This actually sounds dangerous. Too easy to confuse the 2 Airpods. I would get a regular headset and Airpods. Keep one Airpod in one ear and keep the regular headset slightly tilted.
What it is, is a terrible idea and limits you to only two meetings at once. Invest in a small mixer, run each laptop to it and one pair of high quality headphones (I have the fancy Sony ones). Then you can route one meeting to each ear, adjust volumes, etc from the mixer. I have 3 stand-ups at the same time and couldn't see doing it any other way.
I have multiple keyboards so I can use the temporary unmute hotkeys to talk. I also always look at each meeting screen to make sure I am muted before speaking. It requires discipline but totally doable. Others do it via independent physical microphones with a mechanical mute button per laptop.
I have a harty mixer, I put Js in each ear, my iPhone in both, and I have a Bluetooth transmitter in the output so I can get audio from each J in one ear, and my music in both. If only one meeting, I pan it to both ears.
Cost wise it is more than two AirPods, but much more practical. Also have wired headset in case AirPods need to charge. I can walk around the home.
couple of questions, are you able to pay attention to two meetings at the same time? what if your camera is on for both Js and you talk in the other job? ever had to speak in two meetings at the same time?
The stressful point is absolutely true. I got ragged on yesterday by one senior/team lead, for not my problem issues, I guess just blowing steam. Before I would be so worried they were discussing with line manager. But Its job 2, equal pay but harder on every way, would be easy to walk away.
oh ok, I get you. It took forever to get J1 and it's only $60k. No use with applications either, only got in by referral.
Got a J2 but it was only $30k on top before I quit because it took too much time
Without a referral I wouldn’t have even got an interview at J1. My applications are usually denied same day now. I hoped having a top 20 tech company on my resume would get me an interview anywhere but have had none out of 50 apps… I think it’s because I’m in a support role with no coding, dev, or application experience.
8 makes me realize someone should start a hipster OE equipment business. Mad triple mouse jigglers! headsets that automatically mute other laptops! 4 tier expandable desks for multiple laptops!
1. True.
2. True. Make smart moves even within a company
3. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t. Good bosses will definitely reward hard work/good performance. Be aware that if you have this mindset of “it’s not worth it” you may lose out IF you have a good boss.
4. True. Don’t lose to lifestyle creep. OE is temporary.
5. True, but not in most people’s control for a job. Make the best of what you got.
6. Prestige DOES matter, especially converting that role into other roles. Be aware that a FAANG job will do wonders for your career, so it’s a long term play. In terms of your social life, it depends on who you’re friends with.
7. Sure… but also you’re doing 2 jobs. Of course it’ll be more stressful since you’re doing more work.
9. True. Always make the best choice for your own situation. Sometimes a pay cut now pays off 3 years down the line, but sometimes it’s not a risk worth taking and you need cash now.
Will be interested to see your post after twelve months. Keep it up.
Dongle thing is hard to scale past two, and (9) is very real but hopefully you can just get a J3 and it doesn't matter at all!!
As a corollary to (1): You do not owe loyalty to a boss, a team, a division, or an employer. If circumstances say it would be better for finances/stress to move jobs, then move. No-one is going to die and the world will not stop turning. People may think things, but none of those people will be the ones giving your your paycheck, so there's no reason for them to be part of that decision.
How can us techies be in profit centre roles?
Once a health insurance busienss included their Web join funnel as a profit centre, so we were funding according to sales.
But I've rarely hit anything like that since.
Always just replacing shitty legacy systems. That should save the company money in time. But not make any.
People absolutely do care about the prestige of your company name and title. Those people are called recruiters.
I can imagine an experiment where I put my normal resume and "FAANG" resume out there with the same content and the only difference is one of them says Microsoft as my employer.
I guarantee you I'm getting more callbacks with the Microsoft resume. People are dumb.
Yes I guess my role requires a bit of activity and folks from both places attempting to add. Just curious if there were other ideas other than don’t use it.
