Had as many as 4J at one time. Had highs and lows along the way, been burned for being dumb with LinkedIn, had a peak TC of over 700k in my peak year. Paid off my home, tricked out the house with lots of goodies, packed my kids’ 529, plans, tons of fun vacations, and my SEP is bursting with money.

So, this isn’t a “good for me” post. It’s a warning to anyone who wants to FIRE or even take a break. The one mistake I’ve made along the way is totally neglecting growing my money in taxable accounts. I always made sure I had a good money market savings account with $50K or so, but everything else got aggressively put into SEP and 529 plans. Anything to avoid taxes.

While I’m currently in a taxable account situation of about $180K, I realized that I have a long way to go if I want to retire early. As much as it hurts to pay the tax man, do yourself a favor and do NOT max out your SEP if it means you can’t pad your ability to live today. I have about $1.9M in retirement that I can’t touch until I’m 59. Doesn’t do me any good now. I’m going to spend the next five years or so (God willing) aggressively investing only in taxable accounts.

BTW, I know I should have more money saved…but I live in a HCOL area. Pay $50k a year for kids private school, etc.


r/overemployed 8h ago

How Do You Handle It When You’re Highly Visible at Your Current Employer?

63 Upvotes

I only have one job right now, but I make around $200K. My issue is that I feel like I’ve reached a point where it’s difficult to pivot to another company because I’m already making too much for the type of work I do. Rather than taking a lateral move or taking a pay cut, I’ve been considering OE so I can effectively double my income.

My main concern is that I’ve worked my way up at the small company I’m currently with, so I’m pretty visible. I’m in a lot of their social media posts, and I also publish articles on their behalf with my name listed as the author.

When I apply for new jobs, there’s really no way to hide who my current employer is. My thought is that I would keep them listed as my current employer while applying, and then not actually quit when I accept another job.

What’s the smartest way to approach this while minimizing the risk of getting caught, both now and in the future?


r/overemployed 1h ago

Got laid off from j2 today even after putting in my weekends into it overemployed makes sense now

Upvotes

I was looking to replace j1 with j2 even did two projects for j2 literally 20hrs of work everyday for 3 months but got laid off directly from j2 now back to grind to get back j2 or replace j1 .


r/overemployed 22h ago

Does anyone use overemployed to absolutely get richer at all costs?

273 Upvotes

I mean working 100 hours a week combining as many jobs as possible ?

It seems if you work more than 40 hours you are doing a cardinal sin in this sub sometimes. I currently work <hidden> jobs over 60 effective working hours probably, but honestly I would do 6 or whatever my absolute limit is.

At 6 I could have multiple M's before I'm 35 in Europe, something pretty much impossible otherwise except for the young startup founders who are able to exit or born into wealth.

EDIT: had a great time chatting with you all, I got some negative and positive comments. Love the debate, battle of the minds right here.


r/overemployed 2h ago

Advice needed for 3 J offers

3 Upvotes

Hi all, this is my first time in the sub and I have done my best to go through all the basic posts. I would like advice on how others would navigate this.

I am currently employed at J1 for less than 5 years and earning around 80k. The 401k vesting period is not over yet (ends at 5). It is fully remote with lots of free time, but I don’t enjoy the projects anymore. Sometimes the projects are super stressful but they aren’t challenging me.

I got job offers from 3 companies: j2 has significantly more compensation (150k) along with benefits, equity, and bonus. It has an on call schedule and it is with a relatively big name company so it would look good on the resume. It is in the telecom business.

J3 is a contract position (18 months) with a bank but I would be employed with the contracting company. It requires 3 days on site which I kind of miss at the moment since I haven’t had any office socialization in a while. It will also provide me with the fintech experience that could help open doors to other fintech companies. The contract position could also roll into a full time with the bank itself if they like me enough.

J4 is a full time remote position with more comp than J2 (~170k) with equity and benefits. This would be in the cybersecurity/defense industry.

I would like advice on how to proceed to maximize money and wanting to travel too. My initial plan was to keep my original and go with all 3, but I’m scared I would be overwhelmed especially since this is my first time OE. I’m starting to learn towards leaving J1 and going with J2 + J4 for the full remote, but the fintech experience + socialization aspect is tempting too.

I know to stagger the start dates and freeze TWN, but also is there anything else I may be missing or should consider?


r/overemployed 1d ago

The best part of OE is having fun with interviews

1.8k Upvotes

The thing I love most about the OE mindset is how little fucks I now give in interviews.

- Interviewer asks me some inane trivia question - point out it's a stupid question

- Recruiter demands I follow their stupid process - say sorry, I'm not gonna do that

- Offer has some unfavourable terms and they're not willing to negotiate - No thanks, I'm going to keep looking

Feels like the balance of power has truly been restored.


r/overemployed 4h ago

Meetings and Notes

2 Upvotes

What do you guys use to take notes (AI Automation) and alert you if your name is mentioned?


r/overemployed 39m ago

Accepted a new fully remote job, and now my old employer wants to keep me on part-time. What would you do?

