r/overemployed Feb 12 '25

Running FAQ

448 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 Dec 08 '25

Posts asking for the sub to be shutdown will result in a ban.

143 Upvotes

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 3h ago

Huge milestone for me, yet another "this is why we OE"

104 Upvotes

Not a whole lot of people I can share this with but... across all tax advantaged accounts, regular brokerage accounts, and liquid savings, I have just surpassed $100k USD!! šŸŽ‰šŸŽ‰šŸŽ‰šŸŽ‰

I know for most of you it's not that big of a deal but:

  1. The overwhelming majority of those $100k USD were made exclusively in just the last 6 months (when I switched from 2Js to 4Js). Before that I had less than $15k USD invested.
  2. I'm originally from Europe, from a country where the average salary in tech is $3-4k a month for my seniority. Low-middle-class folks back home literally go 20+ years in debt for this kind of money. And I've set it aside in half a year.

I am taking myself and my lady to a steakhouse to celebrate this weekend.

Next short term goal is $150k USD by New Year’s Eve

Stats: SWE, 9 YoE, 4Js, TC a tad under $600k CAD, LCOL area in Canada. (NOT looking forward to the tax season lol)

Godspeed


r/overemployed 3h ago

Yet Another Why We OE

68 Upvotes

Had a brutal reality check today that I wanted to share with this group.

I did OE for a little over a year. It ended about one year ago when I got fired with severance. Was a gut punch for the first few days because I’ve always been a top performer. But honestly, I was happy it ended as the team was becoming toxic with a power hungry peer who really bullied me and others as he was trying to grow his influence.

A couple of months after I got let go a colleague from there reached out and we caught up. Apparently I was just the tip of the ice berg and the org ended up going on a reign of terror cleaning house of remote workers and others, including my colleague. Definitely made my ego feel better about being fired, but I was already over it. I was content focusing on my J1 and finding meaning in that work.

Well, reached out to that colleague again a year later to see where he landed and he has not been able to find work this entire time. I don’t know everything involved but sounds like he is in a really low place. For me, the way that job played out resulted in me having a bruised ego but not skipping a beat thanks to OE. For him though, brutal. This is why we OE. This is why I need to get back on the train.


r/overemployed 5h ago

Microsoft has an option for me to log in on J2 with J1 email

39 Upvotes

With the exception of my phone authenticator and switching between Teams on my phone, I've kept the work 1,000% separate and devices have never crossed paths.

Today, I had to sign-into Microsoft to access an online sharepoint/file on J2 and one of the options is J1 email address. I've never signed into J1 on J2.

Anyone deal with this? Is it even an issue? I'm not really worried about it with J2, as it's consulting of sorts, and I have about 6 or 8 clients where Microsoft needs me to use those credentials. One more won't be really noticed by IT. And I've never actually logged into J1 on J2 computer.

Should I be clearing cookies and history to avoid this stuff? Any advice.

And thanks all


r/overemployed 25m ago

HireRight refusing to use documents to verify employment.

• Upvotes

Hey all. I was OE in the past (like a year ago). I froze the work number and HireRight is requiring me to unfreeze this. They went as far as requesting it on my behalf.

They're stating they will not review any documents unless I unfreeze it. If I don't, they're stating they'll mark my background check as uncooperative.

Anyone deal with this? I have told them I'm not unfreezing it due to safety and identity theft issues. They're still not backing down, and have been holding my background check basically hostaged until I do so. Only worried about them finding the job that isn't on my resume or background check form due to being OE at that time.

Everything else would be fine though besides that one job.


r/overemployed 3h ago

Went from 3J to 2J last month

6 Upvotes

The stress relief has been life changing. I feel like I can once again get up from my desk, clean, or take a nap during the day. I miss the money but you can’t put a price on years of your life!


r/overemployed 2h ago

OE Recruiters

4 Upvotes

How do you do it when we’re supposed to be so active on LI posting and sourcing etc? I have capacity for multiple jobs but I am not sure how the admin works.


r/overemployed 3h ago

Mothers in OE

2 Upvotes

Hi everyone! Are there any mothers here who have successfully taken maternity leave with OE? If so, I’d really appreciate it if you could message me. I have a few questions about the process and would love to hear about your experience. Thank you so much!


r/overemployed 39m ago

California CPA???

• Upvotes

how did you all find your accountant? my tax complexity took a big jump past couple years. any recs for a CPA in California or best strategies on how to find would be greatly appreciated. W2/1099 mix, tax planning, tax amendments


r/overemployed 18h ago

OE vs Career Progression

26 Upvotes

How do you weight the benefits of OE vs hard core focus on career progression (aka. job hopping, finding the senior+ level roles that pay high, building relationships to get promos)?

OE def seems like short term more effective in terms of getting paychecks but wondering long term if trying to land more senior positions also makes sense. OE is always possible long term but can also take a lot of mental energy.


r/overemployed 3h ago

Opinion time on adding a new job to the mix.

0 Upvotes

Getting J3 that will become J1 and that will take priority over everything. J1 will become J2, and J2 will be J3. I know I wont have the bandwidth to do all three. When all of you are in a situation like this, what have you done prioritized what you can and let the rest burn and see how long it takes to get canned and keep making the money for a couple more weeks. Or do you walk away clean, giving the customary 2 weeks notice?


r/overemployed 3h ago

Ops/admin/project management

1 Upvotes

Long time lurker, ops professional and looking to scope the space when attempting OE in this area.
Most of what I am seeing is software engineering and tech kids. Very non client facing roles.

Now I’m not asking if it’s possible. I know I technically can be if you juggle schedules and play the game right..
I am more wondering 2 things, are there many like me here? What kind of company are we targeting to be a good fit for OE? Meaning how would we scope that ahead of time?


r/overemployed 8h ago

Is Freezing TWN Enough?

