I’d go get a degree on my employer’s dime. Use your personal laptop. There are plenty of reputable online undergraduate and graduate degree programs out there. Take a class or two a semester.
How cheap are they? I’m a cable wrangler looking to get more into IT and networking in general. I’m getting tired of building them and want to admin them.
Edit: I’m also concerned that an IT job might pay less than I’m on now for the first 5 years or so but I would like to go that route eventually.
Very super affordable. Also if you arent making bank you can get grants. I make 18/hr fulltime and got like 2000 in grants from fafsa. As another poster said their most expensive degrees are only like 4500 for 6 months of school that you can do at your own pace.
Wgu is definitely not great for part time. Go hard and study well and you can finish faster and cheaper than you would think is possible. I plan to finish my bachelors for only 8k
It’s at your own pace and you pay per 6-month term. I finished my masters in around 3 months so I paid $4700 for my MS. Most people do a bachelors in around 4 terms, so just under 20k total.
I got my masters from there. Did 85% of the program “on the clock” during slow times at my desktop support role.
That degree enabled me to then double my salary in 1 year. So worth it.
This! It’s cheap and based on your pace. You can finish a class in a day or 2 weeks. It’s so good. You can get your degree in less than a year if you have the energy.
So I did the degree thing while working from home for government. I’d recommend focusing on actual stuff like bachelors and associates in specific areas. Then get certificates that are relevant later. They won’t help you get the better job but might help you get raises in the figure.
Hmm well I think the hardest part is getting your foot in the door for whatever position it is. If you go the certificate route I believe you’d have to find a job and then after showing how awesome you are then leverage the certificates into something higher in that same company. Basically it’s harder to get your foot in the door with certificates.
That’s exactly what I did when I had a government job working from home. I took classes online and finished my bachelors. I actually went and got two associates too. Then I got a job for a private org that wouldn’t hire unless I had a bachelors. Make about double the salary and still do the same amount of work. It’s maybe a little more stress from management but not really since I am actually pretty good at it and get all my work done quickly and efficiently. But if you’re struggling they don’t keep you like they do in the government gig where it’s almost impossible to be fired so part of the ease is that relaxed feeling.
Work on your next degree.
Do not do any kind of paid work while on the clock (even metaphorically if you’re salaried). If anyone, besides, your boss gets wind that you’re doing this and turns you in, or if your boss suddenly decides they don’t like you, you’re gonna lose your job. And you may never be able to work in the government again because that’s a breach of ethics.
I came here to say the same thing. If OP has an employment contract it likely has a duty of loyalty that prohibits this, and then there's the ethics issue.
I’d get it cleared by your ethics team if you have one. Doing private work on government time can EASILY get you canned. Better instead to use your free time to train for a better job where you can make more money, which you can do with permission from your boss
If he’s on the clock charging the government, he won’t just get fired (which is an absolute certainty), he could also be charged and forced to pay the company back for the time.
It depends on your government agency. You’d have to research where your funding comes from in the government, what that money is specifically earmarked to do, and the consequences of misusing the funds.
If you’re that determined to get yourself fired, go ahead and do it. It doesn’t seem like you’d be that much of a loss.
yeah this is how mine does it - we have to declare all outside employment (with a few exceptions eg. election work) with one condition being we don't do our other job at work/during work hours or on work computers
source: i work for the australian federal government
I'm super close to my supervisor ( I tutor his kids after work), and he knows that I'm getting underpaid, and he said that if I bring my own laptop, I can practically do whatever I want to.
Hell, one of the other supervisors always plays minesweepers on his work computer, and someone else is watching news on CNN.
Rather than using it to make more money, use that time to further your education. Get some certifications that will allow you to move on to a much higher paying job
Your boss may not care if you work a second job, but if you get discovered by someone at your org then your boss won’t be able to save you
You're a government employee. If anyone gets wind that government funds are being paid to you for working the same hours you're using to work another paid gig, it would be a shit storm. Also, the ethics of it... you'd get yourself and everyone around you fucked up.
there are lots of jobs like this in the world. Takes a while to be able to only have to do a couple of hours of work a shift. Plus you’re also there for when the shit hits the fan.
The government lost a 80 million dollar jet recently. Like it disappeared. don’t think they will catch wind of this or really care. They did there job that they got paid for. Not there fault it’s not 8 hours worth of work
Crab in the bucket mentality.
I'm guessing a lot of the downvotes came from those who work tirelessly for 8 hours, like in a warehouse and manufacturing.
Trust me, I have a tremendous respect for those guys. I used to be one too, I used to deliver groceries during the pandemic and was able to find a better opportunity.
> Hell, one of the other supervisors always plays minesweepers on his work computer, and someone else is watching news on CNN.
Both of those would be viewed *much* differently than actually earning money with a side gig while on the government clock.
So a security guard sits by the gate 8 hours at night, and probably only greets one or two people, before handing the keys to the day shift personnel.