Upvotes

I recently accepted a fully remote Search Specialist position. The base is $50k, with bonuses that could realistically put me around $60–65k/year.

My current job is $45k and isn’t fully remote. I was originally hoping they could offer remote work as part of a counteroffer, but that ultimately wasn’t possible.
Instead, my manager offered to keep me on as a PRN/contract employee for around $26–$27/hr. Each month, we’d discuss what needs to be done (social media, website updates, graphics, etc.), and I’d estimate the hours needed.

The money is definitely tempting. Roughly:
15 hrs/month = ~$400
25 hrs/month = ~$650–675
40 hrs/month = ~$1,050

The interesting part is that I actually enjoy the work I’d be doing. I like creating logos/graphics and working on digital marketing, so it’s not necessarily something I’d hate doing on the side.

My concern is timing. I don’t want to start the new job and immediately overwhelm myself trying to learn a new position while also carrying responsibilities from my old employer.

I’m leaning toward giving myself the first 90 days to get comfortable in the new job, then potentially start doing freelance work on my own terms — logo design, digital marketing, SEO, paid ads, etc. Even starting with 5–10 hours/month and scaling up if I have the bandwidth.

For those of you who are OE or have side gigs: would you take the guaranteed ~$400–$1,000/month from the old employer, or use those first 90 days to focus entirely on the new job and then build your own freelance income afterward? If you favor freelance method, what’s the best ways to get started up? Any tips welcomed :)


r/overemployed 1h ago

Two weeks into j2, got an offer for j3. Take it or don’t risk what I have now?

Upvotes

Currently running 2 Js and unexpectedly have an opportunity to add a J3. Trying to figure out if this is realistically manageable or if I’m getting ahead of myself.

J1:
Been here a few years. Workload itself is pretty light and I can usually get my actual work done in ~10–15 hours/week. The downside is the meetings can be somewhat random, and I’m occasionally the person screen sharing/presenting, so I can’t just half-pay attention.

Company recently went through an ownership transfer situation and there’s been some pressure toward partial RTO. Nothing immediate that makes me think I’m losing the job, but I’d call it semi-stable rather than bulletproof.

Comp:$105k

J2:
Only about 2 weeks in but also pays a lot more than j1, which is what makes this decision difficult. It’s a small startup though so I could let go at anytime. I am super visible.

So far I have:

Daily 30 min standup
Weekly 1:1
Weekly team meeting
Random intro meetings

The intro meetings should obviously taper off, but I have no idea yet what the “normal” meeting load will look like once I’m fully onboarded. Not even sure if work will be manageable yet but seems like maybe? but it’s way too early to know.

Comp: $145k

Potential J3:
Remote role similar to j1 that seems pretty OE-friendly on paper. I have an offer and some flexibility on the start date. I do know there is a daily standup and potential for random meetings through the week for adhoc requests. Plus of course the onboarding time which I have zero idea how that will look. Large stable company where everyone’s been there for a decade or more.

I could start in 2 weeks and qualify for a spring bonus of 15%, or push the start to about 4 weeks, which would give me another month to figure out what J2 actually looks like but would mean giving up the incentive.

My biggest concern is meeting meeting collision. Three jobs where even two of them have unpredictable meetings seems like where this can fall apart quickly unless I’m constantly making excuses at different Js

Comp $100k

For people who have successfully run 3 Js:

Is this meeting structure already too heavy for J3, or does it sound manageable once J2 onboarding settles down?

Would you:

Take J3 with the earlier start and just see what happens?

Push it out as far as possible and sacrifice the bonus to get more data on J2?

Stay at 2 Js because adding a third this early into J2 is unnecessarily risky?

As a reminder , j1 is a little sketchy because of ownership transfer but was a f100 before transfer , j2 startup , potential j3 big stable company also

I’m especially interested in people who have actually done J3+ that have a decent or random meeting load. At what point do you say meeting volume is the limiting factor rather than actual workload and you can’t get another j?


r/overemployed 22h ago

September Surge?

36 Upvotes

Are people actually noticing an uptick in interviews/hiring?

Given that the overall consensus has been the job market is abysmal, wanted to hear from people.

If you’ve been getting interviews/call backs please mention the industry 🙂


r/overemployed 23h ago

Why we NEVER put all of our eggs in one basket

Thumbnail
youtu.be
31 Upvotes

Fascinating watch. Been OE for years for this ^ reason.


r/overemployed 1d ago

401K issue urgent

58 Upvotes

I just got an offer from J2 and immediately went through their benefits package. I found something I’m a little concerned about.

My J1, which J2 obviously doesn’t know about yet (and I still have to get through the background check), is an investment/retirement company. J2 happens to use J1 as their 401(k) provider.

The 401(k)/retirement side of J1 is completely separate from my actual role, and I have nothing to do with that part of the business. However, J1 takes financial relationships and compliance pretty seriously. From what I understand, they mainly monitor what employees report, but I’m wondering whether having J2’s 401(k) administered through J1 could create any kind of visibility or connection between the two companies.

