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Ask HN: Is it worth working two 90% Jobs?
I already work 60hrs/week, but am paid only for the 39hrs.
Would it not make sense for me to work two 30hr jobs instead?
Other than opting out of the 48-hour work week limit, are there any legal or financial concerns to doing this?
I would pay tax twice I suppose, but the takehome would still be better than what I'm doing now, right?
- throwawaysleep 2y agoI have done this for years. There is a whole community of us over at /r/overemployed. Yeah, you would get fired it caught. But we live in an age of layoffs. You are doomed anyway.
- yahoobing 2y agoFired for what though? They are saying they’ll do the hours. They are just “working 2 jobs”. Just make sure the contracts allow it and don’t conflict e.g. both require you to turn up at 9am.
- muzani 2y agoWhat usually happens is people take two L3 jobs instead of a single L5 job, with different benefits and expectations. One of those expectations is not being just a warm body in a seat for 8 hours. But at lower levels, you could probably automate more stuff too, at the risk of being promoted to a level where you can't.
- philomath_mn 2y agoBoth sides would need to sign-off, if they do then OP would be fine. I suspect that a lot of over-employed people do not get explicit sign-off from both parties. That becomes a gray area.
- tetris11 2y agoI want to do this fully legally. In Germany you just need to declare to your employer that you have a second job and that it won't interfere with their hours. I just want to know if its worth it, money/time-wise
- mrkeen 2y agoIf it takes you 60hrs/week to do 39hrs/week, you're not going to be able to fit 2*30hrs/week into 60hrs/week.
- tetris11 2y agoThe extra hours I do are more for my sense of perfectionism than to do with keeping up. I fill the extra time because I want to. I just now want to start getting laid for it.
- qup 2y agoMake the second job at the local gym, that should help.
- tetris11 2y agoThat's very helpful, thank you...
- blissfulresup 2y agoBelieve he was being cheeky about you now wanting to get /laid/ for it Since already commenting, I’d look into getting some resume assistance. Know you mentioned the kinda work you do is linear pay but perhaps if you reword your skills/what you’ve done in a clearer/relevant light you’d be able to transition easier. Good luck, thank you for posting
- tetris11 2y agoOH! Oh god, I did not see that. I've been ricing my CV for a few months now. Highlighted STAR stories and projects to show my experience as a Software Dev / SysAdmin / Data Analyst / Matrix manager, made skill charts of all the languages and frameworks I've used complete with years of experience. It looks fancy as hell from my perspective, but maybe it's time I got a second opinion on it from some professionals. Cheers.
- 2y ago
- GianFabien 2y agoYou want to burn-out faster? If the jobs are not fully remote, you will have to allow for travel time and costs between the two jobs. Why not get a job that pays better, especially if you are willing to work those sorts of hours. There's much to be said for having a life outside of work and not wrecking your health.
- tetris11 2y agoI'll just go to the job store and demand better pay, it's apparently very easy to do. I appreciate the warning about taking care of my health though.
- speedgoose 2y agoLife is too short to do this unless you must to survive.
- tetris11 2y agothe latter. I don't own property and I'm seeing the writing on the wall.
- jf22 2y agoWhat kind of writing are you seeing? Tech careers are fairly lucrative so you should be able to save plenty for retirement.
- jejeyyy77 2y agoon the contrary, this would allow you to retire in half the time ;)
- cpach 2y agoOther options: • Start working max 40 hours per week at your current job. • Find a new job with higher salary, where you only work 30-50 hours/week.
- tetris11 2y agoI'm an X year "forever" post-doc. I have a wide range of tech and analysis skills but employers look at my CV and see no industry experience and will immediately dismiss me as an entry-level tech worker. Also, no one seems to be hiring at the moment despite the deluge of linked-in postings (I no longer trust most of these as legitimate, and instead see it as companies signalling "growth"). I enjoy my work, it feels meaningful, and I get great feedback from it, so I'm happy to put the extra hours in. I've built good networks in academia over the last few years and I am constantly being courted by separate labs to win me to their team, but the pay is flat and isn't great. Hence my desire to continue what I am doing, but officially for two teams and officially as two jobs.
- cpach 2y agoYou asked HN if it’s worth it. My personal take: To me, no, it wouldn’t be worth it. I have a hard time seeing myself trying such an arrangement. I would rather try consulting instead. But your mileage may vary. If you feel that you have good reasons to try it, just do it. Then evaluate after 6-12 months.
- tetris11 2y agoThat's fair, and much appreciated on the honest feedback
- sn9 2y agoAre the entry-level roles you're looking at paying less than what you make as a post-doc? If you took one, would you be making more or less money in 2-5 years?
- tetris11 2y ago
- solumunus 2y ago> I would pay tax twice I suppose No?
- tetris11 2y agoIf one job is in the UK and the other job is in the EU, and I'm living in the UK... surely there must separate tax situations there?
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- sloaken 2y agoWhen in doubt, bet on the greedy tax man. How ever you structure it they will ensure you loss. But I would talk with a tax specialist, not a group of techies :-)
- markus_zhang 2y agoI think it depends. If it's difficult to move up the ladder AND move to a new company, and you want the $$$ for whatever reason, then getting two jobs makes perfect sense. I'm actually considering the option because I don't have the confidence to move into a job I love, so getting better paid and retire earlier is the next best thing. Maybe one full-time job with one contractor job to minimize the risk. I could take home $250K+ pre-tax which is pretty lucrative for Canadians, plus I can expense my laptop and other minor stuffs. But I have never done that so not sure if I could handle the pressure. It would be nice if both jobs require minimum guidance and meetings.
- philomath_mn 2y agoIf you are young, single, and can do this in the moral and legal clear -- then yes, do it. That being said, if you are young and single, you might want to look ahead 20 years and make sure that this would lead you to the end-state that you want most (think about it, money is just one of many factors).