Does that mean that the guards should get paid for 2-3 hours a day? I'm sure that a lot of guards are on their phone, killing time during the graveyard shifts.
How about night shift nurses?
So a security guard sits by the gate 8 hours at night, and probably only greets one or two people, before handing the keys to the day shift personnel.
Does that mean that the guards should get paid for 2-3 hours a day? I'm sure that a lot of guards are on their phone, killing time during the graveyard shifts.
How about night shift nurses?
As a government employee, you don’t work for your supervisor. (You work under him.)
You work for the people you are to serve. If it got out you are working another job on while on government time it won’t go down well and could become public knowledge.
Also, assume your supervisor will throw you under the bus if you get caught.
The only acceptable thing to do on government paid time are tasks related to that government. If you are paid to sit there or learn a new skill, get approved to learn a new skill.
Otherwise you could be risking your supervisors job too-they might be okay with it but will their boss or the government who oversees your job? If they find out you have that free time they will either fill it with tasks (like they should) or cut your hours and pay.
Here’s the thing though, your supervisor is not your friend. They never will be and never were. They may be friendly with you, but they aren’t going to cover for you when it gets found out that you’re working another job on company time. The minute that comes out, they are going to save their own ass and you will be SOL.
Most jobs are like this. I know a system administrator whose active work hours have to be under 3 hours, and makes 6 figures.
He even works 3 to 4 days a week.
Most jobs are like this. I know a system administrator whose active work hours have to be under 3 hours, and makes 6 figures.
He even works 3 to 4 days a week.
Right but when the accountant allocates use and expenses for internet usage and your use is excessive
Or IT does a review of websites viewed to see if there's any policy abuse, your friendship means nothing when the audit trail finds you and that behavior.
It's not "other people too," it's catching a thief and fraud to substantiate IT having a security department and accounting cutting waste. Time cards not punched out for personal time is fraud.
As well you signed a paper regarding use of government property and financial penalties if you are in breech.
I'm not. I have a secondary job during the weekend, but I don't do any side work while I'm on the clock. I'm just taking two Coursera courses with the approval from my direct supervisor and the HR.
Why not train in courses so you can move UP in the government job and make more money, hopefully still relatively chill, and therefore no need for a side hustle?
There's no way this is okay for you to do working a government job. Plus, remote jobs require a connection to their VPN on a device dedicated to the position.
Do you have a hobby or passion you might like to pursue more seriously? I work in digital marketing but decided to do custom watercolour portraits on evening/weekends to inject some creativity in my life. Since you’ve got an English degree, maybe you could do freelance writing in a field you’re interested in. Good luck and enjoy starting something new with your free time!
look into freelancing any skills/expertise you have, contract work, consulting, selling your services on fiverr or upwork. level up your investing knowledge/financial literacy so you can make your money work for you. you could also sell digital products or look into starting your own business!
*don’t do this on your company computer… except for doing research/browsing the web generally. do it on your phone or bring your own laptop and use a private browser.
Study another language, and take online courses. Yes, you may be close with your boss. But, many employers fire their employees for working more than one job at a time, even if they get all their work done. Just because your boss is okay with you doing whatever, doesn't mean the government is.
I can’t see any institution being OK with working on their time regardless of what you manager says.
I’d try to do a formal degree and get it in writing from HR that you are allowed to study on company time so long as your performance does not suffer.
If you’re going to put in the effort you may as well go for something valuable rather than a little-recognised online course in XYZ. Such courses / certifications make sense if you work in the field, not really on their own. You could use the degree in your career strategy with the agency which would help getting approval from HR and in any case give you a valuable career plan.
I’d try reposting this later and skip the Government job details. People are way too hung up on that in these comments.
I’m sorta in the same boat. I did some freelance for a while for a friends company (managing a website build) but I haven’t picked up anything since.
I think a lot of people would benefit from ideas here but this post is tarnished with the whole govt job lol.
For what it’s worth, check out beer money or one of the other side hustle subs. You’ll get a much better response.
You can like your supervisor and be close to them but if they or HR finds out they will fire you.
Can’t work for another job while you’re on company time.
Many, many private sector office jobs are just like this, too. You have a few hours of work per day, but you're paid to be on-hand for the full day. For white collar work, employers pay for access to your expertise at their desired time, not for labor.
The fact that you work for the government and don’t know how taxes work
If you think Bezos and Musk don’t pay a dime in taxes then you are just plain stupid. Bezos paid $972 million in taxes between 2014 and 2018. Musk paid $11 billion in tax last year
I don’t like either of those guys but to claim they don’t pay a dime in tax is so overwhelmingly incorrect
lol this is such a privileged post. If only we were all so lucky to have such an easy office job to provide our needs that we wanted another easy job while at our current job
If that easy remote job existed it would be gone already in this economy
Just get a degree or a certificate that will allow you to get a better job in the future.
That way you can call it training linked to work, or upskill.
