Kudos dude, you should not work in a job that cannot work for you.

The aim of any job is to turn it into a career, something that you can work with and live with down the line, not a 9-5 prison sentence.

Does anyone ever work 9-5 really? It's like that standard time span but its really a myth cuz in reality most people work like 8-6...am I wrong?

Turning down a $9 an hour job and only getting 20-25 hours per week that takes a 30 mile commute is understandable.  I realize that your degree may not be the most sought after by employers, but the point of a job is to make money and you are a very smart guy with the ability to handle a lot of data and make sense of it.  So good luck in your continued pursuit of gainful employment!

Oh, well.  Decision like this is never easy, especially in our current economic condition.  But volunteering at a local museum sounds very nice.  I wish I could do that!    I love going to museums and sometimes you'll meet a lot of nice people.  Maybe you'll meet some museum goer who will offer you a job at his/her company.

Does anyone ever work 9-5 really? It's like that standard time span but its really a myth cuz in reality most people work like 8-6...am I wrong?

I pretty much work 10-5 to be honest (although technically I'm "on call" 24/7).  I also only attend the office 4 days a week, though on Fridays I "work from home"

I pretty much work 10-5 to be honest (although technically I'm "on call" 24/7).  I also only attend the office 4 days a week, though on Fridays I "work from home"

You're not in the US though.

My normal hours are 8-5:30 with 1 hr lunch but I find myself going 8-6 or 8-7 on more days than not. Spending 50-55 hours at the office every week can be soul sucking.

Does anyone ever work 9-5 really? It's like that standard time span but its really a myth cuz in reality most people work like 8-6...am I wrong?

It's 8-7 for me with a one hour lunch, but I only work 4 days a week.  On some days though, it is 8-8 or even 8-9. It's not uncommon for me to go into the office on my days off or weekends to catch up on paperwork.

You're not in the US though.

 

My normal hours are 8-5:30 with 1 hr lunch but I find myself going 8-6 or 8-7 on more days than not. Spending 50-55 hours at the office every week can be soul sucking.

I think you'll find the fact that I'm not in the US is very little to do with it - you don't have a monopoly on hard work (not even close in fact).  My previous job was much like yours is..... 55 hours plus per week was not uncommon.

I am very lucky in that I now work in a role where I am paid for my expertise, and in particular paid not for "day to day", but for when things go wrong.  So unless there is a crisis, I have relaxed hours.  In a major situation though, I would be required to work every hour of the day.  I must also be prepared to travel back home if on holiday with just 4 hours notice.

I was commenting that the 9-5 does exist.... unfortunately its rarer than the average it's made out to be.  I realise that I am lucky to have a job with standard hours that are exceptional, and a very decent paycheck.

I think you'll find the fact that I'm not in the US is very little to do with it - you don't have a monopoly on hard work (not even close in fact). My previous job was much like yours is..... 55 hours plus per week was not uncommon.

Maybe not in your case, but it could have a lot to do with it. You reside on a continent with some of the lowest collective work week hours in the world.

Maybe not in your case, but it could have a lot to do with it. You reside on a continent with some of the lowest collective work week hours in the world.

I live in the UK, which has considerably different working practices to much of continental Europe.  Don't lump us in with germany, France, Denmark etc.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18144320  LINK

This shows there isn't much difference between the US and UK, and in fact the difference is almost entirely due to more mandatory paid vacation time, than an actual difference week to week.

And as you can see from the chart, your gross generalisation is exactly that - you cannot talk about "europe" as an entity in the same way as you can about the US.

Bite me

I didn't know you were in the UK. I had the impression you resided in some backyard middle of nowhere, Europe with a name I can't pronounce.