^that's precisely why I decided to get out of NoVA

8/16/2005 8:01:35 AM

Quote :

"For those on salary making 50+/year, how many hours a week do you average? "

40

8/16/2005 8:52:59 AM

Quote :

"For those on salary making 50+/year, how many hours a week do you average?"

I work 40 a week, but like I said earlier I'm hourly. Only reason I work 40 is because I'm doing local work right now in RTP. If I travel, I usually work about 55 hours a week but I make a lot more money (overtime + daily stipends). I've been working local for 10 months now after spending 2 months in Rhode Island.

8/16/2005 9:03:57 AM

Quote :

"For those on salary making 50+/year, how many hours a week do you average?"

it depends. some weeks i might average 35. others i might average 60. it all depends on what is going on. during a unit turn around or catalyst change, i might work 80 hours a week. but during those events, i do get paid overtime.

additional benefits of my job - i work a 9/80 schedule where i get every other friday off. that equates to 26 extra days off per year in addition to my vacation days. also i get to go on pretty nice trips for work - went to vegas in may, going to vail in september. i stay at nice places and i rack up a ton of frequent flyer miles and hotel points. also, my benefits are amazing.

8/16/2005 9:16:05 AM

It depends on me as well. If I'm in Kansas City, then usually 40 - 45. If I travel, it goes up quite a bit more because you're at client sites and the work has to get done.

But I'm salaried, so I make what I make regardless. But they also pay a per diem when I travel, and of course, car/hotel/air.

8/16/2005 9:44:51 AM

I really miss per diem... that was like an extra 200 a week

8/16/2005 9:50:46 AM

Yeah it's really nice. They give me $50 a day. If I eat continental breakfast and eat moderately throughout the day, I can stand to make an extra $120 bucks a week... or $480 bucks a month.

That's a good portion of my rent. Plus, I don't buy groceries.

8/16/2005 9:58:46 AM

Quote :

"my average work week is 40-45hrs.....what is the killer for me is the commute (NOVA) which ends up being 2-3hrs/day"

Quote :

"that's precisely why I decided to get out of NoVA"

Same here... that and the high cost of living. Townhouses in NoVA average about $300K starting off and I don't want to own a townhouse!!!

8/16/2005 10:06:44 AM

Quote :

""For those on salary making 50+/year, how many hours a week do you average?""

Generally 50-70 hours a week, although it can get as low as 35, and on up higher, depending on the severity of the problem I'm working on. I may be in the office from 8-5, but I tend to VPN in from home every day and respond to emails, work on reproducing problems, and other lab stuff.

8/16/2005 10:23:02 AM

Quote :

"VPN"

woah, you just blew my mind

8/16/2005 10:36:34 AM

choco: i average about 40 of work (usually monday->thursday and don't do much more than conference calls on friday if there are any scheduled) and then ~8hrs of travel each week counting driving to the airport/waiting/flying/driving home - busy weeks can get up to 55+travel - slow weeks i post a lot on here

8/16/2005 10:42:03 AM

MS prtm - natural resources: 54K (38 hr week)

8/16/2005 4:22:39 PM

Quote :

"For those on salary making 50+/year, how many hours a week do you average?"

40 or less, every week. Usually much less. This summer has been busy as hell with process development work - my company is filing a bunch of new products for the end of the year.

But my first year (I work in pharmaceuticals - I'm one of the reasons your healthcare is so expensive) I doubt if I had to work more than 36/week. It's just very laid back, unlike the oil industry, right Queti?

[Edited on August 17, 2005 at 7:43 AM. Reason : spaces]

8/17/2005 7:43:02 AM

Quote :

"But I'm salaried, so I make what I make regardless"

I've got a friend who makes $22k more than me, but once you account for cost-of-living differences and that he works 55 hour workweeks when I work 40-43, he's not doing that much better.

These are the people I'm directing the question toward, not those who are just really well-paid hourly. How many hours a week does your company expect you to work to get the job done? To stand out from others in hopes of getting promoted?

8/18/2005 8:22:40 AM

^^haha you are definitely right. with margins so high, refineries are pushing as hard as they can go.... and of course that means a lot more work for me... but my end of year bonus will be so sweet this year

BUY SHELL, K?

8/18/2005 9:39:03 AM

oil companies are evil k

8/19/2005 12:09:24 PM

Quote :

"oil companies are evil k"

8/19/2005 1:12:48 PM

Quote :

" How many hours a week does your company expect you to work to get the job done? To stand out from others in hopes of getting promoted?"

