First off, most people work in excess of 40 hours. If you're not particularly skilled, you're likely working three part time jobs or a part time & full time job. I can't remember the last time my dumb a** worked less than 48-50/week.
The worst part, however, is that one day you might go into work and be told to pack your sh** along with the rest of your department. Twice it has happened to me. Work your a** off for years, love your job, then boom, zero notice lay off.
Frued got a long wrong, but he was right with people need love and a job.
Also, pure leisure is really, really hard.
Bib #1 wrote:
In 1900 the average American died at 47, so they only had to work for less than 30 years.
That's not how life expectancy works.
Ca$hclay wrote:
1 miserable day at a time?
^--- That. It sneaks up on you.
Here is an interesting tale on why people work 40 hrs a week.
https://hackernoon.com/the-misunderstood-15-hour-work-week-of-john-maynard-keynes-9d4561c96ab6
I was 32 when I finally got my degree (put myself through school, so it took a while). My post-college jobs have been much more interesting than my pre-degree jobs. When working those earlier jobs, I felt what you are feeling now. This is my third post-college job and I've been here 20 years, mostly because I find the work interesting, and I don't get anxious on Sunday nights like I used to, because I don't mind going to work on Monday mornings. See if you can find something that interests you and time will fly.
Most jobs you only work a couple hours a day on average. The rest of the time is spent on LetsRun, watching videos/movies at work.
There are 168 hrs in a week.
40 hrs of work, 56 hrs of sleep. That’s 96 hrs. Which leaves you with almost 10 hrs a day for yourself.
That’s how.
You are obviously an entitled millennial . . . but there's hope if you don't have the ability to work a real job and support yourself and future family.
I'll give you some suggestions that are entirely up to you, but any of these will not result in you having to work a 40 hour workweek your entire life.
1. Marry some rich chick.
2. Win the lottery.
3. Invent something that everybody needs/wants and live off your royalties.
4. Run a sub 2:04 marathon.
Absolutely NOTHING is in your way to prevent you from any other above solutions.
Go get em' tiger!!
kummy wrote:
The 40 hours isn't so bad. The real problem is all the time over 40 hrs that you actually end up putting in, such as the 1 hour unpaid lunch "break," the meetings that get called 10 min before you have to leave, the salesman who is three plus timezones away that needs you to do things for him 5PM EST but he doesn't care because it's 1PM where he lives, and the kicker: commuting to and from work even when some jack*ss crashes his car and causes your 35 min drive to take 100 min+. 40 hours is easy, it's the 55+ hours that you actually have to take out of your free time that boils everyone's piss.
Agreed. All the extra time I take for the 40 hours of work is probably as much as I spend running. The problem is an 8 hour day is more like an 11 hour day, leaving 5 hours to do everything else in life.
um, ever heard of..... wrote:
wageslave4life wrote:
It just boggles me. I'm a 22 year old university student currently enrolled in a co-op position at a bank, and I just can't imagine having to spend the next 40 years of my life doing monotonous work for a lousy paycheck.
Is this what life is all about? Work, go home, watch some tv, sleep, and repeat? There's got to be more.
Marriage? Family? Kids? Passions/interests/ hobbies? Career?
I sort of understand where you are coming from but the ability to even be able to ask that question is a luxury. Life used to be much more simple and solely about survival. Now, if you’re fortunate to live in a wealthy society you have time to ponder things and ask questions like yours.
In my opinion, enjoying life (at least sometimes) and doing a job that makes a positive impact on the world / individuals (at least sometimes) gives me meaning and purpose. Part of life is suffering and frustration—you must learn to accept that. But, it’s not always that way—there are also peak experiences that make the suffering with it.
I’ve got kids, I am married, work as a physician, and—of course simply based on the fact that I am posting here—I am a runner. These things all represent joy and suffering to me in life. That is enough purpose for me.
Your life sucks bro.
pierre_paris_206 wrote:
Get married and have kids...that is a lot more. Don't make your life about your job. It is a means to an ends.
