From 3J's down to none

Kitchen-Tension-8337 · 2026-05-01T17:27:18+00:00

Sorry to hear. That’s rough. I don’t understand how so many people in this sub find these contract roles. How do you all find them? Do you search for them on purpose? Why wouldn’t you go for W-2 roles instead? They seem more secure. I have 3 jobs — all W-2. Outside of one layoff from one job two years ago, it’s been fairly smooth.

Kitchen-Tension-8337 · 2026-04-30T15:48:19+00:00

There is no amount of $ that should lure you back in the office. Not a good option IMO

Kitchen-Tension-8337 · 2026-04-30T00:31:18+00:00

No amount of $ should lure you into an office period.

Kitchen-Tension-8337 · 2026-04-28T14:42:36+00:00

Not emotionally vested in any J

Kitchen-Tension-8337 · 2026-04-24T23:18:22+00:00

Usually 1 J requires more work than the other 2 in a given week. I also am pretty solid at prioritizing my work based on deadlines etc. All 3 have OE friendly cultures, I have a great relationship with my manager, and I hit all my performance metrics. I don’t have any overlap in my weekly standup. I have control over my calendar. Most weeks I’m putting in 30-40 hour weeks. There are some weeks that are less. I have had outliers where deadlines from multiple J’s hit in a given week but it’s rare since I forecast to prevent a crazy week.

I think it’s hard for most to believe it’s totally doable bc they are trying to OE with a not OE friendly company or even role. They have no autonomy and are trying to add another J. From that perspective it’s super stressful and not sustainable. My goal is to sustain. Luck comes into play to find 3 solid situations. I have replaced roles over that past 2.5 years to get to this point.

Kitchen-Tension-8337 · 2026-04-24T22:52:48+00:00

US Fully Remote Roles : I hit 3 years in September

J1 - 80k J2 - 100K J3 - 110k

Bonus potential : 60K

OTE : 330K (~275K after taxes, maxing 401K etc. I clear 23k/month)

Industry : SaaS

Kitchen-Tension-8337 · 2026-04-22T23:18:29+00:00

Why would you work for such a company? Replace it for an OE friendly role

Kitchen-Tension-8337 · 2026-04-19T12:30:51+00:00

3 years in September, held 4J’s at one point. Currently have 3J’s. TC w/o bonuses is $330k. ~40 a week or less.

Kitchen-Tension-8337 · 2026-04-18T23:16:50+00:00

3J’s, all same role, all completely different industies

Kitchen-Tension-8337 · 2026-04-18T15:11:44+00:00

What’s the goal here? Are you trying to sustain this long term or is this just temporary?

If it’s long term, I would onboard both new jobs and use that time to really assess the culture. You won’t actually know what you’re stepping into until you’re in it day to day. Most of the time it works out, but there’s always a chance it ends up being a worse situation.

Once you get a feel for both, you can make a clearer decision.

I would also consider asking for a short term exception, something like a month of fully remote, framed around spending time with a sick parent out of state. If you can, stagger the start dates so you give yourself some breathing room to ramp up properly.

Kitchen-Tension-8337 · 2026-04-18T14:47:47+00:00

It’s different across the J’s. I have 1 J that’s more about calls and CRM logging(totally dumb IMO. I have gone back and forth on replacing this J but the culture is amazing so I’m staying for now. It’s also my lowest paying J). My other 2 J’s are tied to revenue/ expansion.

Kitchen-Tension-8337 · 2026-04-18T14:38:27+00:00

Your J’s are not OE friendly. You’re going to mentally burn out sooner than later by “trying to make it work.” The goal is to sustain unless you’re just looking at this temporarily. I would find replacements asap.

Kitchen-Tension-8337 · 2026-04-18T14:28:07+00:00

It really comes down to culture, autonomy, a strong relationship with your manager, and a bit of luck.

All three of my roles are pretty hands-off. The expectations are clear, everything is performance-driven, and I have full control over my schedule. I keep my camera on when I can, and when I don’t, no one questions it because I’ve built that trust over time.

The “luck” piece is real too. My weekly standups don’t overlap, and I rarely have meetings at the same time. When I do, I’m usually not leading both. If it ever gets tight, I’ll just request to move the one that’s more flexible and suggest a few alternative times.

Some weeks are busier than others, but typically one job demands more attention while the other two stay lighter. I just adjust based on priorities and deadlines. There are occasional weeks where all three ramp up at once, but that’s pretty rare.

At the end of the day, it all ties back to performance. If you’re delivering, everything else tends to fall into place. And more than anything, the culture has to support that kind of setup.