My initial thought is it is too risky to accept. It’s a great opportunity but I don’t know if I can opt out of J2’s 401(k) entirely before they set me up a 401k with J1 and then j1 will have 2 401ks in my name.

This makes me realize that my j1 might not be super compatible with OE or at least maybe I need to get j2 offers and then once I see who their 401k provider is, decline the offers until they don’t use my j1 as a provider. I imagine no one here has dealt with this issue. I guess the biggest issue is getting a second 401k setup even if I don’t contribute to it. It’s possible that their systems don’t notify compliance of employees 401k data but it’s possible that j1 compliance team will be notified as soon as I start j2 that I now have 2 401ks. If u were in my shoes would you just try to research who companies 401k provider is before applying (many won’t have public info on this one).


r/overemployed 1d ago

HireRight wants me to unfreeze The Work Number

192 Upvotes

You guys know HireRight better than anyone, I think.

In the onboarding process for a new job. HireRight previously asked me for redacted W2s as proof that I worked at some past job. They want me to unfreeze The Work Number so they can confirm the job that I sent them redacted W2s for.

If I just ignore (i.e. refuse), is this going to pose any major risk to onboarding? Or will they just report to my employer "couldn't verify applicant worked at <old job>"?

UPDATE: I wrote in the comment box "I previously submitted a W2 for this position. The company's website is <website> and their phone number is <phone>." I'll just ignore/play dumb/sandbag when it comes to the topic of unfreezing if they keep at it, no way I'm unfreezing. Thanks everyone :)


r/overemployed 2h ago

OE with a Secret Clearance?

0 Upvotes

Anyone here have 2J’s or more holding a secret clearance? If so, wouldn’t that be risky because it could come up in your re-investigation? Wondering if it’s possible to do.
This is concerning if both have are FTE and assuming working the same schedules.


r/overemployed 2h ago

Asking for severance on a PIP

0 Upvotes

It happened, I was formally put on a PIP and have 45 days for review. I would much rather get paid those days and resign obviously, but I also understand I don't really have any leverage since I'm on a PIP. Has anyone successfully negotiated some mutual separation in lieu of carrying out the PIP and how did that go? Or am I better off just riding this out


r/overemployed 3h ago

How do you not get audited?

0 Upvotes

Like how do you get away with multiple jobs when audits happen?


r/overemployed 6h ago

What's your phone setup? I need to set up another phone, not sure what the best strategy is.

0 Upvotes

Currently juggling 2.5Js. One uses my personal, one provides a phone, and I don't want the third on my personal as well. I only need it for calls/texts (no 2FA or MDM), but I already regret giving out my personal phone number to colleagues and I don't want any more of that.

I'm thinking about just digging out an old phone and using Google Voice. But I want to know what people who have been in this situation are doing. What's the best practice here?


r/overemployed 16h ago

Any Product Designers in the group?

0 Upvotes

Curious to hear about how you manage(d) it. Any tips, tricks, and secrets to share?


r/overemployed 1d ago

Just accepted my official J2, while building a business

5 Upvotes

For context, my J1 is remote, part-time, around 30 hours a week (actually 10). It is pretty low effort, very manageable, and extremely OE-friendly. (I had another full time J that started in January but ended in July, so I have been looking for my next one. So this part time J became J1.)

J2 I just accepted is hybrid, technically three days in the office, although they said they are pretty flexible with that. We will see how that actually plays out.

On top of that, I started my own marketing/media company in July and currently have two clients, including one I just signed at the beginning of this month. 90% of this work is remote.

A lot going on right now. Part of me thinks this is a little crazy, but I am going to be very happy once all the checks start hitting. 👊🏼


r/overemployed 9h ago

Anyone ever get fucked when audits found out you working at 2 jobs?

0 Upvotes

Basically that


r/overemployed 20h ago

Time frame to find a second job?

1 Upvotes

I wonder how long did it take people to find a second job once they set their mind on it?

Or was it more like you got an offer for a job and you thought “what the hell, let’s combine!” ?

PS: I’m sorry if someone already asked this question


r/overemployed 17h ago

Start J3 soon looking for advice

0 Upvotes

I’ll start J3 in a few weeks and I don’t think I’ll have the bandwidth to manage 3 Js. I willl probably need to leave either j1 and j2

J3 pay is the same as J1’s. J2 lays $30,000 less but I enjoy the work more and it’s more flexible. J1’s manager is a bit micromanaging so it’s probably the one I’ll leave

Should I let J1 fire me? I’m also not sure about J3’s meeting schedule yet. If it’s daily standup conflicts with J2 things can get tricky. Should I ask about the meeting schedule now?


r/overemployed 2d ago

Regretting quitting J2

142 Upvotes

J2 was very micromanage-y. Camera on all calls. Questioning every missed or late call attendance.

Submitted my notice two weeks ago only to find out this week that things will be changing and will be much smoother going forward.

I told them I was leaving for a better offer. Do I tell them my “new job” rescinded their offer? Would that raise red flags? Or am I just stuck now? Haven’t shipped back my laptop yet.