Working 2 Full Time Jobs & What I've learned.

[HudsonFalcon]

Good to see that a strong work ethic is not lost on some of the younger guys op.

I work for the railroad and i see a lot of our newer younger guys wash out in quick order. They want the money but working 70+ hours a week in all weather conditions away from home gives them a very hard dose of reality.

 

[08mojo]

Good luck to you. In my past job, I would work 50-90 hour weeks. It didn't take long for me to figure out that wasn't the life for me. After a few years full time I was able to find a 40 hour a week job, with good pay and I couldn't be happier.

Some people live to work and some work to live. My balance falls on the work to live side.

 

[blownbrainmustang]

That takes lots of effort. I work 75-90 a week (all 15 hour shifts) but that means I can sleep my 8 hours straight. Luckily, I can sleep at the job if I ever feel the need without it really being an issue. Keep it up, you'll get what you want


Sent from my iPhone using svtperformance.com

 

[CompOrange04GT]

A few years ago for about 3~ months I was working straight 12-14 hour days at two jobs, a factory maintenance one and the other doing concrete work.

You would hate the oil industry then. I haven't worked less than a 12 hour shift in 4 years.

Then again, its a fact that the oil industry is the worst industry to be in if you want a life, or stability

 

[vortecd]

The biggest thing wrong with this is working 80 hours with 40 hours of it not be paid time and half. Right there is a lot of lost money and time. I would look for a higher paying job with some over time so you could make more and work less

I work 40 hours a week (enough for me) with a my only over time coming if we work Saturday which is less then 10 times a year.

 

[CV355]

You have no idea how much free time you have during the week, until you don't have it anymore for at least 2 months straight. I miss having the free time during the week to get certain things done and not having to use all of my lunch breaks to pay bills and make phone calls.

That sums it up right there.

I can relate- I put myself through college by working two part-time jobs on top of a 12-14 credit-hour course-load. I got into a polyphasic sleep pattern which worked great unless I missed a single sleep cycle. It was rough. Those pastel-polo loafer-wearing frat freaks have no idea what a hard time really is.

Now, 12 years later, I find myself in the workaholic rut. I routinely go 3-4 months without a day off, average 14-16hrs per day, and get 3-4hrs of sleep max. Just last week I went 4 days straight without ANY sleep.

What can I tell you?
1) Money doesn't bring you happiness.
Overtime is great, getting shit paid off fast is great, but it's not time spent LIVING. I'm just about the world's worst pessimist but damned if I don't at least try to enjoy some time on this rancid rock filled with idiots. I'm not rich- far from it. But I can tell you that my life has never magically improved with the purchase of any item. The only things that have brought happiness are my wife, dog, and paying off bills.

2) You never look back and say "I wish I had spent more time at work."
Seriously. You don't. If you do, you have issues worse than mine, and that's seriously messed up.

3) OT = $$$, $$$ = Stuff, Stuff = Time, OT = No Time...
See the problem? I have a GT500 sitting in my garage that needs to be washed yet is rarely driven, a brand new Harley one bay over that needs its first waxing, a room filled with expensive firearms that have never been used, a beautifully landscaped yard getting taken over by weeds, a small recording studio that has produced NOTHING... Oh it's so much fun owning shit that just deteriorates as you don't have time to maintain it...

4) Once you start the cycle, it's VERY HARD TO BREAK.
Whether it is self-inflicted, or being forced on you by an employer, a habit is a habit. It will be very hard to break regardless of your willpower. I found a small chunk of time last year where I didn't have an impossible deadline to meet (one week, wow!). I'd get home and be restless, or completely crash and wake up at 11PM going "awww shit." I took a 2 day vacation with my wife (comp'd, already worked 75hrs that week) and wound up working until 11:45PM the night before we left, slept for 90 minutes, woke up, drove 6 hours, and hiked 18 miles across an island. You know what I enjoyed most about that vacation? Sleeping that night.