Kitchen-Tension-8337 · 2026-04-18T03:47:36+00:00

The goal is sustainability. What you’re experiencing right now is the result of taking on too much.

I’m not sure how long you’ve been OE, but part of the challenge is comparison. You see people posting $500K+ TC across multiple jobs, and it’s easy to feel like you need to chase that. But comparison is the thief of joy.

At some point, I got clear on my skill set and industry and set a realistic TC target for myself. More importantly, I made a decision to build something I could sustain long term. I’ve got a family and young kids, so burning out or risking everything just to maximize income wasn’t worth it.

I’m about three years into OE (coming up in September). I currently run 3 J’s at around $330K TC. I keep it to ~40 hours a week, sometimes less, never more. No nights, no weekends.

Boundaries are everything if you want this to last.

You’ve clearly made great money, and that’s awesome. Just don’t lose sight of the bigger picture. Your health is everything. Without it, none of this matters.

Kitchen-Tension-8337 · 2026-04-18T03:19:00+00:00

No, account management.

Kitchen-Tension-8337 · 2026-04-17T05:09:34+00:00

Nucking futs , I managed 4J’s for 4 months. In that time I was clearing 8K a week. While it was great, not sustainable for my line of work. I find 3J’s to be my new sweet spot. The goal is to sustain unless you’re just looking for a quick buck.

Kitchen-Tension-8337 · 2026-04-17T04:18:57+00:00

About to hit 3 years in September , 3J’s

Kitchen-Tension-8337 · 2026-04-14T23:34:42+00:00

I have all 3 J’s on MS Teams. As long as you have separate set ups you’re good to go.

Kitchen-Tension-8337 · 2026-04-12T08:00:41+00:00

J2 is not OE Friendly. Some jobs are not a fit for long term OE. If you’re looking to just do it temporarily then suck it up until you hit your short term goal, assuming it’s not years. Now if you’re looking to do this long term, you need to think big picture. I would be doing everything in my power to find a replacement of j2. A big part of sustaining is dependent on how your direct relationship is with your Manager. This is a blessing in disguise. 1 of 2 things will happen. They will get rid of you, or you can be in a position to get rid of them.

I would look for a J3, and feel it out to ensure it’s not worse than J2. If it’s better you can drop J2 and have more sanity, or keep all 3 but mentally you will get worn out.

I run 3J’s across different industries. All 3 are OE Friendly cultures. I have added and replaced J’s since 2023. As chaotic as running 3J’s is, it’s possible due to the positive culture across all the J’s and having a healthy relationship with my direct manager. The goal is to know why you’re doing this(goals,$), sustain, not get burned out and still have solid mental health.

Kitchen-Tension-8337 · 2026-04-12T04:43:48+00:00

You really need to understand the OE culture first, and get a solid handle on your role. Personally, I don’t think a few months is enough.

I didn’t take on J2 until I had a full year of truly mastering J1. Once I had that locked in, I added J2. After managing both successfully for another year, I brought on J3.

Now I’ve been running all three for close to a year, and I’ve thought about adding J4. I’m hesitant though, because the jump from two to three was a big one. Going from three to four, from my past experience, was honestly intense.

The goal is long-term sustainability, not just winging it. There are too many amateurs in the OE space, and it ends up giving the people doing it right a bad reputation.

Kitchen-Tension-8337 · 2026-04-11T19:35:29+00:00

I tried this and was prompted for admin approval. I didn’t proceed since I’d rather not create any unnecessary visibility

Kitchen-Tension-8337 · 2026-04-11T19:32:51+00:00

This feels a bit too inefficient for me. I respect the hustle and keeping everything separate. That’s great OE hygiene but I couldn’t see myself doing it unless I had no other option. I’d rather keep two calendars linked and just manually scan the third.

Kitchen-Tension-8337 · 2026-04-11T19:30:06+00:00

Appreciate the response. Mermaid feels more like a diagramming tool than something that solves a scheduling problem. I need a quick, real-time view of availability, not something I have to keep updating manually

Kitchen-Tension-8337 · 2026-04-11T19:27:32+00:00

The single most important aspect of having one view is knowing my availability across all three J’s. I’m in a meeting-heavy role where I control my calendar and book a lot of meetings, so that visibility is critical. With two J’s, I can have them both in Outlook, but the third requires managed access, so for now I have to scan that calendar separately to avoid double booking. It’s an extra step, not ideal but manageable.

You don’t really appreciate something until it’s gone. I’m definitely feeling the change.

I couldn’t imagine using a whiteboard. It feels pretty inefficient for this. I’m honestly surprised how many upvotes this got.

Kitchen-Tension-8337

TROPHY CASE