3 Americans share how they got away with secretly working multiple remote jobs

• Secretly working multiple remote jobs has helped some Americans transform their finances.
• But juggling multiple jobs and getting away with it isn't easy.
• Business Insider asked three current and former job jugglers how to avoid suspicion.

Some Americans are secretly working multiple remote jobs to boost their incomes. Despite having double the meetings, duties, and co-workers, many have managed to get away with it undetected.

Avoiding detection can come with massive rewards. In recent months, Business Insider has spoken with three people who have earned over $300,000 working two or three remote jobs at the same time. They've used the extra money to pay off their mortgages, save for their kids' college education, pay for medical bills, and plan for an earlier retirement.

But pulling this off isn't easy, among the reasons "overemployed" individuals appear to be a very small share of the US workforce. Job juggling also comes with some risks. While working multiple jobs at once may not violate federal or state laws, it could breach some employment contracts and be a fireable offense if a worker is ever found out.

We asked three Americans who've been overemployed in the past year how they managed to pull it off. They spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of professional repercussions, but Business Insider has verified their identities and earnings.

Be good, not great, at all of your jobs

Justin, an IT engineer in his 50s, earned over $300,000 last year secretly working three full-time, remote IT engineer jobs.

In addition to providing him with an unusual level of job security, he said the extra income had helped him pay off debts, max out his 401(k), and turn his dream of retiring at age 65 into a potential reality.

Over the last two years, Justin said he'd studied all the excuses for missing meetings, not turning his computer camera on, and not being available for extra tasks. Helping workers like John avoid detection are thousands of members of the overemployed community on Discord and Reddit.

Justin's top piece of advice for job jugglers is to be good, not great, at all of your roles.

It's important to be good at one's job so your bosses don't suspect anything, he said. For some workers, this might mean focusing on just two jobs rather than three.

"Always be available, respond promptly, and do good work," he said. "Keep deadlines, and if you can't, communicate that ahead of time."

It's important to not be "great" at one's job, though, to avoid the extra responsibilities that could come with a promotion, Justin said. He added that this also results in his bosses expecting less of him and not overwhelming him with work.

Don't double book meetings and confide in a trusted friend

Joseph, a network engineer in his late 40s, earned $344,000 last secretly working three remote jobs. He said the extra income had made it possible for him to pay off the remaining $129,000 on his mortgage. Someday, he hoped it would allow him to send his children to college debt-free.

While Joseph was recently laid off from two of his jobs and is not currently overemployed, he said his job juggling was never exposed.

To avoid suspicion, Joseph said managing his work calendars was key. On his first job's digital work calendar, for instance, he'd add any meetings or obligations he had for the other two jobs, labeling them as "private" so no one could see the descriptions. This helped him avoid double-booking and prevented him from being bothered during these periods.

"If you keep your Outlook calendar up to date, you should never have a conflict," he said.

Additionally, Joseph had one good friend at each of his first two jobs who he told about his overemployed lifestyle.

"I really just needed someone on the inside to understand there might be a meeting I miss here or there," he said.

If you're productive at your jobs, your bosses might look the other way

John, a millennial IT professional based in California, is on track to earn over $300,000 this year across two remote jobs. He said he'd been able to save over $150,000 since he became overemployed two years ago and hoped to use these funds to buy a home someday.

For John, the best way to avoid suspicion is to be very productive at both jobs, which he said comes down to a combination of luck, practice, and skill.

For example, his teams' daily meetings luckily don't overlap. But, he's practiced working on one job while in a meeting for the other one. John is typically able to complete tasks ahead of schedule, among the reasons that, despite his two jobs, he said he only works around 40 hours a week.

Additionally, the skills he's learned in one job have sometimes helped him become more productive at his other job, he said.

Despite his best efforts to avoid suspicion, John said he thinks one of his bosses might know he's double-dipping. But as long as he remains productive, he said he's hopeful this suspicion won't become a problem.

"He either chooses not to mention it or simply doesn't care as long as I get my work done," John said of his boss.

Are you working multiple remote jobs at the same time and willing to provide details about your pay and schedule? If so, reach out to this reporter at [email protected].