5) Health issues.
Working too much really ****s you up bad and leads to health issues I don't even want to get into. It's usually not good when blood leaves your body, but when it's coming out of both ends it's usually not a good sign either. People literally die from overworking, whether it is mentally or physically draining is irrelevant. Most people don't think period, but even fewer realize that the brain is essentially an organic computer. Info goes in, info goes out, heat is generated. Sleep is essential. When I go 3-4 days without sleep, I hallucinate, type long-ass posts on forums that nobody will read, and drive my wife nuts more than normal. Not good.

6) The expectation has been set.
This is more of a continuation of 4, but whatever. Once you realize the harm you're doing to yourself, slowing it down is hard both by you AND those who have grown to depend on you. Oh, but they've come to expect 400% from you. 350% isn't good enough. You set the bar at 400%. They don't give a flying **** that Joe-schmo over there barely even puts in 4% on a good day and has had more days off in one year than you will your entire life, **** you for only doing 350%, you goddamn lazy shit. In fact, now you have to do 450% to catch back up, you lazy, lazy bastard. <-- I felt the unnecessary vulgarity helped drive the point home. I've done some serious work blitzes before, but two years ago they started becoming commonplace. I kept saying "Ok, after this project is done, I'm going back to 50/wk." Management said "after this project, you need to take some time off." Guess what? Reality slaps hard, with a numbed hand covered in piss. The next project/excuse comes up and guess what? You're back in the same situation with the same result.

7) Zero tolerance, downward spiral.
Things that most people don't even realize happen will drive you nuts. Your mind is moving at warp speed because you've essentially programmed it to be on 24/7. It forces you into a state of hyper-sensitivity and hyper-vigilance. Every car that I see on the road gives me a small panic attack- especially the goddamn idiots that can't stay on their own side of the road. The dude one cubicle over that eats his damn apple at 2:35PM every day. The guy that takes the last cup of coffee from the break area and doesn't start a fresh pot. Nail clipping. Shoes squeaking. Birds chirping. Dogs barking. All of this combined keeps you in a constant state of fight-or-flight and it wreaks havoc on you both mentally and physically.



tl;dr: It's not worth it.
Don't let what happened/happens to me happen to you. I'm on medications that are supposed to make me happy and world a wonderful place filled with rainbows and unicorns (they don't) and my family is constantly concerned about my mental health because my sense of humor is darker than vanta-black.

Working sucks. It should be work to live, not live to work.

My advice to you is the same advice I'd give 16 year old me.
Taper off
Live within your means
100% is 100%, anything beyond that is contributing to the problem

 

[Buckwheat 1]

That sums it up right there.

I can relate- I put myself through college by working two part-time jobs on top of a 12-14 credit-hour course-load. I got into a polyphasic sleep pattern which worked great unless I missed a single sleep cycle. It was rough. Those pastel-polo loafer-wearing frat freaks have no idea what a hard time really is.

Now, 12 years later, I find myself in the workaholic rut. I routinely go 3-4 months without a day off, average 14-16hrs per day, and get 3-4hrs of sleep max. Just last week I went 4 days straight without ANY sleep.

What can I tell you?
1) Money doesn't bring you happiness.
Overtime is great, getting shit paid off fast is great, but it's not time spent LIVING. I'm just about the world's worst pessimist but damned if I don't at least try to enjoy some time on this rancid rock filled with idiots. I'm not rich- far from it. But I can tell you that my life has never magically improved with the purchase of any item. The only things that have brought happiness are my wife, dog, and paying off bills.

2) You never look back and say "I wish I had spent more time at work."
Seriously. You don't. If you do, you have issues worse than mine, and that's seriously messed up.

3) OT = $$$, $$$ = Stuff, Stuff = Time, OT = No Time...
See the problem? I have a GT500 sitting in my garage that needs to be washed yet is rarely driven, a brand new Harley one bay over that needs its first waxing, a room filled with expensive firearms that have never been used, a beautifully landscaped yard getting taken over by weeds, a small recording studio that has produced NOTHING... Oh it's so much fun owning shit that just deteriorates as you don't have time to maintain it...

