Normal shift is 0700-1730 Monday through Thursday with a half-hour for lunch. Depending on which bus I catch I get into the office as early as 0640 or as late as 0710. Normally I get in at 0748. I don’t take my two 20-minute breaks, so I should leave 40 minutes early (nominally 1650). But I usually leave between ten after or 20 after. Daily commute is about five hours.
I broached the idea of working from home. It’s a possibility. I’d still put in at least ten hours a day, four days a week, but I’d save the hours on the road and more than $500/month in gas. In order to do this I’d have to buy a new PC (laptop), as one thing I need runs on a PC. I’d also have to get connectivity to the network and the AS400. I’ll see how it goes after my roommate moves out.
It’s all over the map. I’m in consulting for a software company; I do a lot of work onsite at customers, some work remotely from home. Weeks when I don’t have a lot going on, I’ll get up and get the kids off to school during the school year, have some breakfast, then head downstairs to my basement office between 8 and 9 am to get started. I usually try to wrap up by 5:30 or 6, unless I have something specific going on. I don’t always take a full hour for lunch, but I also don’t sweat it if I need to deal with something on the home front for a few minutes here and there. I’ll also generally read/respond to work e-mails a few times during the evening if I’m not otherwise occupied. Occasionally, I’ll have things going on that’ll keep me at it longer, and I have pulled allnighters and near-allnighters on rare occasions.
If I’m onsite, there’ll usually be a trip to the airport (45 mins, in transit, plus 1 or 2 hours at the airport before the flight), a two-to-three-hour flight, and time to get to the hotel or customer site, depending on whether I’m going out same day or the night before. Typical onsite day will be 8:30 to 4:30 or 5, usually with a break for lunch, though depending on the project timeline, customer culture, or other factors may be longer or shorter. Try to keep the onsite days to no more than four per week, which can mean 10 hour days if the expectation is a full 40 hours on site. Then the flight back home, trip home from the airport.
In my last job, I had stretches where I’d be on the road five days a week for weeks on end, and would have multiple projects going on besides the on-site project. If I were on the west coast, that might mean getting up at 4 or 5 am local time, having calls/e-mails/etc. for 3 hours or so before heading in to the customer site, working a full day on site, then another 4-5 hours of work in the hotel before getting to bed around midnight. Repeat 4x each week. Was nearly enough to kill me.
At my current job, 10 hours is the norm, with days as long as 12-13 hours during busy periods. About twice a month, we work a half-day Saturday. Rarely, Sundays, too. The workweek is supposed to be a standard 40 hours, but business has picked up dramatically, I’m told, and we still haven’t hired any new test techs (and one just gave his two-weeks notice due to the hours. Grrrr.) Can’t complain about the OT, though–my paychecks have been insane.
Can’t agree with your bolded “only.” For many people, work is “those things”; it’s not just a way to fund those things. I envy these people. My boss, for example, loves his job. The pay is just a big fat bonus. He dreads retirement.
On the other hand, you have people like me. I work long hours despite not liking my job. I count myself among your lost.
I’m glad to see that there are a few others like me. Right now I get into work around 10am most days and head out around 3 - 3:30. That’s an average day. Commute is about 15 minutes each way. Sure some days I get in earlier…but some days it’s later. Today I didn’t get here until 11. I just happen to be working a contract that is very flexible for my hours right now. The last contract I was on 10 + hour days were much more the norm with lots of time spent at night or on the weekends thinking about work or figuring out the next step. I don’t have a problem working long hours if there’s something that needs to be done. But I’m not about to sit here in this cube for 8 hours a day for 2 hours worth of work. Especially since none of the people I work for/with spend any more time than I do here. So right now I’m taking advantage of the down time. I’m sure I’ll move on to another contract soon that will require more effort. But for now I’m enjoying the mornings spent with my wife and kids, and the extra time in the evenings for myself.
Oh, and while I can’t answer for VCO3 of course, I’m a salaried employee robardin I get paid the same no matter what hours I put in.
We work 12 hr shifts (6:30-7, 30 min lunch). I usually do 4 12’s a week, which gives me overtime and 3 days off a week. Sometimes when we have people on vacation I’ll pick up another shift, but that’s my choice.
I’ve always preferred 12’s to 8’s–I’m already at work anyway, and I like having the extra days off.
I have no interest in ever having children. I guess to be fair, in addition to those 20 hrs. a week, I play music quasi-full time (three bands, one of which has real CD’s in stores that people buy) as well as constant gigs around town and session spots. I also freelance for a handful of music publications. It adds up at the end of the day, but I still live like a pauper compared to the guy “living the american dream” in the suburban mcmansion. Of course, I’m actually living the life that I want to, not convincing myself that I’m happy with my 60 hr. a week job and mortgage.
I don’t think too many people actually live the American dream in a suburban Mcmansion; that’s a pretty broad brush you’re using there. In the end, musicians who have part-time day jobs and workaholics who live in suburban Mcmansions make up a tiny segment of the population. Most people strike some sort of balance between the two extremes, and don’t feel a need to convince themselves of anything. People work hard for all sorts of reasons; you’re doing it in your own way and so are lots of others.
Doesn’t sound like you really only work 3.5 hours a day then. When you’re playing gigs and sessions and freelancing for music publications… That’s what I would call being a working musician (I’ve known non-working musicians and the difference is quite palpable). You seem to consider that your real interest in life, so good on you, mate, you’re doing what you love for a living and shoring up your income with some kind of 20 hours a week P/T filler job “working for the Man”.