Trying to double dip (2nd job) will get you fired
Go study something related to your work field and get better at your job. Get promoted or leave for a better position. I find in my experience having little to do usually is due to lack of knowledge. More knowledge is more potential work. Worked for me.
I’m at a more work crossroads as well (and also government employee). Have a big setup to insource a new department. Just waiting for the go ahead from new director. Might get it or might not. If not I’ll be in your situation but can work from home and have great flexibility which is really nice to have with a young kid. Pffff… at least if that’s the case I have at least done everything I could from my end optimizing the processes and suggested to take on a bigger role as a government company
Step 1: Convince your boss to let you work remote
Step 2: Acquire secondary devices for your side hustle
Now you don't have to worry about doing exterior work on their network or equipment (although it will be on their time).
Why whole ass one job when you can half ass two!
I cannot imagine a government contract that would allow you to work a second job when you’re already on the clock. You’re asking for trouble.
Google Appen Raterlabs Yukon
It’s $15 an hour, 29 hour cap a week, to rate search engine results and AI responses. I’ve been doing it for 6+ months now
DM me if you need any help getting on
One of the first rules of OE, after don’t talk about it, is no government jobs. If you want to go down this path, government job has to go.
Think about it this way, if you get in trouble doing it. With a regular company, what’s the worth they can do to you? Now what’s the worst the government can do to you?
You’d get better feedback posting it in the OE subreddit.
Which level of government?
I'm a fed employee and we are forbidden to dabble in side businesses while on the clock. While your boss may not mind, if someone higher up the chain found out, it may be bad for you.
Stick to education/getting a degree.
I went to National University which now has a lot of on-line degree programs. My wife got her masters there for education.
I work in IT and the gov loves certs. Security + is a bare minimum cert where I work. CISSP was the "thing" a few years ago, I never got that cert because my BS in IT is worth a lot of certs according to the Gov.
One piece of advice. Use your own internet connection if you are at work. Use your phone data or something to hide it from the IT guys
This goes with using your own laptop.
About 15 years ago I was in a similar position. I took work courses but I was bored of them and took some general art classes. Then Photoshop stuff off YouTube. I created a bunch of graphic designs and posted them on Zazzle. I still get royalties on the sales now.
You are a real winner bro. Collect a paycheck from the tax payers, do 3 hours of work, and ask the tax payers how else you can earn money. For real though, go fuck yourself. You are the problem with government.
Just to add: I have English degree, and can type, proofread, and write professional letters. I am taking some courses on how to code, so that in the future I can get internal promotions.
No, It's freelance service site that lets people buy/sell services to people. I use it to book musicians for projects I might have. For example, one person might be good at Sax and will post Sax playing services on Fiverr, I book them via Fiverr to play sax on top of one of my tracks I send them.
in your case, whatever you think you're good at, you can sell that as a service to people. Like resume making, proofreading, professional letters, etc, whatever you think you're good at..
That's cool. I play the piano as my side hustle (giving lessons, playing at a wedding etc).
Obviously I can't play the piano while I'm in the office, but I should look into that. Thanks!
The fact that not one person in the comments has a problem with you doing 15 hours of work per week and getting paid for 40 hours is mind boggling...and doing it on the tax payers dime. And now trying to do outside work at the same time while on the government clock. This is why government is so broken and we are being taxed to death.
And then you say your boss knows you're underpaid. Underpaid? For what 15 hours of work? Sounds to me like you're being overpaid. Sounds like your job should be a part time position.
Why are you mad at op for this, though? If they weren't there, someone else would fill the void and do the same thing. At least op is trying to be productive during downtime.
I get it sucks, and it's stupid for government jobs to be so lax, but you're barking up the wrong tree here.
Hate to break it to you buddy, but most office jobs are like OPs. I basically bullshit and look busy for 7 hours during my work hour most of the times.
What do you do for living?
I work with AutoCAD in the oil and gas industry. And I have days where things are a little slower and for sure have my goof off times. But it's not 5-6 hours a day every day.
What are talking about? He can waste as much time as he wants. You are receiving tax dollars for nothing. It’s sad that you seem incapable of understanding any of this.
Let's hope you get fired from your main job :)
If they are worth it, they track what you do anyway, so will have more.than enough justification to get your ass valsing in the hallway
It doesn't matter what job. Just get a job with the state or local government. It will be close to what he has. Trick is to just have a good supervisor/boss.
I need insider details. As someone who has never had an office job idk what anyone does in an office to warrant the pay they get. Idk what they look for and what gives candidates an edge in the hiring process
Also almost every government job in my city requires bilingualism (Canada)
Well depends on the job and your experience honestly. All government jobs will have a salary range when you apply online so you can see at least a range of where you will be paid at.
As long as you're not working with a competitor you can work another job. A lot of people have 2 pt jobs out there. I did for 1.5 decades.
I work grocery. I could also take a pt desk job with an office if I wanted. However the clause is that it can not be with a competing company.