4) Once you start the cycle, it's VERY HARD TO BREAK.
Whether it is self-inflicted, or being forced on you by an employer, a habit is a habit. It will be very hard to break regardless of your willpower. I found a small chunk of time last year where I didn't have an impossible deadline to meet (one week, wow!). I'd get home and be restless, or completely crash and wake up at 11PM going "awww shit." I took a 2 day vacation with my wife (comp'd, already worked 75hrs that week) and wound up working until 11:45PM the night before we left, slept for 90 minutes, woke up, drove 6 hours, and hiked 18 miles across an island. You know what I enjoyed most about that vacation? Sleeping that night.

5) Health issues.
Working too much really ****s you up bad and leads to health issues I don't even want to get into. It's usually not good when blood leaves your body, but when it's coming out of both ends it's usually not a good sign either. People literally die from overworking, whether it is mentally or physically draining is irrelevant. Most people don't think period, but even fewer realize that the brain is essentially an organic computer. Info goes in, info goes out, heat is generated. Sleep is essential. When I go 3-4 days without sleep, I hallucinate, type long-ass posts on forums that nobody will read, and drive my wife nuts more than normal. Not good.

6) The expectation has been set.
This is more of a continuation of 4, but whatever. Once you realize the harm you're doing to yourself, slowing it down is hard both by you AND those who have grown to depend on you. Oh, but they've come to expect 400% from you. 350% isn't good enough. You set the bar at 400%. They don't give a flying **** that Joe-schmo over there barely even puts in 4% on a good day and has had more days off in one year than you will your entire life, **** you for only doing 350%, you goddamn lazy shit. In fact, now you have to do 450% to catch back up, you lazy, lazy bastard. <-- I felt the unnecessary vulgarity helped drive the point home. I've done some serious work blitzes before, but two years ago they started becoming commonplace. I kept saying "Ok, after this project is done, I'm going back to 50/wk." Management said "after this project, you need to take some time off." Guess what? Reality slaps hard, with a numbed hand covered in piss. The next project/excuse comes up and guess what? You're back in the same situation with the same result.

7) Zero tolerance, downward spiral.
Things that most people don't even realize happen will drive you nuts. Your mind is moving at warp speed because you've essentially programmed it to be on 24/7. It forces you into a state of hyper-sensitivity and hyper-vigilance. Every car that I see on the road gives me a small panic attack- especially the goddamn idiots that can't stay on their own side of the road. The dude one cubicle over that eats his damn apple at 2:35PM every day. The guy that takes the last cup of coffee from the break area and doesn't start a fresh pot. Nail clipping. Shoes squeaking. Birds chirping. Dogs parking. All of this combined keeps you in a constant state of fight-or-flight and it wreaks havoc on you both mentally and physically.



tl;dr: It's not worth it.
Don't let what happened/happens to me happen to you. I'm on medications that are supposed to make me happy and world a wonderful place filled with rainbows and unicorns (they don't) and my family is constantly concerned about my mental health because my sense of humor is darker than vanta-black.

Working sucks. It should be work to live, not live to work.

My advice to you is the same advice I'd give 16 year old me.
Taper off
Live within your means
100% is 100%, anything beyond that is contributing to the problem

I read it.

 

[CompOrange04GT]

Number 6 is the story of my job.

"He is 30, so he can do 300%"

"He is 50.. he can only do 50%"

 

[cbr repsol]

Love that movie falling down.

 

[Buckwheat 1]

Love that movie falling down.

 

[nofire]

This thread resonates with me. About 4 years ago I took stock of where I was at in life, realized I wasn't where I wanted to be, and left a cushy gov't job paying $70k+ a year to go do overseas contracting. Now I work 84 hours a day 9 months out of the year and no one can understand why I'm doing it. But I'm completely out of all debt, drive a paid off $70k truck (My raptor), and I'm buying up rent houses left and right back home so I can quit this job and never have to go to a 9 to 5 job again.

