-
An American millennial made more than $100,000 last year by secretly working multiple remote jobs.
-
But the delay in hiring and returning to office has made it harder for him to find new positions.
-
He said he will do everything he can to avoid having to travel to an office for work.
Charles is willing to go out of his way to earn extra money — except going to an office.
In 2019, the three-state consumer products professional had a friend who needed help with some freelance work, he told Business Insider.
Charles took on the side job, thinking he could use the extra income to save for a Tesla. Since his main job was remote, he said it wasn’t difficult to work a side job.
After doing this for about two years, the work ended, but Charles had grown accustomed to the extra income – so he decided to look for other remote opportunities. It was fortunate timing for Charles, as the pandemic had forced many companies to adopt remote work. He said he had little trouble finding work-from-home jobs.
“There were times when I had nothing to do in my main job for weeks,” says Charles, whose identity is known to BI but he asked to use a pseudonym for fear of professional repercussions. “So I stay productive by finding other remote work or just wasting time and leaving money on the table. Why not take on more responsibilities if I can manage them?”
Charles, in his thirties, is among the Americans who secretly work multiple jobs to increase their income. Over the past year, Business Insider interviewed about two dozen job jugglers, many in the IT and technology industries, who used the extra cash to pay off debt, save for retirement and buy weight-loss drugs. While some employers may be okay with their employees having a second job, there can be consequences if they do so without the employer’s permission.
In recent years, Charles has simultaneously worked a mix of full-time and remote contract jobs while keeping his overemployment a secret from his employers. Juggling jobs earned him more than $300,000 in 2021, more than $200,000 in 2022 and more than $100,000 in 2023, according to documents viewed by Business Insider. Charles said this money made it possible for him to pay off debts, make home improvements, buy a rental property, invest in a personal business venture and buy a new car.
But over the past year, he said the job market for the types of positions he’s interested in has “dried up.” That’s because some companies in his industry have reduced headcount, while others are recruiting primarily for in-person or hybrid roles. This left him hanging on to his two remaining remote jobs, which not only allowed him to generate additional income but also avoid the dreaded commute.
“Why would I leave the good job I have where I’m still 100% remote and I don’t have to go into the city?” he said. ‘If I’m lucky, I get up at six in the morning and don’t get home until six or seven. No thanks.’
Charles added that the commute could cost him several hundred dollars a month.
Although combining multiple full-time jobs can be very lucrative, intense competition for remote assignments has made this out of reach for many employees. For example, the share of US jobs on LinkedIn that are posted entirely remotely has fallen from over 20% in April 2022 to around 10% in December 2023. The slowdown in hiring in sectors such as technology – where remote work and overtime more common – and shifts to hybrid working. Both arrangements have played a role in this decline.
But despite this decline, job seeker demand for remote roles remains high: LinkedIn said remote jobs accounted for nearly half of all job applications in December.
Charles said he understands why some companies have moved to a hybrid model — he assumes it is to keep a closer eye on employees — but he said he will do everything he can to avoid commuting.
To prevent his employers from suspecting that he is juggling his jobs, Charles says he uses separate laptops, phones and calendars for each job. He said he can usually complete his duties for both jobs without having to put in extra hours.
“If I’m in a meeting with one job that doesn’t require me to say anything, I’ll be on the other laptop working on the other job,” he said.
If an employer discovered he had too much work, he said he wouldn’t just give it up.
“I do my work from home and people are happy with what I do,” he said. “If a company wants to come after me for extra revenue because of an anti-overtime policy, I will fight it.”
Are you working multiple remote jobs at the same time and are you willing to provide details about your salary and schedule? Please contact this reporter at jzinkula@businessinsider.com.
Read the original article on Business Insider
