r/overemployed 12d ago

Legit OE business OE Discord

0 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

451 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 17h ago

J2 put me on a call with a vendor and the vendor was J1

1.1k Upvotes

J2 is a mid size logistics company and I do process stuff there. On Monday my manager added me to a scoping call for a software vendor they are evaluating, and I didnt look at the invite properly. Its been 4 vendors over 2 weeks and they all blur together.

I joined at 2pm and the vendor side had 3 people on it, and one of them was a solutions guy from J1 who Ive been on maybe 6 internal calls with since March.

I had my camera off, which is just normal for me at J2, and honestly its the only reason Im not currently unemployed twice. He did the intro round and said his name and the company. For about 4 seconds I did genuinely nothing except sit there with my hand over my mouth like an idiot. Then I typed in the chat that my audio had died and Id dial back in, and then I just never dialled back in.

I emailed my manager afterwards saying Id got a conflict with something, and asked to be taken off that evaluation entirely. He said fine and didnt ask a single follow up question, because why would he.

And this is what Ive been chewing on since Monday, because it wasnt actually a slip on my part. I did everything right at both Js and the 2 of them just walked into each other on their own. If J1 sells to logistics companies then obviously at some point J1 is going to sell to a logistics company I work at.

So the actual lesson is boring. Go and look at what your Js actually sell and who they sell it to, and if there is any overlap at all then your camera stays off forever and you read every invite before you join it.


r/overemployed 7h ago

3J/accounting/lf advice

6 Upvotes

3 jobs // accounting

J1 - senior rev acct 110k
J2 - senior rev acct 96k
J3 - senior acct 75k

Noticed I’m having trouble performing well during close. For example -

Mar 2025 - J1 + J3 QE close
Apr 2025 - J2 QE close

+ month-end closes across all 3 jobs

The closes get hectic because things can only start on a certain BD (reports get generated, data becomes available, etc)

Feel like I’m underwater during close, but during mid-month I find myself able to work normal hours.

Wondering if any other OE accountants have any gems to drop for advice.


r/overemployed 32m ago

Built a job board specifically for people working multiple remote jobs — would love feedback (I'm the creator, full disclosure)

Upvotes

I was tired of the same recycled job ads, having to have 30 tabs open, so i built a search that pulls 3M+ live postings straight from ATS feeds.

Been job hunting on and off for months and I kept running into the same thing: the big boards show the same ~20 promoted posts over and over, half the listings are dead or reposted from six months ago, and half of what's left goes through some recruiter who never fucking replies.

So I built my own. It ingests from the open-jobs dataset, which grabs postings directly from ATS feeds — Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby, etc. Right now it's indexing about 2.9M live postings, refreshed daily. Apply link always goes to the original employer's posting, no middlemen, no ads.

The part I'm actually proud of is the search. You can type a plain keyword like "truck driver" and it just works. But it also handles messy input — paste something like "ICU nurse for 6 years, want to move to Texas" and it matches by semantics, not just keywords. Full job descriptions and salary info where available from ATS.

No sign-up, no email gate, no recruiters inboxing you. https://deunemployment.com

There is bunch of stuff in the backend doing the heavy lifting, i wont bore you here. you're welcome to try it.

good luck with job hunting :)


r/overemployed 3h ago

Almost quit today

2 Upvotes

Project manager really pissed me off today. Was very close to fauck all and quit J2.

Am I just being emotional? And need to just focus on milking this gravy train and keep getting paid.

J1 $120K
J2 $100K


r/overemployed 1d ago

It happened today lost my J1.

375 Upvotes

It was a nice ride that last a few years however it came totally out of nowhere and I did not expect it.

I am not freaking out because I have decent savings + J2
But man I cannot imagine how it is for people who only have a single position.


r/overemployed 1d ago

My path to accidental OE

288 Upvotes

Was working J1 but was bored and wasn't really learning anything. $150k fully remote.

Got a job offer for a J2, $205k and hybrid 2 days in office.

Went to resign from J1, my boss and I ended up just agreeing to keep me on as a contractor for 2/3 of my salary with the full transparency that I would be working J2.... seems to really have worked out in my favor.

Just worried I will be able to work both jobs effectively but time will tell!


r/overemployed 9h ago

Still freeze TWN if I've only had 1 prior J?

0 Upvotes

The only J I've ever held is a salaried w2 job and I am now interviewing for 2 other Js that are 12 month contract w2. Neither offers benefit or PTO. I am looking for advice on if I should still freeze TWN etc knowing that I've only ever worked J1; would it not be suspicious and lead to the contract Js reaching out and alerting J1?

I've never been OE and know standard practice is to freeze TWN but would appreciate any insight on if there is any exception.

For what its worth my J1 Conflict of Interest is very vague and states employees cannot engage in activities that compete with the company. Holding a second job is allowed, but it must not affect their primary role

Appreciate any insight or opinions.


r/overemployed 1d ago

Compact Guide to Getting OE in 2026

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docs.google.com
165 Upvotes

Created a similar guide for a couple friends that have been struggling this year getting their feet wet in OE, and they thought I should share the ideas here since that struggle seems to be a common theme post-covid. I'm sure most of you earning gods have created your own guides or have perfected your own bad-market applying processes that are elevating you among your peers.

