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I'm planning on moving to DC this summer (late June or early July) and I was just out there this weekend for an interview. I'm beginning to see that all of my friends out there work between 65 and 70 hours a week, refuse to take vacations, work from their blackberry's on the weekend and are just general workaholics... is this a normal DC thing or just my friends?
I'll be coming from Florida where things are noticeably slower and I'm in a field where I won't be expected to work more than my scheduled shifts... are my friends the norm or the exception? I'm moving to DC to be closer to my friends and have a social life that I don't have in FL (surrounded by old people), am I crazy?
Thanks in advance, I've been reading these messages for a while and your responses have helped me a lot!
People are definitely career oriented in DC, some are career obsessed. I do know people who are into doing the long hours. So yes it is normal. However, it is not the rule. If you want to just work 40 hours then do that and enjoy your life. It's always good to occasionally put in a long night or two at the office but you don't have to be in the 70 hour work week club if you don't want to. No you aren't crazy. Come on up.
I'm planning on moving to DC this summer (late June or early July) and I was just out there this weekend for an interview. I'm beginning to see that all of my friends out there work between 65 and 70 hours a week, refuse to take vacations, work from their blackberry's on the weekend and are just general workaholics... is this a normal DC thing or just my friends?
I'll be coming from Florida where things are noticeably slower and I'm in a field where I won't be expected to work more than my scheduled shifts... are my friends the norm or the exception? I'm moving to DC to be closer to my friends and have a social life that I don't have in FL (surrounded by old people), am I crazy?
Thanks in advance, I've been reading these messages for a while and your responses have helped me a lot!
D.C. is for the most part a place where people come to get ahead, and if that means working all the time, and if working all the time is important and necessary to getting ahead at your job people do what's necessary and then some. It does take some getting used to.
I don't live in D.C. now but spent the better part of my life living there. It's easier to see a place for what it is (was) once you have gone, but even when I was living in D.C. you could feel that many people are defining themselves by the job they have and the so called importance of that job and constantly complain about the hours they work all the while piling on the hours every week. However it doesn't mean that all the work makes people unhappy, IMHO just unbalanced.
As to whether you would be crazy to move to D.C. only time will tell. Nothing is permanent, and as far as I know there are no laws forbidding someone from leaving D.C. if they are unhappy.
Best of luck to you. It's always better to say that you took a chance rather than wished you had.
It def can. I always recommend to people to take some time off every couple months, even if its just for a day or two, and get outta town. It always puts things back into perspective.
If you step out of it & look back in, a lot of that "go go, career career, me me" attitude some people have is laughable.
Health, family, friends & the little things are what really counts, folks. Work to live, dont live to work.
I'm planning on moving to DC this summer (late June or early July) and I was just out there this weekend for an interview. I'm beginning to see that all of my friends out there work between 65 and 70 hours a week, refuse to take vacations, work from their blackberry's on the weekend and are just general workaholics... is this a normal DC thing or just my friends?
I'll be coming from Florida where things are noticeably slower and I'm in a field where I won't be expected to work more than my scheduled shifts... are my friends the norm or the exception? I'm moving to DC to be closer to my friends and have a social life that I don't have in FL (surrounded by old people), am I crazy?
Really, it totally depends on where you work. My roommate has often broken 70 hours a week (and hates it). In contrast, I work 40. Sometimes 35. The big difference is that I was hired to work 40 hours a week (and get overtime or comp time if I work more), while she was hired to work at least 40 (no overtime). From what I've seen, the people who work crazy hours are in jobs where they're expected to, like my roommate. If you're not expected to work more than your scheduled hours, then you won't spontaneously morph into a workaholic. There are plenty of jobs in the area where you won't have to work much more than standard hours.
Yeah, DC is like that...when you first move up there, it'll be somewhat of a shock, but eventually, you'll get used to it. Take the time to enjoy all that DC has to offer - there are great musuems, things to do, etc.
The only thing about moving up there to be close to your friends is that they prob. won't have alot of free time to hang out with you if they're working those kind of hours, and you might become resentful of them -i.e. the fact that you moved up to be close to them and now they can't go out on weeknights, etc. When you work those kind of hours you don't have time to party during the week and alot of times you're working through the weekend (or at least one day on the weekend).
If you're coming to DC to be a part of DC, that's great - there's lots to do. But, if you're just coming for your friends, you might want to reconsider, unless you can balance their schedules with yours...
Depends on the industry, company, etc. I work for the government doing IT stuff, and I work 40 -50 hour weeks. I may send emails from my iPhone late into the evening, but I'm far from a workoholic.
If you're coming to DC to be a part of DC, that's great - there's lots to do. But, if you're just coming for your friends, you might want to reconsider, unless you can balance their schedules with yours...
Just my humble opinion...
I'd agree with that. Shortly after my roommate and I moved here so did several of our friends. Some of them got a little upset at times because she always had to cancel evening (and some weekend) plans due to work. We got used to working around it (most of us work standard 40-hour-weeks), as did she.
Take advantage of the extra time you'll have, and make friends at work who will have similar schedules as you. There's also a lot of groups you can join to meet others, as well.
I'm planning on moving to DC this summer (late June or early July) and I was just out there this weekend for an interview. I'm beginning to see that all of my friends out there work between 65 and 70 hours a week, refuse to take vacations, work from their blackberry's on the weekend and are just general workaholics... is this a normal DC thing or just my friends?
I'll be coming from Florida where things are noticeably slower and I'm in a field where I won't be expected to work more than my scheduled shifts... are my friends the norm or the exception? I'm moving to DC to be closer to my friends and have a social life that I don't have in FL (surrounded by old people), am I crazy?
Thanks in advance, I've been reading these messages for a while and your responses have helped me a lot!
This isn't just the 'DC thing'. You are saying that you are coming from Florida where things are noticeably slower. If you go to any major city like NYC, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, etc you will notice the same thing. Even LA that's considered 'laid back' by many people has its fair share of workaholics. I wouldn't be scared moving to DC, there are plenty of people here that work 9-5 and get off work to enjoy happy hours, gym memberships, and night life. There are also many government jobs where people don't tend to put much overtime. It also all depends on where your friends work, how old they are, what careers they have, how serious they are about their work/life balance. Most young people right after college in highly competitive professional fields tend to work long hours, because they haven't yet established themselves in their fields and because they still got the energy and the drive. It changes as we get older, sometimes simply because we also get more tired.
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