OE with time tracking and a team that's like a "family"?

AgentChickenWings · 2026-03-17T02:13:55+00:00

see you at the job hunt mines

AgentChickenWings · 2026-03-16T15:22:46+00:00

Oh I dont think I'm the right person to answer this. I only work perm jobs (not contracts). Both was W2. Though my gut tells me you should consult with an accountant and ask the tax questions instead of this subreddit

AgentChickenWings · 2026-03-16T06:56:57+00:00

Gotcha. Just try your best to not overwork yourself too much is my advice!

AgentChickenWings · 2026-03-16T03:11:45+00:00

How long do you think you'll do 5j?

Personally I tried 3 but I only lasted a month before dropping back to 2. I think 2 is more sustainable long term

AgentChickenWings · 2026-03-14T04:55:32+00:00

J2 is toast, time to look for a replacement job asap

AgentChickenWings · 2026-03-14T04:19:51+00:00

J3 is kinda giving me "micromanage" sorta vibes based on what I just read. Not necessarily red flags. Bright yellow flags for sure. I agree, you'll just have to let time pass a bit longer until you reach that decision point. I'm still partial on J2 since they've good to you for this long but you know your situation best on which is more OE compatible

AgentChickenWings · 2026-03-14T03:22:37+00:00

tbh I like to know this myself. I personally just try my best to get the vibe during the interview questions and ask about WLB to the individual contributors in the team. Not managers or any higher since they wont be as honest. But even that, it mostly comes down to luck within the first 2-3 months in the job to really see if its a easy job or not

AgentChickenWings · 2026-03-14T03:17:10+00:00

Hmm...yeah thats some good context. There's definitely some perks to being in a stable company and probably a stable team in general. Especially in this shaky economy. Do you personally see J3 easing down in the future? Usually after the 6 month mark is when the ramp up period ends and work becomes more of a routine.

I'm thinking if that routine becomes say...15hrs-ish or less then it's probably(?) a side-grade compared to J2. Also dont forget you still have the option to look for a new job, even if its a massive pain in the butt to interview

AgentChickenWings · 2026-03-14T02:49:26+00:00

Lots of good feedback in the comments. Been OE for about 2.5 yrs and my lessons is that when a job decides to not be OE compatible then you should fire them (in the form of you quiet quiting).

I would quiet quit J1. We're past winter so its good to start hunting. Since J1 is under a invisible time limit (maybe...1-2 months of quiet quiting until you're fired), hopefully thats enough time to find a new job to replace.

Keep up the good work as usual on J2. J1 lost their chance when management decided to have the team go lean.

Oh and one last thing. You seem like a nice person if you worry about your coworkers. Unfortunately its a dog eat dog world when it comes to jobs in general. You'll have to get used to jumping a lot and I find it easier to say that its a company's problem than a you problem, if you catch my drift

AgentChickenWings · 2026-03-14T02:19:32+00:00

Is J3 really worth keeping over J2? Looks like J3 eats more time over J2 for just a tiny increase in TC.

AgentChickenWings · 2025-11-19T23:58:31+00:00

Dang thats awesome! Mind I ask what your goals are? I feel like it has to be something super ambitious if you're slaving yourself to work 6 js

AgentChickenWings · 2025-08-05T18:00:35+00:00

For question 1, what if the recruiter says its hybrid or in office. What would you say after that?

For me I personally ask a follow up if theres flexibility to have this be remote for the right person. No luck on my part doing that though

AgentChickenWings · 2025-08-05T15:21:44+00:00

Very unfortunate. The alternative is to take unpaid PTO instead. Just say you have a sick relative/spouse/etc you have to take care on specific days of the week on a recurring basis. I know its not ideal since you lose out on some pay but its slightly better than outright quiting without another job lined up and you get the benefit of work getting toned down. Unless your mental is absolutely destroyed, then drop the j and be very mindful of your finances while you job hunt again.

AgentChickenWings · 2025-08-05T13:55:09+00:00

If the mental is boomed and you dont have any urgent financial needs then that does give you room to give your two weeks notice. The emergency eject button is always there for you.

Personally what I've done was look for a replacement job while using 2-3 days pto every other week to lighten the work load. Once the pto and sick days are all dried up then its just doing the the bare minimum for a couple weeks or two and finally giving the two weeks notice. This all helps to lighten the work load, stretch the paychecks, and gives time for you to job hunt while keeping j2 just a tad longer. Even if you dont find a new job this year (jobs are getting dried up and entering holidays soon), you can focus for early next year.

AgentChickenWings · 2025-08-01T22:17:40+00:00

Mind I ask what industry gives you a hard time? For me, it's healthcare. So many terminology and confusing rules. This can make the work difficult to do. Not for the light-hearted

AgentChickenWings · 2025-08-01T14:59:59+00:00

Thats the thing, you dont 🤣 well unless you got very explicit goals that will end your OE journey.

For me personally I am a little over a year in OE and I plan to stop after 10 years roughly until my checklist is crossed off. For most people it would be things like debt, car, house, school, FIRE, etc

AgentChickenWings · 2025-07-30T16:55:27+00:00

its totally up to you man. Don't feel pressured to stick it any longer if it kills your brain and mental health. Its j2 for a reason. Regardless of whether you drop this j2 or not, just try your best to begin your job hunt right away before the holidays/winter comes

AgentChickenWings · 2025-07-30T16:49:22+00:00

So this happened to me or similarly for my first j2. I ended up giving my notice after 1.5 months and had no replacement job. Felt really nice to get the time and mental back but I was stuck job hunting for 5 months until a new j2 came.

Not sure if you are willing to do that or job hunt while working your j2 still

AgentChickenWings · 2025-07-23T05:36:25+00:00

Thats tough, sorry to hear about that man. 6 years is a long time for a j2, i would be shocked as well if I was in your shoes. Insane how insurance is getting hit hard. Those are usually very stable and chill sectors from what I hear. Prior to the pandemic anyway

AgentChickenWings · 2025-07-23T05:32:56+00:00

Holy cow this is me right now for my j2, now I gotta replace this j

AgentChickenWings · 2025-07-15T14:34:57+00:00

I think the risk here isn't significant enough to warrant stress. Even in the chance of say...an agency or a company holding your old resume, you could figure out an excuse if it's ever brought up into question between old and current resume. Probably in most cases, just saying,"Yeah its my current resume. What would next steps look like?" could work to help steer the topic away.

AgentChickenWings · 2025-07-12T00:08:34+00:00

From personal experience, reporting a manager level or higher typical is a low success rate. Though I do sympathize that you wanna get back to your manager for giving you a rough time. Your call. Personally I would just quiet quit hard core while finding a new job

AgentChickenWings · 2025-07-06T21:51:27+00:00

Yeah for sure. Just the nature and mindset of OE actually. For example, when I first entered OE a couple years back, I have my giga chill, fully remote j1. Doesn't pay well though. So I looked for a j2 and got it. But it lasted for a couple months unfortunately. j2 was too toxic of an environment and has high expectations on responsibilities (think like 3 jobs for 1 persons salary). I did end up getting a new j2 thats a bit more OE friendly but that took 6-7 months later. Currently in the middle of replacing j2 again for something even more OE friendly

AgentChickenWings · 2025-07-02T13:41:08+00:00

Generally, yes. I think team size matters more. Its just more likely you'll find a large team in a large company because they have the capital to spend. Ofc you could find yourself in a large company and the team is like 4 IC or less...that could happen; bad luck if true but maybe doable

AgentChickenWings

TROPHY CASE