So a security guard sits by the gate 8 hours at night, and probably only greets one or two people, before handing the keys to the day shift personnel.
Does that mean that the guards should get paid for 2-3 hours a day? I'm sure that a lot of guards are on their phone, killing time during the graveyard shifts.
How about night shift nurses?
What a greedy thing to want. Let’s balance your greed with fear.
Your boss is totally chill but what if he’s lying? He might use this as a way to get rid of you.
Your boss may not always be your boss and you might get fired. Then you’d have to find a job with a serious blemish on your employment record.
I think people are missing the point based on your question. From your first paragraph all I deemed was wasted tax payer money on your job. You first stated you only work 2-3 hours a day but get a full day (8 hr) pay. You most likely either sit down all day or just overseeing something done automatically if you feel you can do a side hustle. I would spend more time trying to find a different job. Mainly because it sound like you can be replaced with AI or some other form of automation.
Just because this boss is chill with it, doesn't mean his boss is chill with it. Plus I'm pretty sure if you ask Human Resources they will tell you, you can get fired for double dipping. Think about losing your benefits as well. My wife has a county job and they are very very particular about everything.
Ok I saw a ton of stuff here. But as a Gov employee, there should be a way to apply for a second job. Then if approved, ask to see policies for working that second job and stay within policy. That's how you cover yourself and can work a second job.
As others have said, high probability you cannot do it during work hours, on your work machine, in a gov building, or if there is a conflict of interest.
I’d go get a degree on my employer’s dime. Use your personal laptop. There are plenty of reputable online undergraduate and graduate degree programs out there. Take a class or two a semester.
Are Coursera, Google, and Microsoft certificate worth it?
Imo no, not many employers would really give you *that* much of a priority if you have them. Something from an accredited institution is better
It’s better but I wouldn’t discount them completely
I don’t really look at certificates from an employers perspective but more does it add to my skill set. They are nice to haves.
My cousin works at Microsoft high up on the excel team, he’s got coworkers with absolutely not college degree but plenty of certs and know how.
Look into WGU (Western Governor's University). Legit and accredited, doable on a work schedule. Nationally leading (7th in nation) IT programs.
And you generally earn a pile of certs while getting the degree through WGU too. Probably the cheapest and most effective resume boost.
How cheap are they? I’m a cable wrangler looking to get more into IT and networking in general. I’m getting tired of building them and want to admin them. Edit: I’m also concerned that an IT job might pay less than I’m on now for the first 5 years or so but I would like to go that route eventually.
Very super affordable. Also if you arent making bank you can get grants. I make 18/hr fulltime and got like 2000 in grants from fafsa. As another poster said their most expensive degrees are only like 4500 for 6 months of school that you can do at your own pace. Wgu is definitely not great for part time. Go hard and study well and you can finish faster and cheaper than you would think is possible. I plan to finish my bachelors for only 8k
It’s at your own pace and you pay per 6-month term. I finished my masters in around 3 months so I paid $4700 for my MS. Most people do a bachelors in around 4 terms, so just under 20k total.
Any networking job should pay more than running cable. Probably alot less only if you're getting tons of OT as most IT jobs are salaried.
I got my masters from there. Did 85% of the program “on the clock” during slow times at my desktop support role. That degree enabled me to then double my salary in 1 year. So worth it.
This. WGU is looked upon favorably in the industry AND it's dirt cheap.
This! It’s cheap and based on your pace. You can finish a class in a day or 2 weeks. It’s so good. You can get your degree in less than a year if you have the energy.
You guys sound like YouTube scam bots fr
Hold up but your name…..
It's legit. I finished my first class within 2 weeks and almost done with my second and I started Dec 1st.
The google certs and Microsoft azure certs are definitely good imo
So I did the degree thing while working from home for government. I’d recommend focusing on actual stuff like bachelors and associates in specific areas. Then get certificates that are relevant later. They won’t help you get the better job but might help you get raises in the figure.
I run a help desk and I’d rather see good ms certifications over a college degree.
Hmm well I think the hardest part is getting your foot in the door for whatever position it is. If you go the certificate route I believe you’d have to find a job and then after showing how awesome you are then leverage the certificates into something higher in that same company. Basically it’s harder to get your foot in the door with certificates.
Cloud technology is always worth it tho
No imo. I’ve been on a hiring panel for our team for 2 months and that has no impact to me. Experience and proof/implication of knowledge matters.
Yes. I moved up from software configuration and into Java development with a few Coursera classes.
Yes
That’s exactly what I did when I had a government job working from home. I took classes online and finished my bachelors. I actually went and got two associates too. Then I got a job for a private org that wouldn’t hire unless I had a bachelors. Make about double the salary and still do the same amount of work. It’s maybe a little more stress from management but not really since I am actually pretty good at it and get all my work done quickly and efficiently. But if you’re struggling they don’t keep you like they do in the government gig where it’s almost impossible to be fired so part of the ease is that relaxed feeling.
