Millennial defies commute, juggles multiple remote jobs

NEW YORK, UNITED STATES — A millennial from the New York tri-state area, known as Charles, has found a lucrative way to avoid the dreaded office commute – secretly working multiple remote jobs simultaneously.
He has successfully juggled multiple remote jobs as a consumer product professional in his 30s, accumulating over $300,000 in 2021, and maintaining a six-figure income since.
“There were times when I was just sitting around with nothing to do at my main job for weeks,” Charles told the Business Insider.
“So I’m either going to stay productive by finding other remote work or just wasting time and leaving money on the table. Why wouldn’t I take on more responsibilities if I can manage them?”
Obstacles to lucrative overemployment goals
The extra income enabled Charles to pay off debts, invest in property, and fund personal ventures. Just as importantly, it allowed him to avoid returning to an office.
However, Charles’ overemployment strategy has faced recent headwinds. With some companies scaling back hiring and favoring in-person roles, fully remote opportunities have become scarcer.
New research from career site Ladders reveals that nearly none of the highest paying jobs are still available as remote or hybrid roles.
An analysis of over half a million job postings found that remote opportunities for roles paying $250,000 or more plummeted by around 60% in the past year, while hybrid roles crashed by 95%.
Avoiding commute costs
Charles remains adamant about avoiding the commute.
“Why would I leave the good job that I have where I’m 100% remote still and I don’t have to go into the city?” he said.
“I’d be getting up at 6 a.m. in the morning and not getting home until 6 or 7 p.m. if I’m lucky. No thanks.”
Charles estimates a commute could cost him hundreds per month, making an office job even less appealing financially.
Mastering the art of overemployment
To keep his dual employment under wraps, Charles uses separate technological setups for each job, including different laptops, phones, and calendars. He has refined multitasking to an art form, managing to stay productive across both roles without extra hours.
“If I am in a meeting with one job that doesn’t require me to speak up, I will be doing work on the other laptop for the other job,” he said.
“I do my work from home, and people are happy with what I do. If a company wants to come after me for extra earned income because of some anti-overemployment policy, I’ll fight it.”
On the other hand, Luke, another millennial who made around $225,000 secretly working two remote jobs, has decided to quit the overemployment grind over the combined stress and logistical challenges.
An impending promotion at his primary job, a newborn child, higher tax liabilities, and a difficult boss were among the main reasons he cited for ending his stint of overemployment.