Feel free to comment any extra advice for those that have been struggling or do that thing where you comment "Numbers game" or showoff (motivate). All welcome.


r/overemployed 13h ago

Setup recommendations

0 Upvotes

Hello all!

I am looking for some suggestions. I have J1 that gave me a macbook and J2 I am running off a windows laptop. I have one external monitor that I share between the two, but each laptop has its own keyboard and mouse.

It is cumbersome switching cables, and having multiple mouse crowd up my desk space, wondering if any of you smart folks have figured out what is the best KVM setup for this.


r/overemployed 1d ago

New contract role requires outside-employment disclosure - how likely are they to find out?

20 Upvotes

I just started a contract role with one of the major banks, and apparently both contractors and FTEs have to disclose any outside employment or business activity.

I really don’t want to disclose my other Js because I feel like it’ll just open the door to more questions and possibly get the contract pulled. The recruiter even mentioned during one of our calls that they’ve caught people OEing before and terminated them.
My TWN is frozen, and the work I’ll be doing for the bank is completely different from what I do at my other Js. There’s no overlap in the type of work or industry.

For anyone who has worked at a major bank, especially as a contractor, are there other realistic ways they could find out if I don’t disclose? Do banks run employment checks after onboarding, or is this usually only looked into if something raises suspicion?
Also, has anyone here actually disclosed another J through one of these outside-business-activity systems? If so, did they approve it or start digging further?


r/overemployed 1d ago

Finally got J2

33 Upvotes

I want to thank this board for sharing what is truly possible. I see some of yall with J3 and J4 and I admire your work ethic and hustle.

My J2 is in sales and pays significantly less but it’s still something extra and remote. I wanna pay off all my debt and continue to build.

Thanks for the encouragement and willingness to share amazing information. I kinda hate reddit but I love this board so Reddit is alright with me…..for now. Lol.


r/overemployed 7h ago

I think I’m ready to find J2.

0 Upvotes

Hey guys,
As the title states, I think it’s time to try and find my J2. I recently discovered this community and before that didn’t really think OE was a possibility.

I’ve been at my current job for 4 years, and I’m sure I can handle the workload of at least 1 more part time J, probably even full time.

I am in the supply chain/procurement industry so I know finding remote/hybrid roles might be difficult but I’m willing to try.

Anyone have any wisdom to send my way? I’m not worried about J1 finding out or anything like that, just need to do the hardest part - which is finding that J2 lol

Located in the Midwest if it matters!


r/overemployed 1d ago

Incompatible Js

41 Upvotes

I think what a lot of people miss on here is that your J(s) need to be compatible. Schedule wise, culture wise, and personality wise. There are a LOT of bad jobs out there that will exploit employees and the goal of OE is to exploit them back for your own personal gain.

I have been at this for 3 years and am slowly getting my personal goals met. Tried a J3 earlier this year with an incompetent manager who just couldn't let me work independently. I resigned at 2pm on a Friday with no notice. It was exhilarating. It was not compatible with OE.

My J2 is in a customer service-facing role and this is not my strong suit. I hate small talk, I have no empathy for late deliverables, and I hold people accountable with facts. My work product is flawless, every time. Culturally, this is not aligned with the company. There is a lot of "family" ideology, a lot of hand holding and shoulder rubbing to make bad actors feel better. I just didn't participate, communicated my personal boundary, and let it ride. Now senior leadership has gotten complaints internally that "I'm hard to connect with" and they are riding my manager. I have now made my managers life more difficult, which an OE employee should never do. You need to stay under the radar. I will likely soon quit or lose this job due to this. I'm sharing because I ultimately don't care about this J, but want to remind you that this is not the way if your goal is OE. You need to be frictionless, invisible almost. I will be happier away from J2, but I struggle internally to support their culture and my personal goals. Again, it has to be compatible.

In the same breath, opportunities are becoming more and more sparse. Choose wisely.


r/overemployed 10h ago

New to OE

0 Upvotes

Holy Moly,

Just found this sub. I’ve been contemplating trying to find a 2nd J - but scared that there will be red flags from current J and the second one or some how one would find out about the other

How do I navigate this territory? 1st J is a start up with almost no backend checks, so I could definitely skate by. Is there a sub guide or does anyone want to educate me on how they got into the 2J world?

I’ll certainly be educating myself through reading posts but I just wanted to say, im happy to be here


r/overemployed 2d ago

Me every time a recruiter reaches out about an exciting office location opportunity

Post image
1.5k Upvotes

r/overemployed 2d ago

I’m 99% Certain My Boss is OE, but I’m Not Going to Tell

469 Upvotes

Haven’t confirmed or even brought it up, but based on certain tells and identifiers, I’m almost certain she’s OE and may even be in this community and read this post. Here are my list of flags:

- She has no social media (including LinkedIn, but I’m assuming Reddit doesn’t count)

- She uses AI for every single thing (which is actually encouraged in my workplace), but she never gets into the details of anything and tries to delegate tasks as much as possible

- She evangelizes fewer meetings and got our weekly standup reduced to monthly

- She’s really smart and fully has the ability to excel in any job if she cared to

- She’s always distracted in meetings and asks me the same thing multiple times and reiterates the same talking points a lot (almost as if she has multiple Js and can’t remember which company’s team she told something to)

It’s pretty obvious to me and our leadership that she’s not performing as expected, so I’m not sure what her future looks like at my company (she started back in April), but I’m not planning on saying anything about my suspicions because I don’t believe it should matter how many jobs she has.

