This 48-year-old secretly worked three full-time jobs at the same time and earned $344,000 – because he wanted job security

Joseph, a 48-year-old network engineer in Texas, learned in October that he was being laid off. He called it a “huge relief.”

According to documents seen by Business Insider, Joseph earned a total of $344,000 last year from three full-time work-from-home jobs. He kept his “overemployment” – which he began in 2020 – secret from all employees, except for a few trusted colleagues. Joseph, whose identity is known to Business Insider but is not being named for fear of professional repercussions, is one of a niche group of employees who secretly work multiple jobs and get away with it.

A week after Joseph was fired from one of his three jobs, he received another message: His employment at a second job would be terminated in January. Both companies experienced large-scale layoffs due to a combination of cost-cutting measures and operational changes, he said.

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While this was a little unsettling, Joseph was in a better position than most of his colleagues. In addition to the $50,000 (46,000 euros) in severance pay he received, the layoffs did not leave him unemployed. “It’s great that I still have this third job,” he said. “All my colleagues and friends ask, ‘Let me know if you need anything,’ and I’m grateful for that. But it’s also nice to say, ‘You know what – I’m doing better than fine.’”

The income from the three jobs helped him pay off his mortgage

In May, he told Business Insider that the extra income helped him pay off the remaining $129,000 of his mortgage, save for his children’s college education and build a nest egg for retirement. But perhaps the biggest benefit of the multiple job was that it offered him an unusual level of job security, he said. Despite suffering two layoffs, he still has a full-time job.

While working two jobs at the same time doesn’t violate federal or state law in the U.S., it can violate some employment contracts – and result in firing if a worker is ever discovered. About 300,000 members of the “overemployed” community on Discord and Reddit are helping workers like Joseph avoid detection, Business Insider’s Aki Ito reports.

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Labor law: Can bosses prohibit a second job or a project outside of work?

In principle, you are allowed to have multiple jobs in Germany – although two full-time jobs are practically not possible due to the Working Hours Act. If you have a main job that is subject to insurance, only a mini-job is exempt from tax. Every additional job is subject to social security contributions – and requires approval from your employer if the second job affects their interests.

This article was translated from English by Steffen Bosse. You can find the original here.