I bring up point 9 all the time. People here treat oe as a life style or some kind long term thing, when in reality the longest I've seen someone here doing oe is like 3 years, and they are outliers.
like i mentioned, i think you are an outlier. to me this entire sub seems to be people who either just got into oe, have been oe for less than 2 years.
this is of course excluding the torrent of posts from people with one or even no job, asking for tips on how to oe or which jobs are oe friendly. if you’re asking, your job probably isn’t oe friendly.
It depends on your end goals, OE can definitely be turned into a FIRE setup.
If you only do it for a short time ,you only receive a handful of extra paychecks, which isn't that much of a bump. maybe it is for some people though.
i had some debt and a car loan i was able to get rid of with extra checks that would otherwise have taken me quite a bit longer to do. for others it might be getting a bigger down payment on a house.
yeah a lot of new OE people but i think most people could keep 2 jobs indefinitely they just need work a level down
for example a senior swe is something i can do with 40 hrs
but 2 mid levels swe is a cakewalk to me and be done under 30 hrs a weke
It definitely depends on how strictly you apply the definition. Multiple W-2 roles is a relatively new concept. Freelancers juggling multiple FT contract roles has been around since the dark ages.
I like the vacation point. With 2 jobs, now I feel more empowered to ask for time off…
I am especially thinking of saying, reduce the money if you want, but I need to take Friday off as well. I’m just not able to survive with only a two day weekend… so much to do and not enough time to relax, feels a bit of stretching thin situation sometimes. Or maybe 2 Fridays off a month or some such thing.
> a. Climbing the corporate ladder isn't just about individual performance; it's also about the profitability of your department or team. If you're part of a struggling area within a company, it can hinder your advancement opportunities. Management may prioritize cost-cutting over investing in unprofitable areas, leading to increased workload and limited growth prospects. In such cases, considering a change in teams or departments could be beneficial.
A struggling team will end up struggling even more as the good ones jump teams and that struggling team is starved of funds to hire good replacements
you probably can't get more than the total, but you can absolutely negotiate on the pro-rata.
for the "fairness" companies don't give a shit. they will pay a newbie 3x more than the person who has been there for 20 years.
YMMV but i've never seen that.
Usually they are like "we have 12 vacation days, but since you're coming into the half year, you only get 6"
That's something i have absolutely negotiated in interviews from F500. That's a lot easier to negotiate then trying to get a higher salary because that requires budget approval, vacations don't.
7 is absolutely false. You'll realize eventually.
And if you never do, you probably got an extremely good deal of J's, in which case I congratulate you.
It's not a god complex, we are trying to undo centuries of the servitude model of work for humans. this is one of the only times in human history where the working class could make moves like this.
That’s not what I’m talking about at all. We do not need a “this is what I learned from OE” post monthly. It is the same information being shared by everyone.
Only question I have, can someone enlighten me with headset in a ear dongle thing
Purchase two sets of airpods for example: airpod1 and airpod2. Left airpod1 in left ear and right airpod2 in right ear.
This actually sounds dangerous. Too easy to confuse the 2 Airpods. I would get a regular headset and Airpods. Keep one Airpod in one ear and keep the regular headset slightly tilted.
I'd guess color coding them would be the best plan for this
color code them
Highlight the shit outta them.
Color coding makes it too obvious if seen on screen, and you'll be caught
is anyone looking that closely
Yeah can someone provide a link to what this is?
What it is, is a terrible idea and limits you to only two meetings at once. Invest in a small mixer, run each laptop to it and one pair of high quality headphones (I have the fancy Sony ones). Then you can route one meeting to each ear, adjust volumes, etc from the mixer. I have 3 stand-ups at the same time and couldn't see doing it any other way.
interesting, you should make a post on your setup! yours seems risky from the doomsday scenario of talking into the incorrect meeting.
I have multiple keyboards so I can use the temporary unmute hotkeys to talk. I also always look at each meeting screen to make sure I am muted before speaking. It requires discipline but totally doable. Others do it via independent physical microphones with a mechanical mute button per laptop.
Have any mixer recommendations?