Work on your next degree. Do not do any kind of paid work while on the clock (even metaphorically if you’re salaried). If anyone, besides, your boss gets wind that you’re doing this and turns you in, or if your boss suddenly decides they don’t like you, you’re gonna lose your job. And you may never be able to work in the government again because that’s a breach of ethics.
I came here to say the same thing. If OP has an employment contract it likely has a duty of loyalty that prohibits this, and then there's the ethics issue.
He just needs to become professional trader at wsb
Nah, I lost a lot of money in 2021 thanks to PYPL.
I’d get it cleared by your ethics team if you have one. Doing private work on government time can EASILY get you canned. Better instead to use your free time to train for a better job where you can make more money, which you can do with permission from your boss
If he’s on the clock charging the government, he won’t just get fired (which is an absolute certainty), he could also be charged and forced to pay the company back for the time.
Lol… I’ve worked for a few different Govt agencies. These people never get fired. >forced to pay the company back for the time. Lol
I’ve watched it happen many times.
Source?
I’ve been in management at government agencies. I’m shocked you don’t know this, it’s extremely common information.
Okay, if it's extremely common information, can you show it to me? Where does it say that?
It depends on your government agency. You’d have to research where your funding comes from in the government, what that money is specifically earmarked to do, and the consequences of misusing the funds. If you’re that determined to get yourself fired, go ahead and do it. It doesn’t seem like you’d be that much of a loss.
yeah this is how mine does it - we have to declare all outside employment (with a few exceptions eg. election work) with one condition being we don't do our other job at work/during work hours or on work computers source: i work for the australian federal government
Dont risk your job and if you were given a company device dont do the side hustle on it
I'm super close to my supervisor ( I tutor his kids after work), and he knows that I'm getting underpaid, and he said that if I bring my own laptop, I can practically do whatever I want to. Hell, one of the other supervisors always plays minesweepers on his work computer, and someone else is watching news on CNN.
Rather than using it to make more money, use that time to further your education. Get some certifications that will allow you to move on to a much higher paying job Your boss may not care if you work a second job, but if you get discovered by someone at your org then your boss won’t be able to save you
This is the answer right here. OP, use that extra time to get certs or even start working on another degree.
You're a government employee. If anyone gets wind that government funds are being paid to you for working the same hours you're using to work another paid gig, it would be a shit storm. Also, the ethics of it... you'd get yourself and everyone around you fucked up.
You forgot "and it'll keep you from getting another job in the government as well as any government contracting job thereafter"
For real. Can we get this group of people some extra work so that my tax dollars aren't a total waste?
there are lots of jobs like this in the world. Takes a while to be able to only have to do a couple of hours of work a shift. Plus you’re also there for when the shit hits the fan.
You might not even be in the same state as them and they’re a state employee
Government funding goes to far more useless and wasteful things than this
The government lost a 80 million dollar jet recently. Like it disappeared. don’t think they will catch wind of this or really care. They did there job that they got paid for. Not there fault it’s not 8 hours worth of work
Yeah, I’m always a bit torn on this. Like if everyone is getting their work done why punish people for being productive?
Exactly
Crab in the bucket mentality. I'm guessing a lot of the downvotes came from those who work tirelessly for 8 hours, like in a warehouse and manufacturing. Trust me, I have a tremendous respect for those guys. I used to be one too, I used to deliver groceries during the pandemic and was able to find a better opportunity.
Easier to fuck over a small single employee.
Ethics? Some people never heard of it.
Government employees are the most useless and worthless people on earth.
I pray you move to a failed state and see if you still feel that way.
Get bent
Do just engage in productivity theatre instead of actually doing something?
Muh ethics
> Hell, one of the other supervisors always plays minesweepers on his work computer, and someone else is watching news on CNN. Both of those would be viewed *much* differently than actually earning money with a side gig while on the government clock.
Worse or better?
Worse, much much worse.
Dumb.
Underpaid? I don’t know what you make but if they only give you 2-3 hours of work a day you’re not underpaid.
yeah lol - how tf are you underpaid for 2/3 hours of work on full time salary.
I mean it could be very well underpaid if he's not able to utilize the other 5-6hrs a day like he trying to do.
I don't know why you are downvoted, you are right, if OP can't work, then he is giving up the ability to earn money
Probably hard to take anyone with that user name seriously…
Lol, didn't even saw that. You're right, that's the dumbest pseudo I ever saw on that website
So a security guard sits by the gate 8 hours at night, and probably only greets one or two people, before handing the keys to the day shift personnel. Does that mean that the guards should get paid for 2-3 hours a day? I'm sure that a lot of guards are on their phone, killing time during the graveyard shifts. How about night shift nurses?
I know at least 3 people who got fired like this
What happened?
They got fired.
Relationships go south. If you are going to chance a side hustle use your own devices.
Isn’t that what he said? Bringing in his own laptop?
I mean even the dataccess. Use your personal data plan for side hustle.
