Working 9 to 5, 5 days a Week

[Fierce_LiNk]

I've been in uni for the past four years, but I have also worked in jobs where I've worked from 9 to 5, or in jobs where I've done both uni and the 9 to 5 thing. There was one point where I went to uni from 9 til midday, and then from midday to 9 to work. Also, other jobs where I've worked 9 to 9. Travelwise, I've been on placements even whilst being at uni, and some days I'd leave my place at around half 6 in the morning and get home around half 7 in the evening.

 

However, throughout all of this, it is still very possible to have a good social time, to have time for yourself, and to do the things you keep doing. That last example was pretty difficult, as it was a lot of traveling, but I miss it sometimes. I enjoyed the job I was doing, so it was worth it. Would I do it again? A thousand times, yes. Even though it was also unpaid. (gah).

 

Why do we work? Well, you get something out of it. In most cases, that something is money. To others, they'll say they take the experience, or the sociable factor, the communicating with others, or the fact that they're making a difference. It really does depend on what personally motivates you to take this job. If it is money, then what is that money going towards? Buying the things that you like, saving up for a place with your girlfriend, or maybe even saving for something else. That's also good motivation.

 

I don't think I've ever been one to shy away from work. Sometimes it can be scary when starting something new. But, when you're in the swing of it, you get caught in the rhythm of things, and this can either be a good thing or a bad thing. It's good in the sense that you then know what it is that you're doing. It's bad in the sense if you think of yourself as a robot, just working and working. If you go into it with positive thoughts, that you're going to make the most of it, then this will not be all that difficult at all.

[Supergrunch]

Nope, and I don't think I'll ever have anything that scheduled. I possibly do more hours of work than that though (massive holidays aside, of course ), and perhaps always will (this time without the massive holidays). If you get used to it you can fit the rest of your life into the gaps, but it does tire you out.

[Shorty]

Just to clarify, I'm not backing out of the working world, I have taken the job. I start Thursday if my car's fixed. I'm just reeling a little at the idea of the sudden change in lifestyle.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Just to clarify, I'm not backing out of the working world, I have taken the job. I start Thursday if my car's fixed. I'm just reeling a little at the idea of the sudden change in lifestyle.

 

Good luck.

 

If you've been a student at university, then I'm going to hazard a guess and suggest that you've been skint, too? If so, you'll love it when your first see your month's wages going in.

[EEVILMURRAY]

You make it sound as if you haven't had any sudden changes in lifestyle until now, has it really been this 'smooth' until now?

[Shorty]

Kinda, yeah I think I've been pretty lucky, school to college, a lil gap year then Uni... deadlines etc have been stressful but there's been so much free time I couldn't complain. Aren't most Uni goers in the same boat?

[EEVILMURRAY]

Aren't most Uni goers in the same boat?

It was a bit of a sudden change when I went from living at home whilst at college to moving in with 9 complete strangers for uni.

 

What did you do in your gap year?

[Eenuh]

Kinda, yeah I think I've been pretty lucky, school to college, a lil gap year then Uni... deadlines etc have been stressful but there's been so much free time I couldn't complain. Aren't most Uni goers in the same boat?

 

Most days for me in school are actually from 8:30 until 4:30 or 5:30, and then of course have more work to do when getting home.

So for me, getting a job (which would most likely be a job at home) would suddenly be a huuuuge change as I'd feel like there's all this time to do other things, heh.

 

Anyway, good luck with the job. Might take a while to get used to but I'm sure you can do it.

[Jon]

Welcome to the real world kid. Collect your t-shirt and cap at the door.

 

 

In all seriousness, I start work at 5am some days, so you don't have to tell me how tiring it can be. You'll miss friends for sure but you've also got the chance to make some new ones. I met so many awesome people when I started my job and they're all my best mates now.

Edited June 9, 2009 by Jon

[Noodleman]

I've been back in the 9-5 (or 8:30-5 for me) slog for 2 days now, after 8 months off. I hate it I want to quit already, probably would have today. But my overdraft/creditcard bill is far too large to do so.

[Dante]

"all work and no play makes something something"

[darksnowman]

You won't have all the free time you are used to, but what free time you do have you will appreciate more and make better use of than you think. These days I find that as soon as work finishes at five I've barely a minute of truly free time- so many things I try to squeeze in each evening. It can work well though cos being a bit more focused with how to best use your free time isn't such a bad thing.

[Pookiablo]

Shorty, I say this without trying to be too offensive but you clearly don't live in the real world. It's hardly a big transition. You work slightly longer. I've done this throughout Uni and during holidays and spent a year abroad working from 8 til 6 everyday. It's like anything, you just get used to it.

