Working crazy hours for a year or two when starting out?

[jadedeagle]

Has anyone else worked crazy hours for a couple of years at the start of their career so they can get some savings/a house deposit/experience?

I’m 25 and currently going through this and wondering if it is actually worth it. I work around 60-70 hours a week, plus some weekends (finance). I earn very well for my age and can save about half my salary each month. This means in a year or so I should have saved enough for a small flat deposit if I stay in London or something decent somewhere else.

I don’t have much of a life at all during the week other than work, but I am gaining a lot of experience in my field. Plan is to hop on to
something less intense in a year or two. Is it worth it?

Others will no doubt say differently but, I think if you have it in your head it’s only for a few years, I think it’s worth it. I didn’t do it, and am now double your age and not a great deal to show for it, financially speaking. If I could go back in time I’d maximise my earning potential and lay down the deposit on a house. Huge regret of mine.

I think for a couple of years early in your career yes it's worth it. But you need a plan for what happens then as you can't work like that forever, you'll burn out

If I could do life again I’d definitely earn/save as much as I could in my younger days…your biggest asset right now is time.

I worked crazy hours in a US law firm for a few years at the beginning of my career. It did set me up well for the job I do now and I learned absolutely loads.

I would say this is pretty standard in a financial role.it certainly was for me ( I am in my 60s) . The hard part is stopping those crazy hours as both you and your employer come to expect them.

So yes, earn as much as you can while you have the energy, but try to maintain a bit of balance so you have a life outside work too.

So long as it's manageable for you, yes, it is worth it. It may not feel like it, but the extra time you have to do this at your age is a luxury you won't necessarily have a later stage of life. This is the time to do it if you are going to do it at all.

That said - if work starts to impact your physical or mental health, or relationships, not it is NOT worth it, and a very damaging pattern to fall into. Health > wealth.

I did a fair chunk of hours and I am really financially stable now I'm in my thirties. But sometimes I look back and wish I had spent more time having a good time in my twenties. But I also really value the fact that I am so financially secure. So I'm not sure I could say one or the other is the right choice!

I think I'd probably be trying to balance maximum future earning capability (i.e. getting a decent salary early on gives you a decent salary forever) with the fact that if you want to leave that business area/company you don't need to work every hour god sends to be the best of the best, necessarily.

I didn’t work 60-70 hours, but I definitely did things back then I wouldn’t dream of doing now. Things like driving 100 mile round trip commutes 5 days a week on a £20,000 salary because it was the right stepping stone but far away. Absolutely no regrets, it was a relatively short time of my life and set me up for life.

Now I earn over 4 times that from home where I manage my own diary and have as much flexibility as anyone could dream of. And own my home.

Your 20s are for working hard and playing hard.

It's up to you, OP. I know people who spent their 20s doing this and were exceedingly well financially set up by their 30s.

I couldn't do it. I couldn't work that hard as I always had so much going on outside work and I would burn out in weeks. I couldn't miss holidays and important family events. I knew, even at the time, that you never get your 20s back. Personally I worked pretty hard but also had plenty of time for fun as I always need a balance. I have also always needed plenty of time to do not very much at all, it's how I tick.

I did it and yes I think it was worth it.… I was a trainee solicitor in a city firm, and that’s just what you had to do. I wasn’t even that highly paid as I stated around the time of the 2008 crash.

But I got a lot of experience and a good reputation, which gave me options in the future. At 6 years qualified I left London, went self employed and now work full time from home. I would be on more money if I had stayed in the city, but I still make 80k-100k a year from my spare bedroom and do 35 hours of week (half of which appear to be spent on mumsnet). Maybe the same would have happened if I had coasted at the start of my career but I do think putting the effort in paid dividends later on.

I had to strong-arm my husband out of his "just a few years" crazy hours job by refusing to have a child with him unless he found something more flexible. He was 32, and had spent ten years in the role.

His salary has more than doubled in the five years since the move.

You need to be aware of the different trajectories. It's not the worst idea, but you definitely need a clear vision of the off-ramp.

I worked harder in my younger years for sure. I don’t see it as an issue as long as you set yourselves boundaries and start to pull back at some point. Don’t get swept into just another 6 months or just another year otherwise you are 45 and have never enjoyed your life.

I now occasionally work hard but because I have lots of experience and can do tasks quicker than others. I regularly take longer lunches and manage my own time better. I work part time around kids and it’s a lovely work life balance. For me I pulled back once I had kids late 20s.

I did it and bought my first flat at 25. Not in finance but in large scale b2b sales, commission based, I also had a second weekend job. Completely worth it. I now work in an entirely different field which is stressful and very challenging but in a completely different way and I don't work ridiculous hours (criminal justice).

Yes, I did this right from the word go.

I was hoofed out of home at 18 - I lived in a country where there was no benefit system, so it was 100% on me to make my own way in the world. I worked every hour I possibly could, and gradually worked my way up the business ladder.

I've never regretted it (paid my mortgage off by the time I was 40) and have actively encouraged my DC to have a similar work ethic.

It really helps if you enjoy your job no matter how shit the actual job is and make friends with your colleagues...

I did this and it was ok till I wanted to try for a baby and was hardly seeing DH so moved into something less intense. It’s good you are saving so used to living within means on lower salary so when you do switch you won’t have to make big changes to spending patterns. You may find roles with less hours aren’t as challenging but it’s a trade off. Good luck.

Im a few years older than you, did similar in the same industry for a few years. I built my career and some savings so we could buy a family home with a small mortgage. Ive now got a toddler and a step back into a much more flexible role on a smaller salary. For me, the short term pain was worth it for what its given me now

In my 20's I had three jobs to make ends meets. One was my full time role, Monday to Friday. I worked part-time three evenings a week (office cleaning) and had another job on Saturdays in a shop. I had a mortgage and interest rates were up at the 20% mark so I needed the money. It did seems like a slog, but I covered all my outgoings and it was worth it just for that. I was also young and had loads of energy!
If you can save and build a future for yourself I would say carry on. You never know what is around the corner so protecting yourself financially is a must. I would also add that this should be your life mantra!!

I did it, trained as an auditor in a Big4 firm and worked crazy hours plus studying for my accountancy qualifications too. My career has gone a slightly roundabout route but I certainly don’t regret it at all and it was quite normal in my social circle.