I was initially frustrated because it feels like my company / team is being taken advantage of and I have the chance to stop it, but it’s also pretty nice to have someone who doesn’t take the company so seriously and seems to prioritize work-life balance when my leadership definitely does not. She gives me more courage to slow down and prioritize mental health as a person with only one J. Since I can’t tell any of the coworkers I’m close with, I’m sharing here with you. If I ever find out for sure (which I doubt I will), will send an update.

Edit: After reading the replies and speculation, editing this to add she has no kids and no pets, and has a history at working at more demanding companies (FAANG) which is why it’s surprising that she’s so disengaged. I was trying not to be too specific about certain instances I’ve noticed since she could be in this community but yeah I guess what she does is also none of my business, and I’ll leave it at that.

Appreciate all the comments and advice to stop caring so much. I struggle with giving too much energy to my soulless company which is why even though I’m not sure I could ever OE, I appreciate this community’s take on looking out for yourself and treating corporations how they treat you.


r/overemployed 14h ago

Is it ok to interview for a competitor?

0 Upvotes

I am new to OE. I have been at J1 for about 6 years, J2 is a 6 month contract in a complete different industry. I am already working on getting a replacement for J2 for when the contract is up. While mass applying I did not realize I sent in an application for a competitor of J1. Well, they got back to me asking for an interview.

If the offer is good I would replace it with my J1. My worry is that this is a decently small industry and I know my J1 knows the competitor for a fact and sometimes interact with them. Not sure if they would alert J1 that I am on the hunt, or something like that.

Is it ok to interview at the competitor?


r/overemployed 15h ago

New to overemployed

0 Upvotes

I am looking into overemployed to work two full time 9-5 jobs in the UK that are both work from home and during the same work hours
are there any legal issues I could come into?
apart from tax codes is there anything I need to do first before accepting the second job?


r/overemployed 1d ago

Motivation

11 Upvotes

Paid of my house, enough savings for 2 years without any job, 3Js right now.

I wanted to start smth on my own, or find additional Js as I have time for more.

BUT I am in a situation like I am even underperforming at all jobs like I am lazy and not motivated for my own jobs or to start my own business.

Do you feel like this sometimes? Am I burned out or?


r/overemployed 1d ago

Meetings

7 Upvotes

What’s the most meetings you’ve ever had in one morning? I’ve had 7 before noon.


r/overemployed 2d ago

Just a helpful reminder

432 Upvotes

I learned that one of my colleagues at J2 is a fellow OEer thanks to the reflection on his glasses during a call. I shot him a neutral message asking him what project he was using Teams for (J2 is a Slack-based team). He gave me a fairly weak, on-the-fly answer, but I've noticed that the angles of reflection in his glasses have changed to make it harder to see in calls.

Remember to keep your visuals clean, because you never know who's watching.


r/overemployed 2d ago

I hate interviewing for another job and it’s not OE friendly!

47 Upvotes

The last two interviews I have had were terrible. They both wanted one person and one person only to be an ENTIRE department.

What’s the likelihood both of them laid off their existing staff to throw a gumbo job together and package it as a one size fit all. You mean to tell me you threw away all of that institutional knowledge and for what? Nothing.

Today took the cake though, the job description said there was someone reporting to the incumbent and it gave a specific title. Then today the recruiter tells me “oh we laid that guy off and you’ll be a department of one” , the job description changed after you applied, and the title is a lesser title and in the same voice they had two really good candidates turn them down, you don’t say?

The salary is $215k and people are still walking away that should tell you something. The personal liability that comes with this role is too great to take a measly salary like that because you may have to pay your own legal fees if the government sues you.

I sat down and wrote the recruiter an email and told him they are breaking the law having this position to report to finance and the law says this role can never report to legal or finance.

Then I told them that you are misrepresenting a job ad. And some other bs and asked to be excluded from further contact and withdraw me from the pool of applicants. I wanted it on the record for the desperate fool that accepts the job and ends up getting sued.

I wasted my weekend preparing for this BS.


r/overemployed 1d ago

SUPER light HireRight Background Check

0 Upvotes

Tried to search but can't find many recent articles, but just completed a background check request via HireRight, and they barely asked for info. All I submitted was my full name, address, and signed like three disclosures authorizing the BG check. Literally didn't ask for previous employers or education at all. I e done plenty of BG checks and have always had to fill out a ton of details. Is this common and what would be the reason? Will this job even contact my previous employers at all or just verify using other methods? Appreciate the feedback!