It's all about goals and what you're willing to sacrifice to get them. To the OP, good job on grinding it out! But keep it real and stick to your plan as best as you can. If you try and keep that pace up for much longer than you planned you'll run the risk of burning out and just... hating life.

 

[fletchffletch]

Work?? What's that. Been retired 10 years now.

You slacker.

 

[CompOrange04GT]

This thread resonates with me. About 4 years ago I took stock of where I was at in life, realized I wasn't where I wanted to be, and left a cushy gov't job paying $70k+ a year to go do overseas contracting. Now I work 84 hours a day 9 months out of the year and no one can understand why I'm doing it. But I'm completely out of all debt, drive a paid off $70k truck (My raptor), and I'm buying up rent houses left and right back home so I can quit this job and never have to go to a 9 to 5 job again.

It's all about goals and what you're willing to sacrifice to get them. To the OP, good job on grinding it out! But keep it real and stick to your plan as best as you can. If you try and keep that pace up for much longer than you planned you'll run the risk of burning out and just... hating life.

Overseas is something I've wanted to do. The oil industry is great and all. Lived in I think 11 states in 5 years, but there's a lot of money to be made elsewhere

 

[nofire]

Overseas is something I've wanted to do. The oil industry is great and all. Lived in I think 11 states in 5 years, but there's a lot of money to be made elsewhere

It's a wild life depending on what you do, that's for sure. lol. If you're single and don't have kids yet, I highly recommend it just for the experiences. And the money is amazing.

 

[Zemedici]

Number 6 is the story of my job.

"He is 30, so he can do 300%"

"He is 50.. he can only do 50%"

That's when you take a two week vacation, and let management realize how much of an asset you are. Whambam dont have that issue when you come back.

Or you'll be looking for a new job because they realized you're not an asset.

Either way, progress is made.

 

[fletchffletch]

To OP, hats off to your work ethic -- it is to be admired. I've found life to be a roller coaster -- times where I've really had to put it in to overdrive so to speak, and times where it slows down, is more manageable and allows you to enjoy it more. Those overdrive times have provided some of the most professionally challenging and rewarding times of my life, and sometimes have provided some of the things that make life enjoyable (like a Mustang for instance). Make no mistake, money doesn't buy happiness, but it does help in certain regards. In the end, life is about experiences as you go along. I'm glad you have tried to make time for fitness, that's important for sure, but I'm concerned that mentally you will burn yourself out. I hope you can find some mental balance soon.

 

[ibleedblue65]

Hell yeah dude stay hungry.

I'm 25 and work 70+ hours a week with my job (run the front of a performance shop) - my tuner works well over 90 I bet. I've worked 50+ hours a week since I was 16, and have no desire to stop anytime soon.

Yeah sure everyone goes 'man you're always working....why are you working so much.....'

As they get into their 1990 jeep to drive back to their moms place. It's nice being to afford what I want, the second I want it. And not to mention working so much has taught me a LOT of life skills / knowledge I may or may not get otherwise.

Stay hungry man. It's how people become successful. The greats didn't get that way from working 9-5.....they got that way from going above and beyond, every day.

First off...




What the **** is wrong with an old jeep?

Some of the most fun I've had in life were in my old beat up heep.

2nd... 70+ hours lolz.

If you're including time spent bedazzling jeans as part of the work week.

To the op. Happiness is a choice in life. Make choices that make you happy. If working 80 hr weeks and money make you happy so be it. Its a struggle I deal with internally daily. The part of my brain that usually speaks the loudest wants it all. Money, position, recognition, to be the best. I have to stop myself sometimes and remember to smell the roses. Otherwise none of it is really worth it.

 

[CompOrange04GT]

That's when you take a two week vacation, and let management realize how much of an asset you are. Whambam dont have that issue when you come back.

Or you'll be looking for a new job because they realized you're not an asset.

Either way, progress is made.

I'm thinking of a trip. Nowhere I would want to go right now though. Especially not alone

 

[nxhappy]

work smarter, not harder.

 

[Buckwheat 1]

work smarter, not harder.

I wise man once told me if you
are going to be a whore be an expensive whore.