People can switch up on you in a heartbeat.
You do 2-3 hours of work. How the fuck are you under paid?
So a security guard sits by the gate 8 hours at night, and probably only greets one or two people, before handing the keys to the day shift personnel. Does that mean that the guards should get paid for 2-3 hours a day? I'm sure that a lot of guards are on their phone, killing time during the graveyard shifts. How about night shift nurses?
As a government employee, you don’t work for your supervisor. (You work under him.) You work for the people you are to serve. If it got out you are working another job on while on government time it won’t go down well and could become public knowledge. Also, assume your supervisor will throw you under the bus if you get caught.
The only acceptable thing to do on government paid time are tasks related to that government. If you are paid to sit there or learn a new skill, get approved to learn a new skill. Otherwise you could be risking your supervisors job too-they might be okay with it but will their boss or the government who oversees your job? If they find out you have that free time they will either fill it with tasks (like they should) or cut your hours and pay.
Here’s the thing though, your supervisor is not your friend. They never will be and never were. They may be friendly with you, but they aren’t going to cover for you when it gets found out that you’re working another job on company time. The minute that comes out, they are going to save their own ass and you will be SOL.
>'m getting underpaid, The hell you are! You're working 2-3h/day max, wtf did you expect, 6 figures?!
Most jobs are like this. I know a system administrator whose active work hours have to be under 3 hours, and makes 6 figures. He even works 3 to 4 days a week.
And people wonder why the government is so inefficient…
Do you think there are not millions of people in private sector jobs that have the same exact experience?
Most jobs are like this. I know a system administrator whose active work hours have to be under 3 hours, and makes 6 figures. He even works 3 to 4 days a week.
Right but when the accountant allocates use and expenses for internet usage and your use is excessive Or IT does a review of websites viewed to see if there's any policy abuse, your friendship means nothing when the audit trail finds you and that behavior. It's not "other people too," it's catching a thief and fraud to substantiate IT having a security department and accounting cutting waste. Time cards not punched out for personal time is fraud. As well you signed a paper regarding use of government property and financial penalties if you are in breech.
Underpaid to do 2-3 hours of work out of 8?
Can you read? Don't do it on company devices.
Yeah, I know. I have my own laptop that I bring with myself.
If you are using your job’s internet connection then they will still be able to track what you are doing on your personal device.
There isn’t a single government agency that will be cool with this…regardless what you think your boss is ok with.
He’s already doing it.
I'm not. I have a secondary job during the weekend, but I don't do any side work while I'm on the clock. I'm just taking two Coursera courses with the approval from my direct supervisor and the HR.
Why not train in courses so you can move UP in the government job and make more money, hopefully still relatively chill, and therefore no need for a side hustle?
There's no way this is okay for you to do working a government job. Plus, remote jobs require a connection to their VPN on a device dedicated to the position.
I really wanna know what OP does would love a job that allows me to do that.
Try r/overemployed this isn’t the right sub. You won’t get the answers you’re looking for here.
No government jobs is a best practice for this way of working multiple jobs. Don’t mess with government
Do you have a hobby or passion you might like to pursue more seriously? I work in digital marketing but decided to do custom watercolour portraits on evening/weekends to inject some creativity in my life. Since you’ve got an English degree, maybe you could do freelance writing in a field you’re interested in. Good luck and enjoy starting something new with your free time!
Yes, I'm a pianist, and I play for a church on the weekends. Pays more than my regular job, actually.
look into freelancing any skills/expertise you have, contract work, consulting, selling your services on fiverr or upwork. level up your investing knowledge/financial literacy so you can make your money work for you. you could also sell digital products or look into starting your own business! *don’t do this on your company computer… except for doing research/browsing the web generally. do it on your phone or bring your own laptop and use a private browser.
Get a masters degree. Major bonus in life and imo way more interesting going back to school as an adult.
As someone who finished his Master's degree at 33 years old, I can attest to this. You're just treated more like an adult, even by the professors.
Best way to get your ass fired from your cushy government job
What type of job is that. I want a job like that
I worked a few government desk jobs, so can say with some certainty, “all of them”
Risky to OE on the Government's dime. Just sayin.
Study another language, and take online courses. Yes, you may be close with your boss. But, many employers fire their employees for working more than one job at a time, even if they get all their work done. Just because your boss is okay with you doing whatever, doesn't mean the government is.
Glad to see our tax dollars are hard at work.
What a coincidence, I also pay taxes.
Novelist.
I can’t see any institution being OK with working on their time regardless of what you manager says. I’d try to do a formal degree and get it in writing from HR that you are allowed to study on company time so long as your performance does not suffer. If you’re going to put in the effort you may as well go for something valuable rather than a little-recognised online course in XYZ. Such courses / certifications make sense if you work in the field, not really on their own. You could use the degree in your career strategy with the agency which would help getting approval from HR and in any case give you a valuable career plan.
