Shortly after starting his first full-time job, “Jason,” a 22-year-old software engineer residing on the West Coast, made the decision to look for extra income to complement his $75,000 annual salary.
Jason’s job allowed for complete remote work, and he told Insider that he could complete it all in just 10 to 15 hours a week. As a result, he believed he had enough time to pursue other interests.
He commenced a second full-time role as a software engineer in November 2021. Presently, he mentioned that he normally dedicates 20 to 30 hours per week to both jobs. According to documents reviewed by Insider, his total earnings for the previous year amounted to $144,000.
“I wanted to increase my income,” he said. “I felt my workload at my first job was low enough, and I knew that if I couldn’t handle it then I could simply quit one of the jobs.”
Although balancing two responsibilities can sometimes be challenging, such as when meetings overlap or he gets unanticipated work, Jason maintains that his work environment helps reduce his stress in some ways.
“I’m more willing to say ‘No’ to tasks at one of my jobs since I know I have a backup job,” he said.
5 strategies to work two remote jobs and get away with it
First, he claimed that he overestimates the length of his assignments in order to give himself more time to manage the workload of the two jobs.
“If I finish a task, I will hold on to it for a while before I submit it for review,” he said.
Second, he claims that he avoids overachieving at work and drawing extra attention or duties.
“Whenever possible, I try to seem somewhat incompetent so that my coworkers are more understanding when I take a while to finish a task and so they don’t give me lots of difficult tasks,” he said.
Third, Jason said that, when he can get away with it, he spends less time on some tasks.
“There are certain tasks I have like reviewing other people’s work, so sometimes I will not properly review their work so that I have more time to work at my other job,” he said.
Fourth, he claimed to have developed the ability to reject projects.
“Whenever I get asked to take on more work, I will sometimes say ‘No’ since I already have work on my plate,” he said.
Fifth, he stated that he informs his colleagues when someone prevents him from finishing his work.
“Whenever this happens, I make sure to mention this to my coworkers and managers so that they expect the work to be delayed,” he said.