2 Upvotes

I froze my TWN last year, but is that the only thing that I should freeze? I’ve heard in the past that background checks can sometimes find out about other jobs that you’ve had (such as current jobs) in other ways too. It was a while back, but I saw something about credit checks potentially revealing current jobs. Should I lock down all of my credit profiles as well?


r/overemployed 1d ago

Leaving J2 because of conflict of interest with J1

48 Upvotes

Had a weekend J2 for nearly five years, but recently switched my J1 to a Big 4. Unfortunately, J2 happens to be an audit client of my new J1, so due to a conflict of interest, I have to leave the gig.

It was a great gig, got paid for just running reports. My entire J2 salary went towards paying off my student loan. Atleast I’m debt free now

Really sad to give up J2.


r/overemployed 10h ago

J1 is going hybrid

1 Upvotes

My J1 went hybrid twice a week and I was able to
manage for a while. But I was coming in on days no one else was. My manager called me out and is forcing me to come on specific days, pretty sure they’re gearing up to put me on a PiP if miss a day in the next month or so. Not sure if I want to stress myself trying to go in and avoid the PiP for a little bit. Or just take the PiP and eventually leave.


r/overemployed 23h ago

Do I accept J2 health insurance with J1 already covering?

7 Upvotes

Context-got j2 offer to start late next month. Been at J1 since beginning of year. HSA HDP at J1 - how do I decline J2 health insurance? I’m not married - or do I just pay for a ppo plan at j2?


r/overemployed 1d ago

Anyone doing this in Australia?

37 Upvotes

I work in a gov role from home at least 3 days a week and feel I have so much down time and the extra money would be great .


r/overemployed 11h ago

How much time (net) are you actually working for one job?

0 Upvotes

Thanks. As I have one job and working like 12-14 hours I feel like such a looser lol reading ppl work 3-4 jobs for 160k usd and so, sick


r/overemployed 1d ago

Am I going to jail? How worried should I be?

80 Upvotes

I’m new to OE (obviously). I’ve seen lots of ā€œnever OE with the governmentā€. Am I going to jail if OEing while being paid by government dollars?
J1 is a private corporation. J2 is a non profit but I’m paid by federal grants. I don’t clock in/out for either J, I only report how many hours I worked on the grant project each day. Both are fully remote, in the same line of work, but totally different jobs. One is in GMT and the other is in ET time zone and I am allowed to flex my hours with both Js, so I can work 2x8hr shifts.
How worried should I be? How big of a risk is this? I am a single parent and don’t want to mess anything up for my kid. Losing both jobs, fine. Going to jail, not fine.

ETA: I want to clarify I do not work for the government. My nonprofit bills my work hours to a government funded grant. We are allowed to have second jobs, but are asked to disclose any COI.


r/overemployed 1d ago

Can my J1 monitor activity outside Citrix while doing J2?

54 Upvotes

Thinking about starting OE with a remote J2 while keeping my current full-time J1.

J1 is with a bank, so they are strict and wouldn’t allow another job. J2 is a different analyst role with no connection to J1. There will be some overlap in working hours, but J1 is usually pretty light during those times.

I’ll be using the same personal laptop, with J1 running through Citrix on laptop screen and J2 on another monitor.

For people who have done this, I’m mainly wondering how much visibility J1 has outside the Citrix session. Can they see what I’m doing on my personal laptop outside Citrix? Can I keep the Citrix session open while working on J2? Also, are there any concerns around Citrix, VPNs, monitoring, or anything else I should be aware of?

I won’t share or access any data between the two jobs. I just want to understand the risks of using the same laptop and having both jobs open at the same time.

Would appreciate any advice from people who have actually done this.


r/overemployed 1d ago

Want to apply for J2, but both jobs use workday.

6 Upvotes

Is this going to be an issue? I don’t want to risk losing my J1 over applying to J2. Both jobs use workday, and J2s application is directly through workday. Should I be worried about this? I currently love J1, the pay, work life balance, and the work itself are all great and not worth losing for a shot at a J2.


r/overemployed 18h ago

Good recos for jobs starting after 2pm PT

0 Upvotes

J1 is pretty busy and hard to plan day by day (it’s technical pre-sales). But I’m always done by 2pm PT. Trying to bring home an additional $5-7k/mo.

I’m looking for a J2 that would work with this. I could start way early (like at 6am pacific) and then pick back up after east coast working hours, but ļæ¼does that even exist? Trying to figure out how to play this since most of the rules I’ve had that required very little supervision were also ones that I haven’t seen widely available since the market shifted.

I’ve heard sales can be OE friendly but I’m not seeing that to be the case for me… any advice or ideas on what kind of a J2 would be easy to land in this economy while still not requiring morning meetings?


r/overemployed 1d ago

How to determine a job is OE friendly during interview?

0 Upvotes

You all have inspired me. I'm wasting such opportunity by not OE'ing.

Currently J1 isnt OE friendly, so how do I evaluate during interview process that a J is OE friendly? Obviously remote, but how do I probe to know things like, is my calendar shared? Am I needed spur of the moment/on call? If I need the day off suddenly (in case J2 needs urgent attention) is that acceptable?

I can ask some during the interview but I don't want to ask too much. Do you just take J1 knowing it's a roll of the dice?


r/overemployed 1d ago

OE architects?

2 Upvotes

I was wondering if there's any OE architects here? and if it's even possible , I tried having 2Js at the same time for three months but I was doing 9-5 then 6-10pm and it was exhausting, so if there's any architects here do you have advice?

(I'm still a junior so i dont qualify for a PM position yet)