Edited June 9, 2009 by Pookiablo

[tapedeck]

Having worked 9-5 and a multitude of other shifts (including 70hr weeks at one point) I feel the following +'s and -'s are of note:

 

NEGATIVES:

 

You have to generally be up early to look decent for work and be in bed quite early (10-11pm ish) if you don't want to feel like utter crap or tired the next day.

If you work Mon-Fri you'll have to shop/go places when it's mental busy (weekends).

9-5 means all freaking delivery's/business dealings need to be left with neighbours family/friends.

9-5 means you get to do limited shopping through the week. (Hitting supermarkets at night as you become desperate for human interaction.)

9-5 means your gonna hit ALL the traffic.

 

POSITIVES:

 

With 9-5 shifts I feel that it's easier to settle into a healthy routine. (Although that says more about me than anything else.) Nights and early mornings are just WRONG IMO.

Finishing at 5pm means you get to see the best of what's on TV. (Home & Away anyone?)

Finishing at 5pm means you get to see some daylight and do at least some evening activities. Like Yoga. :P

Mon-Fri means you get a weekend off - when most activities are happening/occurring.

You can also nurse a hangover without the fear of working the next day.

Two days off together is a nice treat which makes going back to work even harder yet does enable you to have a life more than a single day off spread through the week.

 

I prefer 9-5 tbh. But yeah, good luck!

[Shorty]

To be honest I thought there were a lot more college/school goers on these boards that would all be living in fear of the 9-5 day, that's kind of why I made this thread. You can mock me if you like, take the piss that I "haven't lived in the real world" (I did higher education and since I don't booze/party every night, I lived comfortably on my Student Loan) - but the fact is moving to full time is a big change.

 

Think about it, chances are from now on I will never get a month off in a row ever, ever again - until I retire anyway. It's the end of the easy life.

 

I'm not saying I'm not up for the challenge, I just wondered if anyone else had struggled adjusting.

 

Man, I've had to be very defensive in this thread! A lot of very cynical users.... But a lot of positive comments too, thanks guys

[jayseven]

Shorty's sudden acquisition of a job has made me freak out a little. I've started on my CV and looked for a bunch of jobs, applied for a couple and need to sort out my references, and I've realised how much of a deal it really is to jump from uni to 9-5. Half the people on these forums who have a job are still living at home with their parents and don't have to worry about rent/bills, so they can shut the fuck up about 'real world' bullshit because they still have it easy.

[Babooo]

oh mate, you should really embrace working life. I fucking love it. I'm 20, and finishing my first year at uni. But during term time, I held down a part time job and during summer holidays I work 40+ hours. And i love it. The money you get from your pay packets. The independence you feel from making your own money. The relationships you make in the workplace. Its awesome.

 

Okay, there maybe a few disadvantages like not having so much time you used to have as free time but as someone else mentioned, your time management skills get alot better so you actually end up being more productive. As they say, if you want something done, you give it to the person who's busy and not to the person who has more time. Efficiency is key and that will come with the job.

 

And as someone else mentioned, don't go into it thinking "shit. this is gonna be so boring etc". Its an opportunity. You're gonna be earning decent money. You're gonna be meeting new people etc.

 

Me....I'm still looking for a bloody job this summer, harder than usual compared to past years. I would love to be in your situation!

[EEVILMURRAY]

Man, I've had to be very defensive in this thread! A lot of very cynical users.... But a lot of positive comments too, thanks guys

Inspiring, but what happened in your gap year?

 

Were you one of those "travelling" people?

[Iun]

I'm not saying I'm not up for the challenge, I just wondered if anyone else had struggled adjusting.

 

 

Nope. Moving to the working world was easy after university.

 

During my studies I did 4 hours at University a day, then worked in Game for 6-8 hours, then went home and did my homework. Flopped into bed usuallyy about 1am.

 

I had to pay for virtually everything myself, except tuition fees, which the government paid because I'm an orphan.

[Noku]

I'm in the same boat as you are dude - although a little bit more down river methinks. Or up. Depends on how you look at it. "Up crap creek without a paddle" => I'm further down.

 

Thing that keeps me up sometimes is the future obligation to provide for the household, and as such your career becoming a drag because you daren't change it anymore for reasons of financial insecurity.

 

Don't know if such a system exists in England, but over here in Belgium it's becoming increasingly (definitely with the current crisis crudness and all that) popular to work half-time, i.e., 30 hours a week instead of 38. Have you considered such a job as an option?