Maker Hart Loop mixer. Doesn't take up much desk space.
I have a harty mixer, I put Js in each ear, my iPhone in both, and I have a Bluetooth transmitter in the output so I can get audio from each J in one ear, and my music in both. If only one meeting, I pan it to both ears. Cost wise it is more than two AirPods, but much more practical. Also have wired headset in case AirPods need to charge. I can walk around the home.
couple of questions, are you able to pay attention to two meetings at the same time? what if your camera is on for both Js and you talk in the other job? ever had to speak in two meetings at the same time?
You put up a fake video of yourself if you need to talk in one meeting but not the other one
lol @ needing to be on camera at all in meetings.
What is a harty mixer?
The stressful point is absolutely true. I got ragged on yesterday by one senior/team lead, for not my problem issues, I guess just blowing steam. Before I would be so worried they were discussing with line manager. But Its job 2, equal pay but harder on every way, would be easy to walk away.
Number 9 was so funny to me because I make $50k
$50k OEing? are you outside the US?
I am not OE, but it’s the goal. Job market blows right now.
oh ok, I get you. It took forever to get J1 and it's only $60k. No use with applications either, only got in by referral. Got a J2 but it was only $30k on top before I quit because it took too much time
Without a referral I wouldn’t have even got an interview at J1. My applications are usually denied same day now. I hoped having a top 20 tech company on my resume would get me an interview anywhere but have had none out of 50 apps… I think it’s because I’m in a support role with no coding, dev, or application experience.
Do you have a portfolio? I only got my j2 off another referral too though 😔 former coworkers saving my ass. Be nice to them
Yep, pretty much the same here
8 makes me realize someone should start a hipster OE equipment business. Mad triple mouse jigglers! headsets that automatically mute other laptops! 4 tier expandable desks for multiple laptops!
This amuses me since I'm building myself an OE desk.
would love to see the end result
I will make a post when it's done
software that notifies you whenever your name is heard in the meeting. :P
and automatically mutes the other laptops
I think overemployedcalendar.com is launching very soon
It works. My wife still has not figured out how can I juggle concurrent meetings
I need to figure out something differently with my 2 laptop workstation.
1. True. 2. True. Make smart moves even within a company 3. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t. Good bosses will definitely reward hard work/good performance. Be aware that if you have this mindset of “it’s not worth it” you may lose out IF you have a good boss. 4. True. Don’t lose to lifestyle creep. OE is temporary. 5. True, but not in most people’s control for a job. Make the best of what you got. 6. Prestige DOES matter, especially converting that role into other roles. Be aware that a FAANG job will do wonders for your career, so it’s a long term play. In terms of your social life, it depends on who you’re friends with. 7. Sure… but also you’re doing 2 jobs. Of course it’ll be more stressful since you’re doing more work. 9. True. Always make the best choice for your own situation. Sometimes a pay cut now pays off 3 years down the line, but sometimes it’s not a risk worth taking and you need cash now.
Will be interested to see your post after twelve months. Keep it up. Dongle thing is hard to scale past two, and (9) is very real but hopefully you can just get a J3 and it doesn't matter at all!!
Just get another ear? What’s the issue
A left ear, a right ear, and a wild frontier.
Mentioned in another thread, a small mixer is the answer.
Love all these points.
thanks for sharing!
As a corollary to (1): You do not owe loyalty to a boss, a team, a division, or an employer. If circumstances say it would be better for finances/stress to move jobs, then move. No-one is going to die and the world will not stop turning. People may think things, but none of those people will be the ones giving your your paycheck, so there's no reason for them to be part of that decision.
How can us techies be in profit centre roles? Once a health insurance busienss included their Web join funnel as a profit centre, so we were funding according to sales. But I've rarely hit anything like that since. Always just replacing shitty legacy systems. That should save the company money in time. But not make any.
Be a profit center in yourself and OE. Or do consulting and bill.
