Techie doubles his income by Rs 1.4 crore by secretly working two remote jobs. Read how he cracked it

A US-based techie, Adam (name changed), managed to double his annual income to over ₹1.4 crore by juggling two remote jobs.  

Adam was reportedly making about $85,000 (Rs 70 lakh) a year and had  student loans worth $118,000 (Rs 98 lakh). 

By double dipping, Adam managed to double his annual income to over $170,000 (Rs 1 crore approximately), according to a Business Insider report. This helped him cut his loan size to Rs 42 lakh in just a year. The Arizona-based security risk professional was making a decent sum, but he sought to amp up his financial goals by leveraging additional remote work opportunities.

Adam found inspiration from a YouTube video in December, which provided him with the insights he needed to discreetly handle multiple remote jobs. "I immediately knew that I could do this," Adam was quoted in the report. His main objective was to double his income and clear his student loans within two years. The techie bagged his second remote job in February via LinkedIn. "Within two weeks, I applied, had two interviews, and was offered the position."

Adam not only paid off his student loan but also managed to build a four-month emergency fund and provide financial assistance to some friends. Working between 30 and 60 hours per week, he believes this arrangement is sustainable.

Adam also shares some tips on moonlighting for additional income.

He stressed on the importance of syncing calendars to avoid scheduling conflicts and advises against overburdening oneself with tasks. He also advocated utilizing sick days as needed to maintain a healthy work-life balance. “You can use your sick time for many reasons – didn’t get enough rest, mental health day, doctor’s appointment, etc.,” he said. “You don’t need to justify to anyone why you are using your sick days.

Moonlighting is still a tricky subject in India. Experts blame the dual job dilemma to demand-supply mismatch, which has resulted in employees being offered handsome payouts in secondary roles, making them too good to say no. Machine Learning (ML) engineers, artificial intelligence (AI) scientists, data engineers, and others with niche skills are high in demand, especially in the job market in the West.

While IT reports the largest share of moonlighting cases, such employment may not necessarily be with a rival or other IT company. For instance, a software engineer may be working as a social media manager for a non-IT company. Several top companies have expressed their reservation or taken action on employees involved in moonlighting.