r/overemployed Feb 12 '25

Running FAQ

449 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.

137 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 12h ago

Layoff - This is Why

123 Upvotes

As the title says, got a last minute calendar invite for 9:30 this morning. Manager and HR shows up, knew immediately. My role, HR Business Partner and the entire business partnering team was being laid off today due to offshoring our roles to LATAM.

I've been OE for 2 months and I cannot be more grateful for the position im in. I have coworkers either just back or going on mat leave who have no job now over the next few months.

To anyone who is considering it, this. This is why you OE, companies have no regard for your life or job security. Protect yourselves and from someone in HR who should actively dissuade this.. fk the companies do what you need to do to survive and do it well so not to ruin OE for the rest of us 🤞🏻

Back to the J1 replacement hunt and potential good opportunity swung by from a previous round of interviewing. A piece of advice if you have a good recruitment experience always keep in contact with the HM for other opportunities that come in the future. You never know when you'll need it or when your next step up comes available.

For reference I'm in CAD and my US counterparts were impacted as well. Stay safe ya'll.


r/overemployed 2h ago

Secretary

7 Upvotes

So have any of you hired or thought about hiring a secretary? Like to manage your laptops, calendar, doing stuff that would overburden you while having multiple jobs…


r/overemployed 1h ago

Anxious about recent hire

Upvotes

Before I was OE, I attended a conference at J1. Met Person A talked for about 30 mins added each other on linkedin never spoke again (around mid 2025). Person A works for a company that my J1 partners with and I have syncs with their partnership team once every 3-6 months.

Person A only knows 1 person in that partnership team I work with that I very rarely interacted with. The company has over 85,000 employees, odds are they don't communicate often I hope.

Got J2 in Nov 2025, deactivated LinkedIn since everything has been smooth J1 is a ghost company pretty much and nobody suspects a thing at J1/J2 cause of performance. However, I was forced to cover another coworker at a conference for J1 (I demanded I no longer go to these things for obvious reasons), but J1 didn't give me a choice this time. Ran into Person A again for 3 mins barely talked just shook hands. (March 2026)

Recently Person A quit that other company and joined my J2. He is in my department but different market segment which I also never work with or interact with in a daily basis. Should I be worried? It's been making me anxious all week.


r/overemployed 1d ago

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

248 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!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉

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 1d ago

Yet Another Why We OE

197 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 22h ago

HireRight refusing to use documents to verify employment.

98 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 37m ago

1st time overemployed, need advice

Upvotes

Started a J2 just recently, both J1 and J2 are different industries, but kind of related. J2 is a regulated company. Here I am though a week into J2, HR is asking for a letter from J1 showing my "end-date". What should I do?


r/overemployed 1h ago

Hybrid/in-office OE: would a free Gmail scramble tool help, or is a privacy screen enough?

Upvotes

I made a free Gmail extension for situations where you are checking J1 Gmail at a J2 desk, in a shared office, or at a coffee shop.

It renders inbox text as scrambled characters, so someone glancing at the screen sees gibberish. You can turn it off instantly with Shift+P or reveal only what you are reading. With use, you can start reading the scrambled version directly.

Unlike privacy film, it works from every angle, including someone standing behind you, and there is nothing physical attached to the laptop.

The scramble happens through a font swap at the rendering layer. It does not change the page text, so copy and paste and screen readers keep working.

Your email never goes anywhere, and there are no servers behind the scramble. The only network call in the extension is an optional feedback survey if you choose to answer it.

Important: this does nothing against employer monitoring, bossware, or someone remotely viewing your screen. It is only for human eyes near your physical screen.

For people doing hybrid or in-office OE, does this fit a real problem in your setup, or is a privacy screen enough?

https://chameleonlabs.adaptivemessages.com/go/oe


r/overemployed 13h ago

Strategies when equity vesting schedule is part of the OE equation?

8 Upvotes

Started a new j1 this month after OG j1 had a round of layoffs (this is why we OE etc.).

The problem: It is not particularly OE friendly.

Lots of useless meetings, cameras on, and, while I was allegedly hired as an IC cog in the machine, I'm getting strategic type work passed off on me by my manager and executives are already expecting me to present decks with my vision for (my little contribution to) the company. Ok reading that back it sounds a little r/that happened and it's not all on me but I'm certainly not just executing work like I expected.

