Paying off student-loan debt and traveling the world: How the overemployed use their extra earnings

• Some overemployed Americans have secretly worked multiple remote jobs to increase their incomes.
• They've used the money to travel, save for retirement, buy cars, and pay off student debt.
• Many said job juggling was worth it despite the long hours and risk of professional repercussions.

Some Americans have increased their incomes by secretly working multiple remote jobs, and they're using the money to splurge or improve their financial futures.

In 2021, Robert was making roughly $180,000 a year from his tech job. When his workflow started to slow, he feared he could be laid off and found a job that paid $190,000 annually. He kept both remote roles, and in 2023, Robert earned more than $300,000 across the two.

Robert, a Gen Xer in Florida, said the extra income enabled him and his partner to take a roughly $20,000 cruise and spend another $10,000 on trips to Yellowstone, the Galápagos Islands, and Las Vegas, among other places.

"We spend a lot on travel because life is more about experiences and memories than material things," Robert previously told Business Insider. His identity is known to BI, but he asked to use a pseudonym because of his fear of professional repercussions.

Robert is among the "overemployed" Americans who have secretly worked multiple remote jobs to boost their incomes. Over the past year, BI has interviewed more than two dozen job jugglers who've used the extra money to pay off debt, save for retirement, and afford expensive weight-loss drugs.

To be sure, while some employers may be OK with their workers having a second job, doing so without company approval could have professional repercussions. Additionally, job juggling can lead to burnout, and the ethics of doing it in secret are up for debate.

But many current and former overemployed individuals told BI that the financial benefits were worth it, and some have used the money to build additional income streams. BI has verified their earnings, and their identities are known, but they asked to use pseudonyms because of their fear of professional repercussions.

Overemployed workers set up new earnings opportunities

Patrick, an account manager, earned about $200,000 last year secretly working two full-time remote jobs and doing some freelance work.

He used the extra income to pay off debts and make home improvements. It also allowed his wife to trade her full-time job for a part-time gig so she could spend more time with their child.

"I'm a new father, and my goal is financial freedom," Patrick, who's in his 30s and lives in California, previously told BI.

Some overemployed workers have tried to turn their extra earnings into additional income streams.

In 2023, Luke made about $225,000 across multiple remote jobs. The e-commerce professional said he used the extra income to make a down payment on a truck and start an Airbnb. He said he didn't want to become reliant on the extra income.

"I went into it saying that I was not going to use the money as spending money," Luke, who's in his 30s and lives in the South, previously told BI. "I was basically going to treat the money like it wasn't there unless it was something that I needed to buy that was big."

Over the past few years, Charles, a consumer-product professional in his 30s, earned between $100,000 and $300,000 annually by working multiple remote roles. His income fluctuated as he bounced between different jobs.

He said boosting his earnings made it possible for him to make home improvements, buy a rental property, and purchase a new car.

Some job jugglers have padded their savings or paid down debt

Some overemployed workers haven't splurged much and have instead used the money to shore up their finances.

Adam, who's in his early 40s, had roughly $118,000 in student-loan debt as of January 2023. The security-risk professional said juggling two remote roles and doubling his income to more than $170,000 had allowed him to significantly reduce his debt burden.

"I'm expecting to have all my student loans paid off before Christmas," Adam, who lives in Arizona, previously told BI. In November, Adam said he was still on track to meet this goal.

Adam said he also used his extra money to build a four-month emergency savings fund and help out a few friends financially.

In 2021, Phil, a software engineer in his 30s, saw his workload decline at his job. He thought the change would give him the time to juggle two remote jobs simultaneously.

Phil, who's in his 30s and lives in Texas, said his roughly $350,000 annual pay allowed him to allocate nearly $75,000 to his retirement funds last year.

"Overemployment definitely helps as far as financial security is concerned," he previously told BI.

Are you secretly working multiple remote jobs at the same time and willing to discuss details about your pay and schedule? If so, reach out to this reporter at jzinkula@businessinsider.com.