Any company that's even remotely adept at measuring work performance will not use hours worked in that metric. Or at least cisco does not. I have a job description, and I just do it in whatever amount of time I see fit to get it done properly.

8/19/2005 1:47:32 PM

8/19/2005 5:06:59 PM

^^ exactly.

8/19/2005 6:35:08 PM

BS: Industrial Engineering
Starting: 49K
Hours per week: Usually right at 40

8/20/2005 1:25:23 AM

^^^but at the same time, someone who is willing to work 60 hours a week will likely have a higher output than one who works 40-45.

8/20/2005 9:00:14 PM

Quote :

"Quote : "my average work week is 40-45hrs.....what is the killer for me is the commute (NOVA) which ends up being 2-3hrs/day" Quote : "that's precisely why I decided to get out of NoVA" Same here... that and the high cost of living. Townhouses in NoVA average about $300K starting off and I don't want to own a townhouse!!! "

yeah that is why we bought a house in spotsylvania


and the worst thing is having a boss who is an ass....am I right people??

8/20/2005 11:46:23 PM

Quote :

"^^^but at the same time, someone who is willing to work 60 hours a week will likely have a higher output than one who works 40-45."

perhaps, but diminishing returns are great for overtime. any organization that is expecting that from workers over a long period of time is in trouble. People just become less effective, upset, their private lives may suffer, and you get higher turnover (which is very expensive).

Young workers often get suckered in to doing a lot of free overtime for various reasons.

8/20/2005 11:54:46 PM

Major: English

Starting: $36,500

8/21/2005 7:24:15 PM

Quote :

"someone who is willing to work 60 hours a week will likely have a higher output than one who works 40-45. "

possibly...but my company discourages working 60 hours a week. sure, if there is a big deadline due, then sometimes its necessary, but some departments here have a cap set at like 50-55 hours. theyve done enough research to show that if you consistantly work long hours, then your productivity goes down because you are burnt out.

also, since we get paid overtime on top of our salary, sometimes people arent as productive because they will stretch out a 40 hour job to 50 hours, just so they can get overtime pay.

[Edited on August 22, 2005 at 8:29 AM. Reason : dfghd]

8/22/2005 8:28:54 AM

YEAH MY OLD JOB AS A MANF. ENGINEER REQUIRED ME TO BE THERE ABOUT SIXTY HOURS PER WEEK B/C THEY RAN 2 SHIFTS....I WASN'T GETTING ANY OVERTIME AND ONLY MAKING 45k....I NOW WORK ONLY ABOUT 55 HOURS PER WEEK (INCLDING THE BAR JOB) AND MAKE CLOSE TO TWICE THAT

8/22/2005 9:27:18 AM

Quote :

"someone who is willing to work 60 hours a week will likely have a higher output than one who works 40-45."

That's an assertion that has way too many variables. If you're talking about work that has linear input and output, such as manufacturing or service, this is true. If you're talking about work that requires critical thinking and/or problem solving, such as engineering or devlopment, then hours worked is not a valid metric in measuring productivity.

8/22/2005 9:47:39 AM

My company uses hours worked as a standard because we have to estimate the number of hours it would take to complete a project and then bid that amount. Granted, my situation is much different from most of you salaried people.

Say to comission and validate a tablet press might take 100 man hours, so we'd write a proposal for a few thousand dollars or so.

8/22/2005 9:58:20 AM

^ yeah, we work in a similar way.

8/22/2005 10:00:41 AM

yeah, that's a definitely a different situation where measuring the quantity of hours is valid. The original question, though, was specific to salaried workers.

8/22/2005 10:04:30 AM

there are many companies out there whos employees are salaried, yet they still have to keep track of hours worked on particular projects in order the charge the customer correctly.

we are a contractor to the govt, so we need to properly charge them for each project, yet I am still salaried.

8/22/2005 10:07:43 AM

Right, but the purpose is more for billing purposes than as a performance metric, correct?

Quote :

"How many hours a week does your company expect you to work to get the job done? To stand out from others in hopes of getting promoted?"

Either way, there's too many different situations to make any one conclusion.

8/22/2005 10:19:31 AM

touche

8/22/2005 10:20:08 AM

When I work over 40 Hours a week, its because I want to take the time to keep my shit organized. So it's for my own personal benefit, not something I need to do for the job or to keep up with it. Plus, I like to piddle around with admin bullshit to wind down sometimes.