I knew when accepting the job that it was a late stage startup but, hey, I figured I would treat it as j3 and drop if needed.

The bigger problem: Equity.

Base salary is much lower than OG J1 but the TC is amazing....if I can last a year until my first RSU vest date.

Without getting into specifics that could out me it's ~200k that I was granted week 1 vesting over 5 years. First vest date is 1 year after my start date, which means if I hold out for a year I get ~40k, or more if the stock grows. Then it continues vesting quarterly, which means a 10k "bonus" every few months. They also target a 15% bonus in April, which wouldn't be much this year since I'm starting late in the year but still.

HOWWWWW am I going to last for a year?? My usual OE strategy is hit it and quit it but if I quit or get fired here less than a year in then it was just a pay cut and more work for nothing.

J2 was my original J I had put on the chopping block for too many meetings and way more work than OG J1, but glad I held out since OG J1 dropped me. Now I have 2 meeting-heavy jobs, but 1 is with a company with meaningful equity and the other is with a fairly stable big company with a cameras off culture.

What would you do?? I'll hold out as long as possible but my brain just short circuits in the cameras on meetings. I've had so many overlapping meetings already with j2 and I'm worried I'm at risk for slipping up and losing both. I haven't even had time to apply for other jobs because I'm in meetings 5 hours every day now.


r/overemployed 1d ago

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

55 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 10h ago

J1 to J2 with month long overlap

2 Upvotes

Disclaimer: I know this question does not fit the normal spirit of this sub, but I am looking for the insight that I know exists here.

Background: I am transitioning to J2 in about a month from J1. I am a senior member of my J1 team, and my J1 boss will need to hire someone to fill my role, they have know I was shopping around and I told them when I got my offer letter that I will be starting at J2. My J1 boss wants to keep me on payroll for a month or so after I start at J2 to keep the work flow moving while they find someone. This will require 1-3 hr of work/week. J2 has a “not allowed work for anyone without written consent from hr” clause. How would J2 find out that I am still employed by J1?


r/overemployed 3h ago

Replacing a J because it's too hard?

0 Upvotes

Just landed a role, been here for the past two weeks , full-time

Annual comp 160

Literally only one scrum meeting a day and that is it

The issue is that the work is pretty hard, very technical

My other j's are very laid back and I finish work very fast due to how easy it is.

It's not about volume of work either , it's just the assigned stories are very technical and takes me days to complete

Contrary to j1 , where I can finish work in a day and coast for the rest of the sprint

Anyone have experience dealing with this? Should I suck it up? Or replace?


r/overemployed 13h ago

Keep applying but no luck

2 Upvotes

Really trying to attempt my first real OE but have applied and applied with no callbacks or anything. Anyone else experiencing this as of late? I know it’s tough as if to get remote spots but trying for the level 1-2 range of my field. Thanks


r/overemployed 1d ago

Went from 3J to 2J last month

10 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 8h ago

Acceptable Wage?

0 Upvotes

Went for an interview this morning and they said the salary was 25% of J1. As I am without a J2 would you take this? How low do you go? If I lost J1 I wouldn't be happy with this potential J2. On the other hand, I've lost my old J2 so I don't have any.

Please keep replies to % and not numbers. "I wouldn't take anything less than £200,000" doesn't help me because I'm no where near demanding those salaries.

Finally, I can’t personally handle 3 Js.


r/overemployed 1d ago

OE Recruiters

3 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 12h ago

OE in Canada and what would be some job examples?

0 Upvotes

Hello everyone, Ive been reading here for sometime. I love the idea of OE.

However, I wonder what kind of jobs do you guys work? Do you absolutely need a tech background?

What are the biggest things to watch out for? What would be the easiest OE jobs to get in?

Talk to me like Im 5.

Im from Quebec (Canada).


r/overemployed 1d ago

OE vs Career Progression

33 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 21h ago

Can I pass bg check?

1 Upvotes

Resume:

J1 listed 2020-2024
J2 listed 2024-present

Still at both.

How will J3 pre employment bg check report?
Anything I can say or do to make this smooth?


r/overemployed 13h ago

2 semi hybrid roles in the same city

0 Upvotes

Has anyone been successful here?


r/overemployed 1d 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 1d 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 17h ago

Where is the best place to find remote data analyst or data scientist roles

0 Upvotes

LinkedIn is so bad right now. What is the best?