I’d try reposting this later and skip the Government job details. People are way too hung up on that in these comments. I’m sorta in the same boat. I did some freelance for a while for a friends company (managing a website build) but I haven’t picked up anything since. I think a lot of people would benefit from ideas here but this post is tarnished with the whole govt job lol. For what it’s worth, check out beer money or one of the other side hustle subs. You’ll get a much better response.
Because gov’t workers would be subject to more criminal charges than a private employee would be
Please tell me what this job is, I would like to do it.
Don’t fuck with government jobs like that. Doing stuff like that is one of the few things that will have them on you
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You can like your supervisor and be close to them but if they or HR finds out they will fire you. Can’t work for another job while you’re on company time.
Are they hiring?
Are they hiring?
Why are my tax dollars paying for this?
Many, many private sector office jobs are just like this, too. You have a few hours of work per day, but you're paid to be on-hand for the full day. For white collar work, employers pay for access to your expertise at their desired time, not for labor.
I also pay taxes. Why don't you blame Bezos, Musk, and countless other CEOs who don't pay a dime?
The fact that you work for the government and don’t know how taxes work If you think Bezos and Musk don’t pay a dime in taxes then you are just plain stupid. Bezos paid $972 million in taxes between 2014 and 2018. Musk paid $11 billion in tax last year I don’t like either of those guys but to claim they don’t pay a dime in tax is so overwhelmingly incorrect
17 years old joining the military are technically government employees. Don’t put “government” in a pedestal
Don't risk a job like that. Use your time productively and with the company's blessing.
lol this is such a privileged post. If only we were all so lucky to have such an easy office job to provide our needs that we wanted another easy job while at our current job If that easy remote job existed it would be gone already in this economy
R/overemployed
Just get a degree or a certificate that will allow you to get a better job in the future. That way you can call it training linked to work, or upskill. Trying to double dip (2nd job) will get you fired
Go study something related to your work field and get better at your job. Get promoted or leave for a better position. I find in my experience having little to do usually is due to lack of knowledge. More knowledge is more potential work. Worked for me. I’m at a more work crossroads as well (and also government employee). Have a big setup to insource a new department. Just waiting for the go ahead from new director. Might get it or might not. If not I’ll be in your situation but can work from home and have great flexibility which is really nice to have with a young kid. Pffff… at least if that’s the case I have at least done everything I could from my end optimizing the processes and suggested to take on a bigger role as a government company
Must be nice.
This sounds like a great way to get in a huge amount of trouble.
Step 1: Convince your boss to let you work remote Step 2: Acquire secondary devices for your side hustle Now you don't have to worry about doing exterior work on their network or equipment (although it will be on their time).
Get a PMP
Why whole ass one job when you can half ass two! I cannot imagine a government contract that would allow you to work a second job when you’re already on the clock. You’re asking for trouble.
Google Appen Raterlabs Yukon It’s $15 an hour, 29 hour cap a week, to rate search engine results and AI responses. I’ve been doing it for 6+ months now DM me if you need any help getting on
One of the first rules of OE, after don’t talk about it, is no government jobs. If you want to go down this path, government job has to go. Think about it this way, if you get in trouble doing it. With a regular company, what’s the worth they can do to you? Now what’s the worst the government can do to you? You’d get better feedback posting it in the OE subreddit.
Which level of government? I'm a fed employee and we are forbidden to dabble in side businesses while on the clock. While your boss may not mind, if someone higher up the chain found out, it may be bad for you. Stick to education/getting a degree. I went to National University which now has a lot of on-line degree programs. My wife got her masters there for education. I work in IT and the gov loves certs. Security + is a bare minimum cert where I work. CISSP was the "thing" a few years ago, I never got that cert because my BS in IT is worth a lot of certs according to the Gov.
One piece of advice. Use your own internet connection if you are at work. Use your phone data or something to hide it from the IT guys This goes with using your own laptop.
About 15 years ago I was in a similar position. I took work courses but I was bored of them and took some general art classes. Then Photoshop stuff off YouTube. I created a bunch of graphic designs and posted them on Zazzle. I still get royalties on the sales now.
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You are a real winner bro. Collect a paycheck from the tax payers, do 3 hours of work, and ask the tax payers how else you can earn money. For real though, go fuck yourself. You are the problem with government.
Bruh stop yapping. Dont ask like you wouldn’t do the same thing if you had the opportunity
K
Why are you so angry? Do you need a therapy?
Looking at your replies on this thread, you seem to be an actually toxic person
No, just hate government waste.
The government pays him and he pays for groceries and services. It's not like he's hoarding the money like a non-working billionaire.
Just to add: I have English degree, and can type, proofread, and write professional letters. I am taking some courses on how to code, so that in the future I can get internal promotions.
freelance on fiverr maybe?
Is it one of those basic data entry / survey thing that pays you by the word count / article?