This doesn't sound that fun.
I love my career and hope I can work it for 40 years. Great pay, Great purpose, Great family feel, awesome challenging environment, and Great growth. I work as an Army civilian best choice I ever made in my life. My wife does it also.
OK, here's what you do. Start your own business. Build a clientele by building relationships and building trust, delivering quality and service.
As soon as possible:
Invest in real estate, first to own your home, then buy income property.
Why do all this? To control your time and your destiny.
You will work 40+ hours for twenty years, then you can work as much or little as you want.
This is what I've done. Now, I pay myself mostly in time to run and draw, my favorite things.
Do nothing and let people from my generation work 60 hours a week to support you by paying massive amounts of taxes.
Why not? That’s what the rest of your generation does.
wageslave4life wrote:
It just boggles me. I'm a 22 year old university student currently enrolled in a co-op position at a bank, and I just can't imagine having to spend the next 40 years of my life doing monotonous work for a lousy paycheck.
Is this what life is all about? Work, go home, watch some tv, sleep, and repeat? There's got to be more.
Here is another one.
I am 66 and retired since 2011. I worked double 40s and had a great job with a lot of international travel. I earned good money, and when I got tired I retired.
My Brother and Mother died at 70. My Dad soon after. I expect that I may last a little longer than 70, as a never smoker.
I lost 2 friends this week. One at 68, the other 66, so its always close. That's the back story
I had a friend visit. He is also 66 and is the caregiver for for his parents. One died recently at 95, the other is 96. Genetically, unless he really screws the pooch, he will be going for another 30 years. 30 MORE years. I could not imagine the drudgery.
Getting up and reading the paper, emptying your bowels. A cup of tea, off to bed after dinner.
No thank you sir. My friend has more time left, than I worked in my last career job. I'd hate to do that again, and I'd hate to live to be an old man.
What you are describing is what retirement is about. If you are smart and work hard enough it can be a lot of fun.
Kvothe wrote:
I get tired of hearing about people's hustles, schemes, and scams. Its almost always the least qualified members of society who have these plans like getting into renting a bunch of houses, stocks, bitcoins, etc. They'd be doing these things, not working a 40 hour week with me if they had the know how and drive to do these things already.
Please explain. Renting a bunch of houses is a hard full time job. How is that a scheme? You're saying they talk about it too much but never do it?
Scheme is those guys that put up "I buy houses" signs or "get on my flipping houses team", etc...
People used to pitch me on MLM schemes. Like selling Vitamins for a MLM or products in a MLM org. I don't get that anymore.
Elvis DeJesus wrote:
OK, here's what you do. Start your own business. Build a clientele by building relationships and building trust, delivering quality and service.
As soon as possible:
Invest in real estate, first to own your home, then buy income property.
Why do all this? To control your time and your destiny.
You will work 40+ hours for twenty years, then you can work as much or little as you want.
This is what I've done. Now, I pay myself mostly in time to run and draw, my favorite things.
What city? If you're in a pro-renter city, buying income property may not be a good idea. Landlording is still a job. It may be better than sitting in a cubicle all day, but it still sucks some of the time. Get a bad tenant, you can't screen them all, and watch out.
'What ever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve'
wageslave4life wrote:
It just boggles me. I'm a 22 year old university student currently enrolled in a co-op position at a bank, and I just can't imagine having to spend the next 40 years of my life doing monotonous work for a lousy paycheck.
Is this what life is all about? Work, go home, watch some tv, sleep, and repeat? There's got to be more.
Yeah, the terrible part here is “monotonous work for a lousy paycheck.” Get a good job that you like - all the sudden you’re spending 40 hours a week doing something fun for really good money.
It’s gonna take a few years to find that job, because it’s hard to know what a good job is right away, it’s tough to know what you want to do, and you might need some experience to get in at a good company. But you’re in charge of whether it’s 40 years of drudgery or not.