- Some Americans have secretly worked multiple remote jobs and doubled their salaries.
- But back-to-office orders and slowing hiring have made it harder to remain “overemployed.”
- Five people juggling jobs share how they’ve adjusted—or plan to adjust—to life on one income.
For the past three years, Charles has earned between $100,000 and $300,000 a year working secretly in a mix of full-time remote and contract jobs. But he knows his “overemployment” might not last forever.
The extra income has allowed 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. In recent months, however, Charles said return-to-office orders and a slowdown in hiring have reduced the number of fully remote positions in his industry. — He works as a consumer products professional in the tri-state area. This has left him clinging to his two remaining remote jobs and fearing a future where he must commute to work every day.
While the extra income has boosted his savings, Charles has grown accustomed to having multiple paychecks. He said this would be even more valuable if he and his wife start a family, which is something they are planning. what to do during the next year. Since his “overemployment” could soon end, Charles said he has started thinking about other ways he could supplement his income.
Some of their top ideas are selling online classes, creating a dropshipping store, starting a podcast channel, self-publishing books on Amazon, selling digital products on Etsy, creating a TikTok channel, and selling stock photography.
“I would try to find other ways to increase my income if everything didn’t work out,” said Charles, whose identity is known to BI but asked to use a pseudonym for fear of professional repercussions. “I’ve always thought about how I can make a lot of money and quickly.”
There are few shortcuts to achieving financial security, but in recent years some Americans have taken advantage of a cheat code of sorts. Business Insider has spoken to more than 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. Juggling work can take a mental toll, though, and the ethics of doing so in secret are up for debate. Still, most current and former overemployed people told Business Insider that the financial benefits were worth it.
But there’s a problem for those juggling jobs, both current and future: the golden age of overemployment may be coming to an end.
This is because it is now harder to get a remote job than before. During the peak of the pandemic, when Approximately half In the United States, when nearly 80% of work hours were done remotely (and fully remote positions were abundant), overemployment rose. However, the return-to-office orders of recent years have made these jobs less common.
Additionally, competition for remote jobs has intensified. The share of fully remote job postings on LinkedIn has declined from 20% in April 2022 to about 8% in May, according to LinkedIn data provided to BI. Despite the decline, LinkedIn said 46% of applications in December on its platform were for completely remote roles.
At the same time, some companies in the technology and IT sectors have laid off workers and slowed hiring. These industries have offered many overemployed workers the combination of remote work arrangements and flexible working that allow them to juggle multiple jobs. What’s more, some companies have rolled out employee-tracking software that has made it harder for jugglers to avoid detection.
Even if remote jobs were plentiful, some overemployed workers told BI that their work-life balance always had an expiration date: At some point, they would burn out.
Remote work certainly hasn’t disappeared. In June, around 24% of full-time U.S. workers age 16 and older worked from home at least part of the time, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Population Survey. Eleven percent telecommuted for all of their work hours. As of June 2023, 20 percent of full-time workers did some telework; 10 percent telecommuted entirely.
But even if remote work persists, much of it could take the form of hybrid work arrangements. While many Americans might be content to go into the office just a few days a week, the hybrid model in general is not sustainable for overemployed workers.
Five people who juggle jobs in the past and present shared how they reacted to the end of their overemployment status — or how they plan to react if it happens. Their incomes have been verified by Business Insider and their identities are known, but they asked to remain anonymous for fear of professional repercussions.
Explore other sources of income and use the money you have wisely
Adam, a security risk professional in his 40s based in Arizona, is on track to make roughly $200,000 this year by secretly working two full-time remote jobs.
He said his overemployment, which began in 2022, helped him reduce his student loan balance by more than $50,000. The extra income also allowed him to max out his 401(k), improve his credit score, build an emergency savings fund and help out some friends financially.
While Adam expects to continue juggling multiple jobs for at least the next few years, he said he’s already thinking of ways he could make up for the loss of income.
He said he is starting a podcast and hopes to monetize it one day. He would also like to be a financial coach and explore consulting opportunities related to his current line of work.
In addition to exploring other revenue streams, Adam said he is trying to take advantage of his extra income while he still can.
“Paying off my student loans would reduce my monthly expenses by 50%, so I’m paying them off aggressively,” he said.
Spending may need to be cut
Tomas, an IT worker in his 30s living in Georgia, earned more than $250,000 last year by secretly working two full-time remote jobs.
He said the extra income helped him increase his net worth to more than $500,000, afford two cars and travel more.
Tomas hopes to maintain his overemployment for as long as he can; he would even be willing to take on a third job if that was what he was looking for. He just has to avoid orders to return to the office.
A couple of years ago, one of his employers asked him to return to the office, but Tomas objected. 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 seems to have worked so far,” he said.
However, Tomas suspects his overemployment might not last forever. While he would explore other ways to increase his income, he said It could also cut costs.
For example, Tomas said he recently spent about $3,000 on a Burberry jacket, hat and sandals. He knows that such purchases may not be practical if he doesn’t have a few sources of income to fall back on.
If Charles couldn’t find a way to increase his income through one of his various ideas, he said he would also start looking at his expenses.
“We live in a subscription era, where everything is a subscription,” he said. “I would probably start there and reduce subscriptions.”
Saving during overemployment can make the transition easier
Joseph, a network engineer in his 40s living in Texas, earned $344,000 in 2022 by secretly working three full-time remote jobs.
The extra income allowed her to pay her mortgage and save for her children’s college education. But she told BI that perhaps the biggest benefit of working multiple jobs was the added job security.
This is because last year, Joseph was laid off from two of his jobs. Due to his overwork, he was not left completely without income.
In some ways, Joseph said he’s glad he doesn’t have to juggle a job because his workdays are much less stressful. While he does have less income coming in (his remaining job pays him more than six figures), Joseph said the money he’d made 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 expenses,” Joseph said. “When I got two and then three jobs, we saved everything I earned with the two extra paychecks.”
Luke is also adjusting well to life without multiple paychecks. The e-commerce professional, who is in his mid-30s, made around $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 boost his savings.
But Luke quit one of his jobs earlier this year. One of his employers had implemented a return-to-office order, which he said would have made juggling his work nearly impossible.
From a financial perspective, Luke said he was well prepared for life without two jobs. The best advice he has for anyone still overemployed is to not become too dependent on extra income.
“From the beginning, I made it a point not to include income from my second job on our bills,” she said. “So even though I was making over $225,000, we were still living as if I was only making the $150,000 base salary from my main job.”
Do you secretly work multiple remote jobs at the same time and are willing to discuss the details of your salary and schedule? If so, reach out to this reporter at jzinkula@insider.com.
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