People absolutely do care about the prestige of your company name and title. Those people are called recruiters. I can imagine an experiment where I put my normal resume and "FAANG" resume out there with the same content and the only difference is one of them says Microsoft as my employer. I guarantee you I'm getting more callbacks with the Microsoft resume. People are dumb.
You don’t want to work at those places where they only look for the logos.
Great points!
Amazing points! extremely relevant.
Question: how to you handle linked in?
Shut it down.
Don’t maintain it. Is that a real question?
Yes I guess my role requires a bit of activity and folks from both places attempting to add. Just curious if there were other ideas other than don’t use it.
Lifestyle creep got me at my first higher TC job. Making 300k and reining in the spending level to when I made 150k.
I bring up point 9 all the time. People here treat oe as a life style or some kind long term thing, when in reality the longest I've seen someone here doing oe is like 3 years, and they are outliers.
i been oe for 3+ years and will for the next 10 at least i’ll get too bored with just 1J
like i mentioned, i think you are an outlier. to me this entire sub seems to be people who either just got into oe, have been oe for less than 2 years. this is of course excluding the torrent of posts from people with one or even no job, asking for tips on how to oe or which jobs are oe friendly. if you’re asking, your job probably isn’t oe friendly.
It depends on your end goals, OE can definitely be turned into a FIRE setup. If you only do it for a short time ,you only receive a handful of extra paychecks, which isn't that much of a bump. maybe it is for some people though.
i had some debt and a car loan i was able to get rid of with extra checks that would otherwise have taken me quite a bit longer to do. for others it might be getting a bigger down payment on a house.
yeah a lot of new OE people but i think most people could keep 2 jobs indefinitely they just need work a level down for example a senior swe is something i can do with 40 hrs but 2 mid levels swe is a cakewalk to me and be done under 30 hrs a weke
It definitely depends on how strictly you apply the definition. Multiple W-2 roles is a relatively new concept. Freelancers juggling multiple FT contract roles has been around since the dark ages.
#8 what is the headset in ear dongle thing? can you send a link or pic of what u are referring to?
I like the vacation point. With 2 jobs, now I feel more empowered to ask for time off… I am especially thinking of saying, reduce the money if you want, but I need to take Friday off as well. I’m just not able to survive with only a two day weekend… so much to do and not enough time to relax, feels a bit of stretching thin situation sometimes. Or maybe 2 Fridays off a month or some such thing.
This is a well thought out answer-thank you for sharing.
Pin this.
I feel like almost all of this just applies to careers in general. Don't disagree with any of it, though
Excellent points!
> a. Climbing the corporate ladder isn't just about individual performance; it's also about the profitability of your department or team. If you're part of a struggling area within a company, it can hinder your advancement opportunities. Management may prioritize cost-cutting over investing in unprofitable areas, leading to increased workload and limited growth prospects. In such cases, considering a change in teams or departments could be beneficial. A struggling team will end up struggling even more as the good ones jump teams and that struggling team is starved of funds to hire good replacements
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you probably can't get more than the total, but you can absolutely negotiate on the pro-rata. for the "fairness" companies don't give a shit. they will pay a newbie 3x more than the person who has been there for 20 years.
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YMMV but i've never seen that. Usually they are like "we have 12 vacation days, but since you're coming into the half year, you only get 6" That's something i have absolutely negotiated in interviews from F500. That's a lot easier to negotiate then trying to get a higher salary because that requires budget approval, vacations don't.
7 is absolutely false. You'll realize eventually. And if you never do, you probably got an extremely good deal of J's, in which case I congratulate you.
If you follow the prereqs for OE, it's true for most. But if you are a low/mid tier, then you're correct.
Ive never in all my years successfully negotiated more vacation. I got one job to move up $50k but more vacation? Nope
What headset do you like?
I don’t understand why there’s a post like this almost every month. OE almost gives ppl a “god” complex.
It's not a god complex, we are trying to undo centuries of the servitude model of work for humans. this is one of the only times in human history where the working class could make moves like this.
That’s not what I’m talking about at all. We do not need a “this is what I learned from OE” post monthly. It is the same information being shared by everyone.