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Over the past three years, Charles has earned between $100,000 and $300,000 annually by secretly working a mix of remote full-time and contract jobs. But he knows his “overemployment” might not last forever.
The extra income has enabled him to make home improvements, buy a rental property, invest in a personal business venture, and purchase a new car, he told Business Insider via email. However, in recent months, Charles said return-to-office mandates and hiring slowdowns have reduced the number of fully remote roles in his industry — he works as a consumer product professional in the tri-state area. This has left him clinging to his two remaining remote jobs and dreading a future where he must commute to work.
While the extra income has padded his savings, Charles has grown used to having multiple paychecks. He said this would be even more valuable if he and his wife start a family, which is something they’re planning to do over the next year. Since his “overemployment” might end soon, Charles said he’s begun thinking about other ways he might be able to supplement his income.
Some of his top ideas are selling online classes, creating a dropshipping store, starting a podcast channel, self-publishing books on Amazon, selling digital goods on Etsy, creating a TikTok channel, and selling stock photography.
“I would try to find other ways to boost income if it all didn’t work out,” said Charles, whose identity is known to BI but asked to use a pseudonym because of his fear of professional repercussions. “I’ve always been of the mindset of how can I make a lot of money and fast.”
There are few shortcuts to financial security. But over the last few years, some Americans have taken advantage of a sort of cheat code. Business Insider has spoken with over two dozen overemployed people who have made up to $1 million a year secretly working multiple remote jobs. They’ve used the extra income to pay off student debt, save for retirement, and afford expensive vacations and weight-loss drugs. Job juggling can take a mental toll though, and the ethics of doing it in secret are up for debate. However, most current and former overemployed individuals told BI that the financial benefits were well worth it.
But there’s a problem for current and prospective job jugglers: The golden age of overemployment could be coming to an end.
That’s because it’s harder to land a remote job than it once was. During the height of the pandemic, when roughly half of working hours in the US were done remotely — and fully remote roles were plentiful — the rise of overemployment followed. However, the return-to-office mandates of recent years have made these jobs less prevalent.
Additionally, the competition for remote roles has heated up. The share of fully remote job postings on LinkedIn has declined from 20% in April 2022 to about 8% as of May, according to LinkedIn data provided to BI. Despite the decline, LinkedIn said 46% of the applications in December on its platform were for fully remote roles.
At the same time, some companies in the IT and tech industries have laid off workers and slowed hiring. These industries have offered many overemployed workers the combination of remote working arrangements and job flexibility that make juggling multiple jobs possible. What’s more, some companies have rolled out employee-monitoring software that has made it more difficult for job jugglers to avoid detection.
Even if remote jobs were plentiful, some overemployed workers told BI that their job juggling always had an expiration date: at some point, they would burn out.
To be sure, remote work hasn’t gone away. In June, about 24% of full-time US workers age 16 and older worked from home at least some of the time, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s current population survey. Eleven percent were remote for all their working hours. In June 2023, 20% of full-time workers did some remote work — 10% were fully remote.
But even if remote work persists, much of it could be in the form of hybrid working arrangements. While many Americans might be happy to only go into the office just a few days a week, the hybrid model generally isn’t tenable for overemployed workers.
Five current and former job jugglers shared how they’ve responded to their overemployment coming to an end — or how they would plan to respond if it happens. Business Insider has verified their earnings, and their identities are known, but they asked to use pseudonyms due to fear of professional repercussions.
Explore other income streams and use the money you have wisely
Adam, an Arizona-based security risk professional in his 40s, is on track to make roughly $200,000 this year secretly working two full-time remote jobs.
He said his overemployment, which he began in 2022, has helped him reduce his student loan balance by over $50,000. The extra income has also allowed him to max out his 401(k), boost his credit score, grow an emergency savings fund, and support some friends financially.
While Adam hopes to continue job juggling for at least the next few years, he said he’s already thinking about ways he could make up for the lost income.
He said he’s starting a podcast and that he hopes to monetize it someday. He’d also like to be a financial coach and explore consulting gigs related to his current line of work.
In addition to exploring other income streams, Adam said he’s trying to take advantage of his extra income while he still can.
“Paying off my student loans would drop my monthly expenses by 50%, which is why I am aggressively paying them off,” he said.
Cutting back on spending might be necessary
Tomas, a Georgia-based IT worker in his 30s earned over $250,000 last year secretly working two full-time remote jobs.
He said the extra income helped him grow his net worth to over $500,000, pay for two cars, and travel more.
Tomas hopes to keep up his overemployment as long as he can — he’d even be open to taking on a third job if it was the right fit. He just has to avoid return-to-office mandates.
A couple of years ago, one of his employers asked him to return to the office, but Tomas pushed back. He argued that since he was a full-time contractor — rather than an employee — he should be able to continue working remotely.
“Knock on wood, it looks like it has worked thus far,” he said.
However, Tomas suspects that his overemployment might not last forever. While he would explore other ways to boost his income, he said he could also cut expenses.
For example, Tomas said he recently spent about $3,000 on a Burberry jacket, hat, and slides. He knows that these kinds of purchases might no longer be practical without multiple incomes to rely on.
If Charles couldn’t find a way to boost his income through one of his various ideas, he said he’d also start looking at his expenses.
“We live in an age of subscriptions where everything is a subscription,” he said. “I’d probably start there and cut down on those.”
Saving up during overemployment can make the transition easier
Joseph, a Texas-based network engineer in his late 40s, earned $344,000 in 2022 by secretly working three full-time remote jobs.
The extra income allowed him to pay off his mortgage and save for his children’s college education. But he told BI that perhaps the biggest benefit of having multiple jobs was the extra job security.
That’s because last year, Joseph was laid off from two of his jobs. Due to his overemployment, he wasn’t entirely without an income.
In some ways, Joseph said he’s happy to no longer be job-juggling because his working days are much less stressful. While he has less income coming in — his remaining job pays over six figures — Joseph said the money he’d earned during his overemployment provided him with a financial cushion. This money also helped him pay off his home and car loans over the past few years, which has put him in a strong financial position.
“My current salary more than covers our daily living expenses,” Joseph said. “When I got two and then three jobs, we saved everything I earned from the two extra paychecks.”
Luke is also adjusting well to life without multiple salaries. The e-commerce professional, who’s in his late 30s, made about $225,000 in 2022 by secretly working two full-time remote jobs. He used the extra income to buy a truck, start an Airbnb, and grow his savings.
But Luke quit one of his jobs earlier this year. One of his employers had implemented a return-to-office mandate, which he said would have made his job juggling nearly impossible.
From a financial perspective, Luke said he was well prepared for life without two jobs. The best advice he has for anyone who’s still overemployed is not to become too dependent on the extra income.
“From the start, I made it a point not to integrate the second job income into our bills,” he said. “So even though I was making $225,000-plus, we still lived like I was only making the $150,000 base salary from my primary job.”
Are you secretly working multiple remote jobs at the same time and willing to discuss details about your pay and schedule? If so, reach out to this reporter at [email protected].