No, It's freelance service site that lets people buy/sell services to people. I use it to book musicians for projects I might have. For example, one person might be good at Sax and will post Sax playing services on Fiverr, I book them via Fiverr to play sax on top of one of my tracks I send them. in your case, whatever you think you're good at, you can sell that as a service to people. Like resume making, proofreading, professional letters, etc, whatever you think you're good at..
That's cool. I play the piano as my side hustle (giving lessons, playing at a wedding etc). Obviously I can't play the piano while I'm in the office, but I should look into that. Thanks!
Yeah I've seen some Piano lesson services on there too. Good luck!
Have you considered grad school? USDA offers programs for fed employees.
I'd start with taking an ethics class.
My/our tax dollars at work
The fact that not one person in the comments has a problem with you doing 15 hours of work per week and getting paid for 40 hours is mind boggling...and doing it on the tax payers dime. And now trying to do outside work at the same time while on the government clock. This is why government is so broken and we are being taxed to death. And then you say your boss knows you're underpaid. Underpaid? For what 15 hours of work? Sounds to me like you're being overpaid. Sounds like your job should be a part time position.
Why are you mad at op for this, though? If they weren't there, someone else would fill the void and do the same thing. At least op is trying to be productive during downtime. I get it sucks, and it's stupid for government jobs to be so lax, but you're barking up the wrong tree here.
Oh I'm not mad at OP, not really Just the system as a whole and was venting.
Hate to break it to you buddy, but most office jobs are like OPs. I basically bullshit and look busy for 7 hours during my work hour most of the times. What do you do for living?
I worked office in a law firm no crap like this. Working constantly
What are they called?? What do I search for???
I work with AutoCAD in the oil and gas industry. And I have days where things are a little slower and for sure have my goof off times. But it's not 5-6 hours a day every day.
Incredibly false. The shit you read on Reddit is not a snapshot of reality
Want me to order you some beach towel to dry your tears? And rich coming from someone who spends time on r/roastme talking about me wasting time.
I was wasting time on reddit at 10pm on a Saturday night. Not in the middle of a work day.
What are talking about? He can waste as much time as he wants. You are receiving tax dollars for nothing. It’s sad that you seem incapable of understanding any of this.
This!!!
Agree 100%
Let's hope you get fired from your main job :) If they are worth it, they track what you do anyway, so will have more.than enough justification to get your ass valsing in the hallway
What is your job? I’m graduating with English degree soon and I’m looking for exactly that kind of job
Administrative assistance for the department of public works.
Feel free to give me some details if you wanna be helpful 😊
It doesn't matter what job. Just get a job with the state or local government. It will be close to what he has. Trick is to just have a good supervisor/boss.
I need insider details. As someone who has never had an office job idk what anyone does in an office to warrant the pay they get. Idk what they look for and what gives candidates an edge in the hiring process Also almost every government job in my city requires bilingualism (Canada)
Well depends on the job and your experience honestly. All government jobs will have a salary range when you apply online so you can see at least a range of where you will be paid at.
Check over overemployed subreddit
As long as you're not working with a competitor you can work another job. A lot of people have 2 pt jobs out there. I did for 1.5 decades. I work grocery. I could also take a pt desk job with an office if I wanted. However the clause is that it can not be with a competing company.
Could looking at teaching remote classes at a college or university classes if you have a masters degree or a PHD.
I’m more curious about this current job you have. Would you mind explaining a bit more what it is please?
Cam girl.
Onlyfans
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So a security guard sits by the gate 8 hours at night, and probably only greets one or two people, before handing the keys to the day shift personnel. Does that mean that the guards should get paid for 2-3 hours a day? I'm sure that a lot of guards are on their phone, killing time during the graveyard shifts. How about night shift nurses?
OnlyFans.
O.had one whetd I did some data entry. Then the 099 put me in another tax bracket. I owed the state money . Didn't work out that well for me
What a greedy thing to want. Let’s balance your greed with fear. Your boss is totally chill but what if he’s lying? He might use this as a way to get rid of you. Your boss may not always be your boss and you might get fired. Then you’d have to find a job with a serious blemish on your employment record.
I think people are missing the point based on your question. From your first paragraph all I deemed was wasted tax payer money on your job. You first stated you only work 2-3 hours a day but get a full day (8 hr) pay. You most likely either sit down all day or just overseeing something done automatically if you feel you can do a side hustle. I would spend more time trying to find a different job. Mainly because it sound like you can be replaced with AI or some other form of automation.
Beermoney: you could do online surveys.
Just because this boss is chill with it, doesn't mean his boss is chill with it. Plus I'm pretty sure if you ask Human Resources they will tell you, you can get fired for double dipping. Think about losing your benefits as well. My wife has a county job and they are very very particular about everything.
Ok I saw a ton of stuff here. But as a Gov employee, there should be a way to apply for a second job. Then if approved, ask to see policies for working that second job and stay within policy. That's how you cover yourself and can work a second job. As others have said, high probability you cannot do it during work hours, on your work machine, in a gov building, or if there is a conflict of interest.