What’s wrong with working in 2 software engineer positions at the same time?

If I had to answer it in only one sentence, I would say that everything (or almost everything).

Working 2 software engineering positions at the same time is the result of a short-term vision and scarcity mentality. I could even go a bit further and consider it selfishness. But please, don’t get me wrong. I’m not admonishing anyone, as I’m also guilty of it (I did it in 2 different flavors).

Both had similar harmful consequences:

1. Freelancing at 2 projects for the same company: Although every stakeholder was aware of the situation and one project had priority over the other, the low-priority project insisted on getting more of my time and attention. So, I was in the middle of it, trying to make everyone happy.
2. Working a full-time job and freelancing with another client: Similarly, the “extra” client demanded my attention during the day and insisted on achieving timelines I couldn’t accomplish if I wanted to enjoy my life.

However, this article aims at a third scenario, which I consider worse than the 2 above and haven’t even tried: Working 2 full-time jobs for different companies.

This practice became popular in some countries during the COVID-19 pandemic and the work-from-home revolution. The agreement is usually like this:

I pretend to work full-time for you, and you pretend to believe me.

As you see, that 2-way hypocrisy can’t be good, even though many people are adopting it.

Advantage

I intentionally wrote this section’s title in singular: I only see 1 advantage.

The only benefit you can get is economic, which goes in both directions. No matter which side of the table you are. If you are a company, you will pay less. But, if you are an employee, you will earn more.

How is that possible?

It’s clear from the company’s perspective: They think: “As I’ll overlook your lack of dedication and receive a low-quality service, I’ll pay you a salary 25% below the market (for example).”

From an employee’s point of view, they will offer the same deal to 2 companies. So, in the end, they will receive 2 salaries (2 * 75% = 150%), earning 50% above the market.

Consequently, the company will receive low-quality service, and the employees will work more, among other disadvantages.

Disadvantages

The disadvantages, on the other hand, are countless.

You may be motivated by the economic apparent benefit and fail to consider every negative consequence. Even when it looks good in the short term, it quickly turns into many problems in the medium term and a disaster if you keep going. One of the main problems is that they affect not only the parties directly involved in the deal but also other “innocent” people.

These are some disadvantages for different direct and indirect actors:

For the Company

• Lower quality service - The employee’s focus is split among different clients.
• Less synergy in the team - The employee works at different times than the rest of the team.

For the Employee

• More stress - They put too much effort into dissimulating his lack of commitment.
• Longer working hours - Days of 12+ hours, and they also work during the weekends.

For the Family

• Absence of the employee - Due to the excessive working time.
• Dealing with a more stressed person - That stress can be transferred to their family.

For the Self-Esteem

• Less perceived value - Their contribution to the company is lower, and they earn less for the same effort.
• More lies and less honesty - They can’t be authentic.

For the Colleagues

• A feeling of frustration and injustice - The lack of compromise of their colleague overloads the rest of the team.
• Difficulty in getting attention from their “busy” colleague - They should cope with a less dedicated colleague.

For the Industry

• Lower rates - The industry will tend to adopt the 75% salary.
• Less professional service - Affecting the reputation of the software engineers.

The origin is the dishonesty in the deal. If you had clear agreements with 2 different companies, the boundaries would be defined, and many of these issues wouldn’t exist. However, as the responsibilities are confusing, each part does its best to receive more benefits.

This lack of clarity results in extra effort and tension for many people.

Conclusion

Although it could seem a good alternative to increase your salary, I don’t recommend you to work in 2 software engineer positions at the same time.

The negative consequences are countless. Many of them are difficult to realize and even more difficult to revert. They can affect not only your present in those companies but also your industry, family, and health.

The best way to increase your salary is by developing yourself, improve your work, and seek better jobs that pay higher salaries.

If you still want to get a second job to earn extra money even after reading this, make sure you are extremely clear on your agreements and metrics to decide when to stop.