- Some people secretly work multiple remote jobs to increase their earnings and build job security.
- Five current and former job-jugglers shared the roles that are best suited for overemployment.
- They said software engineers, data analysts, and sales roles can work well.
If you want to secretly work multiple remote jobs, some roles are easier to juggle than others.
Tom Wedding held multiple remote marketing jobs until last year, when he founded LVRGD — a company that helps people land remote roles and outsource the work, charging $3,000 to $5,000 per placement, he told Business Insider. Wedding said some of his clients aim to juggle multiple jobs at once.
He said the best roles for overemployed workers tend to involve minimal meetings, low communication demands, and repeatable tasks that can be done independently, such as software development, IT, and tech support jobs. He added that certain marketing, sales, and creative support roles — such as video editing and graphic design — could also work.
"It's best to find something that is remote, has simple repetitive workloads, and is highly systemisable," said Wedding, 25, who's based in Australia.
Wedding is one of more than two dozen job-jugglers BI has interviewed in the past two years who balance multiple roles to increase their earnings or ensure job security. While many of these workers hold tech and IT positions, others work in communications, healthcare, or engineering.
Five current and former job-jugglers shared insights based on their experiences and research into the world of overemployment. Aside from Wedding, all did so on the condition that pseudonyms would be used, for fear of professional repercussions. BI has verified their identities and earnings.
To be sure, holding multiple jobs without employer approval could have professional repercussions and lead to burnout. But many job-jugglers told BI the financial benefits have generally outweighed the downsides and risks.
The ideal overemployed job has few meetings and lots of independent work
Adam earned roughly $170,000 in 2023, secretly working two remote jobs as a security risk professional. This helped him pay off more than $100,000 in student loan debt, and he said he continues to juggle two full-time gigs.
Based on his experience in the tech industry, Adam said three job categories stood out as good fits for job juggling: software engineers, data analysts, and third-party risk analysts — the field where he works. He said these roles are often remote, involve independent work, come with reasonable deadlines, and have manageable communication demands.
"If the job allows for independent management and communication isn't overly demanding or time-sensitive, these roles can be juggled," he said.
Kelly, who's on track to earn nearly $300,000 this year by secretly working two full-time remote engineering jobs, said it helps to be in a management role — particularly in project management and software quality assurance.
"These types of positions don't require you to sit around and produce much," she said. "Your team will do the work and provide you with the inputs."
Maximizing time is a key factor for Harrison, who holds six full-time remote jobs and has a team of seven workers who assist him. He works as a quality assurance professional in the IT sector and estimates he'll earn roughly $800,000 this year.
Harrison said roles involving automation testing — where software automatically checks for functionality — can be ideal for job-jugglers, since tests often take time to run, giving workers a window to focus on other jobs. Regardless of the role, he said it's important to find jobs with relatively few meetings.
"I think it's best to stay away from jobs that have a lot of meetings or that need you on camera a lot," he said. "This reduces the times you can work other jobs."
For George, who's secretly working two remote IT jobs in the finance industry and earning about $250,000 a year, the company and sector matter as much as the job title when assessing whether a role suits job juggling.
"I think it's about finding the right industry where the demands on the employee's specific role are lower," he said.
Productivity hacks can make job juggling easier
Having jobs that suit overemployment is only half the battle: The job-jugglers BI interviewed said it's just as important to find ways to increase productivity.
Kelly said she tries to plan her workdays to stay as efficient as possible. She uses several AI tools to streamline her workload, including ChatGPT for writing emails and QuillBot to make her writing sound more professional. When reviewing code, she inputs it into GitHub Copilot, an AI-powered coding assistant, which she said cuts her workload in half.
"These tools are life-changing and make my job a lot easier," she said.
Since job-juggling can make it difficult to focus during meetings, Harrison said he uses Zoom's AI-generated meeting summaries to help him catch up on the key talking points.
Adam said he relies on keyboard shortcuts, reuses templates instead of starting from scratch, and turns to AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini for "mundane" tasks such as writing emails.
"I automate my work as much as I can," he said.
In addition to these strategies, Adam said there's one low-tech way to reduce his workload: just say "no."
"I'm not afraid to say no to some special tasks or projects," he said. "I don't try to be Superman all the time."
