How does a 60+ hour work week look like?

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

This thread has been great. It's reassured me that America could not possibly be in decline with respect to Europe, even WITH our ****ty healthcare bill.

It certainly has. None of the posters pleading poverty are in Britain.

[KrazyHorse]

1) Salary right now is more ~$110 with bonus possibilities (which tend to follow the economy more than anything else). Job is EE
2) I did not see your compensation mentioned in this thread sorry, unless you mean the 60k+15k comment, is the 15k what you are talking about: Are you saying that you are not good enough to earn it without the extra hours (productivity issues?)

1) 110 as an EE who was making 9$ an hour 3 years ago seems about 50% too high, as it would imply that you have a BEng plus 3 years experience
I could be wrong on either assumption though

2a) No, the 75k is for some 22 year-old kid with an undergrad degree

2b) and they do have to work their butts off to earn it, and to earn the right to stay a second year and earn substantially more

[KrazyHorse]

A petroleum engineer or a geologist can both make $135k working just 40 here and, I suspect, even in darkest Texas.

Heck I make slightly less then that and usually only work 40 unless there is a quarterly report or field work which needs to be done on the weekend. Not bad for a guy who couldn't be bothered to go to grad school or start his own business. It's all about finding a niche and filling it so that you become indefensible to your employer even in a downturn when other folks are getting laid off.

You're somewhat deeper into your career than 3 years, though ...

[Dinner]

True.

[Jon Miller]

Walmart has good stuff, they just lack options sometimes (one heart rate monitor instead of several, for example).

JM

[Spaced Cowboy]

1) 110 as an EE who was making 9$ an hour 3 years ago seems about 50% too high, as it would imply that you have a BEng plus 3 years experience
I could be wrong on either assumption though

2a) No, the 75k is for some 22 year-old kid with an undergrad degree

2b) and they do have to work their butts off to earn it, and to earn the right to stay a second year and earn substantially more

1. I never said I was making $9 an hour, maybe you're thinking of Alb. The $40-45k was about 15 years ago, my degree is MSEE + 10 years exp. I did my BSEE and MSEE between the two jobs. Add about 25% for California wages due to the cost of living.

You are still skirting my main question.

Are you saying that you are not good enough to earn it (edit: meaning whatever it is that you want) without the extra hours (productivity issues?)

[KrazyHorse]

1. I never said I was making $9 an hour, maybe you're thinking of Alb. The $40-45k was about 15 years ago, my degree is MSEE + 10 years exp. I did my BSEE and MSEE between the two jobs. Add about 25% for California wages due to the cost of living.

90 hrs a week for 45k is ~9$ an hour. And I did misremember your "a few years ago" as "3 years ago". 15 years is more than "a few", as I would use it (this is a matter of personal preference, obviously).

Are you saying that you are not good enough to earn it (edit: meaning whatever it is that you want) without the extra hours (productivity issues?)

I truly DO NOT UNDERSTAND your question. The hours I work are not "extra hours". They are the normal, expected hours of somebody in my position. And by cutting out early, I would not merely be cutting profit out of my employer; I would be DIRECTLY REDUCING MY OWN COMPENSATION. Your question is based on a false premise, which I've already debunked: that I am paid a relatively fixed salary, and that people can reasonably collect this salary based on a 40 hour week.

You seem to be having problems understanding simple English sentences.

[KrazyHorse]

As far as "climbing the corporate ladder", we operate with relatively little hierarchy. What I'm interested in climbing is the productivity ladder, which can easily double or triple my comp over the next 5 years.

[Asher]

So how do you get paid, KH? On what basis?

[KrazyHorse]

Annual salary plus discretionary end of year lump sum. The lump sum is the most important part, and can go from 0 to many multiples of your salary (not that many multiples for a first year assoc, unfortunately)

[KrazyHorse]

End-of-year grows much quicker than salary does.

The comp of somebody making 1.5 million a year is probably 175k salary, 1.325 mill bonus...

[Asher]

Sounds reasonable, highly perf-based.

Wish software development was the same, but I guess it's hard to quantify how much better one guy is than another.

[KrazyHorse]

It's pretty easy for traders and some salespeople. For others (such as myself) it is dependent on the level of service we provide our clients (who may be management, sales & traders, external clients, or even, in some senses, our regulators). This is harder to quantify than is simple P&L, which is what salespeople and traders are truly responsible for.

[Dinner]

1. I never said I was making $9 an hour, maybe you're thinking of Alb. The $40-45k was about 15 years ago, my degree is MSEE + 10 years exp. I did my BSEE and MSEE between the two jobs. Add about 25% for California wages due to the cost of living.

You are still skirting my main question.

Are you saying that you are not good enough to earn it (edit: meaning whatever it is that you want) without the extra hours (productivity issues?)

I have two friends who work an investment banking analysts (well, one just recently moved up into a different position but he used to be an analyst) and the reality is in that industry 100-120 hours a week is not just common but the norm. These people are incredibly productive but the demands of the job are such that you simply have to do it or else they'll **** can you in short order and most of your money comes from the bonuses so your real income is highly dependent upon sifting through massive amounts of data, finding that one gem investment before anyone else, and knowing the inside reasons to recommend getting out of an investment before everyone else figures out what is wrong. You basically have to live and breath this stuff 24/7 if you want to survive in investment banking and honestly most people burn out in just a few years. The idea is to bust your ass and hopefully get promoted to the $300k-$400k positions where you only work 80 hours a week and so have a bit more free time or you simply save a bankroll over a few years and then get out of the business.

[KrazyHorse]

100-120 hours a week is for analysts and starting associates in investment banking division (a fairly small subset of people)

Nobody else works those kinds of hours.

IBD is weird. I don't understand the org structure (it seems similar to that of residents vs attending physicians)