 

Most importantly dude, you gotta ask yourself (in a few weeks/months): "do I like this job/ does this job offer me a perspective on my career goals (if any)" If the answer's negative, then no, the payoff isn't worth the social and personal deprivation if you ask me.

But then again, I'm still in uni so my view is a bit, say, naive perhaps.

 

About the whole girlfriend thing: why don't you move in together? At the very least in that case, you'll get to see her every night. Yes, every night. For the rest of your life. How 'bout them apples?

 

Good luck tomorrow

[Pit-Jr]

Pffft, these people are mental.

 

If you can afford it, then work part time. Its as simple as that. 9-5 (or similar) is the worst thing in the world (unless you enjoy the job).

 

 

Kiss goodbye to your life basically. Living for the weekend, and then that goes ridiculously quickly.

 

Thats almost impossible to find, but its ideal. 6 hours to sleep, 6 hours to work, 6 hours of social time, and 6 hours of fuck-off lazy time. Thats the adult schedule i so desperately want

[ReZourceman]

Shorty, these people are mental, (the people saying it isn't a big change) it is a big change, and I wouldn't be worried about feeling apprehensive.

 

Its a job you will enjoy isn't it? I assume so considering your talent. It'll be a shock to the system, but if its something you're enjoying you'll be fine because A) You don't have a choice but to work, and B) Now you'll have shit tonnes of moneyz.

[Pookiablo]

It's not about being cynical or anything. I just don't get how it's such a big change. For most of your life you've been in some daily routine of going to school, albeit not for as many hours during the day, but certainly a routine where you've usually had to do something everyday of the week.

 

I can only see there being a "struggle" of sorts for the first couple of days because obviously it's probably a big change to your body clock and you're likely to get more tired but you should adapt quickly. The only time in which I can say I've had trouble adapting to a 9-5/8-6 position was when I moved to France, but only because everyone spoke French and therefore I had to concentrate 110% everyday in order to make sure I constantly understood what they were saying.

 

Either way, nothing to fear my friend, once you're rolling in dough and you've made the most of your weekends (because you won't have time in the week), I think you'll grow more than accustomed to it!

[Raining_again]

It can be a big change, but its a change into a more settled world.

 

No longer having the whole summer off is really the big problem. Hopefully the novelty of a new job, and plenty of money should carry you through the first summer! In my work its a whole big bastard of a problem getting time off in the summer. You really have to learn to compromise a lot in terms of summer leave..

 

I can say without a doubt that having a settled 9-5 isn't necessarily a bad thing. What people can sometimes assume about 9-5 being boring isn't necessarily true.. Depends on the work really. You could get loads of challenges thrown at you in one job, or be sitting in an office typing all day in another.

 

You know you wont be called in last minute to work on a Saturday morning when you have a hangover.. You usually have a contract to determine your hours (which means you shouldn't have to worry about losing hours, and being short on money) and with all that there can be benefits of sick pay, decent annual leave. I found I get treated a lot better than in a retail job for sure.

 

Welcome to the adult world, and good luck with it all Shorty!

[Pookiablo]

Shorty's sudden acquisition of a job has made me freak out a little. I've started on my CV and looked for a bunch of jobs, applied for a couple and need to sort out my references, and I've realised how much of a deal it really is to jump from uni to 9-5. Half the people on these forums who have a job are still living at home with their parents and don't have to worry about rent/bills, so they can shut the fuck up about 'real world' bullshit because they still have it easy.

 

Clearly that was aimed at me and clearly you know nothing about my life so I will kindly request that you too shut the fuck up. Yes, I do have parents to rely on but they're not there waiting on my every need - they don't have that much money unfortunately and most things in my life I've had to earn. No I don't need a violin, nor am I jealous of Shorty, just a little taken back by the fact that he thinks a 9-5 is gonna be that bad.

 

Trust me, I was homeless in Paris for a week, whilst working a 9-5 and trying to find somewhere/anywhere to live in the evenings after work before I found somewhere and it wasn't cheap either at £550 a month - sure I may still have permanent lodgings back home with 'Mummy and Daddy' but I think I've got far more of an informed insight into the "real world" than quite a lot of the folk on these boards, even if it is a little unusual in comparison. My 9-5 was a crappy placement which gave me roughly £400 a month, the rest was funded by money I'd saved and the government's idiotic idea of reducing my student loan to a ridiculously low sum because apparently they think it's justifiable. When you throw travel fees, food and bills, this just didn't cut it.

 

On a lighter note, well done for looking into jobs, I was thinking that I should do that too.