8/22/2005 3:42:00 PM

Major: EE
Starting Salary: 59k

but it's in san diego so i pay out the ass for rent. but then again, it's san diego so i can't complain too much.

8/22/2005 7:41:46 PM

^^ that's because you're new, fresh, and starry eyed.

give it time and you'll get bitter like the rest of them and grow to despise anything to do with administration

8/22/2005 7:50:52 PM

Quote :

" If you're talking about work that requires critical thinking and/or problem solving, such as engineering or development, then hours worked is not a valid metric in measuring productivity."

I know hours in isn't a valid metric, but I think a lot of bosses look at how many hours you're putting in when they're deciding if you're doing your job well enough.

Better stated, how many hours are you putting in to "get the job done", and done well enough to stand out?

8/22/2005 10:49:50 PM

Quote :

"im not posting my salary, because i think thats tacky...but im doing well. "

8/22/2005 10:54:31 PM

Those are the type of bosses that perpetuate the tradition of ineptitude in management.

I don't think i can even accurately state how many hours I'm putting in. Last week I worked 57 hours if I only count how long I was physically in the office (m-f 8-5 with no lunch break, and 6 hours sat and sun), but I also VPN in and work a few minutes here and there throughout the evening answering emails, following up with customers, etc.

today I left at 3p.m. to spend some time at the driving range, and spent about an hour this evening catching up on other work. this week might turn out to be a 30 hour week, but I won't know until each day comes and goes.

8/22/2005 10:57:23 PM

I'm definitely not an 8-5 guy....I'm in the office as I type.

But like Bobby said, I have no reservation leaving in the middle of the day to take care of my own business. I guess I'm just one of those people that is wired to work better at night

[Edited on August 22, 2005 at 11:19 PM. Reason : *shrug*]

8/22/2005 11:18:57 PM

BUS

Starting at $30k, with little to no input from a boss, run a 1 loaction store, not a chain

running a hobby store too, so its like fun to do stuff-

of course this was a rare opportunity

and its here

[Edited on August 23, 2005 at 8:55 AM. Reason : store]

8/23/2005 8:53:37 AM

hell mine's public information too:

Degree: BS Industrial Engineering
Job: Firefighter, Town of Cary
Starting Salary: $29,723.20 (1.5 years ago)
Current Salary: $34,112.00 + Holiday Pay so around 36-37K
Salary Range for current position: 31,865.60-46,238.40

Mind you this is 10 days a month of working 24.5 hour days add part time employment and that's another 12-15K

Wife has BS Materials Science and she started at 50K

8/23/2005 10:08:55 AM

Quote :

"For those on salary making 50+/year, how many hours a week do you average?"

Around 40, half in the office half on job sites. Truck allowance & gas card. More important then any of that is enjoying your job and not having a boss following you around all day.

8/23/2005 11:42:13 AM

public information

major: master's in civil engineering
job: NCDOT, asst. resident engineer
starting salary: 38k

keep in mind, living on the family farm don't cost much...i'm satisfied

a comment on the master's...it hasn't helped me yet, possibly in the future tho.

8/23/2005 3:40:42 PM

^ Which office are you in?? I used to work in a couple there in raleigh. Switched to the contractor side 2 years ago. A masters will give you a pat on the back with the DOT, gotta get in design for that to make a difference.

8/24/2005 10:52:59 AM

any people in EE, my g/f is a senior in EE and thinks she will be doing quite well when she gets hired somewhere... I guess there are a few jobs available for that major out there


I'm fish and wildlife... who knows what I'll make

8/24/2005 12:00:12 PM

I am an EE grad. She'll be starting off b/n 45K-55K depending on where she goes to work. Maybe she'll have good luck finding a job though.

8/24/2005 1:47:57 PM

im in the new bern office..div.2

btw, how is the contractor side?? i've considered...but only for a little while

for the time being, i'm really not that interested in any kind of design...i'm going to keep going with construction i believe

obviously the pay went up on the contractor side, but how bout the hours you spend at work, benefits, etc.

8/24/2005 3:38:38 PM

Major: Forest Management
Job: NC Forest Service - Nash County Service Forester
Salary: $28,157

I am salaried and will work 40hrs/week. Because the state is so damn poor they put a cap on the time I work so I get comp time instead of overtime. I might make up for the lack of OT pay by going out west to fight fires for the US forest service.
After I get registered as a forester in NC I'll get bumped up $4k.

Its not a lot of money but it's alright I guess. When I start feeling bad I think of my sister who's living in seattle with almost the same salary.

8/25/2005 12:17:11 AM