I often hear from friends, talk about how 40 hour work weeks are oppressive. I'm not trying to challenge that, but the reality is that you are lucky and blessed if you can afford to work only 40 hours a week.
The vast majority of well paying careers expect you to work far more than 40 hours a week. Think of the traditionally aspirational white-collar positions, doctor, lawyer, various finance jobs, engineer, etc... All these jobs are notorious for working 50-60 hours a week and even more. Those "sexy" careers, like game dev, designer, sports/entertainment agent? More than 40 hours.
Want to be your own boss and become a successful entrepreneur/content creator? Great, now you have no boundaries between work and your personal life, and again, you'll probably be working more than 40 hours. Want to do the right thing and work for a non-profit? You'll make far less than your peers and work more than 40 hours.
In most industries, the prestigious and high paying positions are associated with larger workloads, not less. This includes those big Silicon Valley companies renown for their workplace benefits, such as Google.
I'm not trying to say that it's wrong or entitled to want to work 40 hours or less, but unrealistic goals aren't healthy. A 40 hour work week that pays well is an aspirational goal that will require sacrifice to attain, and is not something easily accomplished. From the outset, you'll have to be smart about you career decisions and end up working a lot. Once you're in the position to take a job that provides better work-life balance while still paying the bills, you'll have to make a difficult choice between free time and income/career advancement.
In most industries, the prestigious and high paying positions are associated with larger workloads, not less. This includes those big Silicon Valley companies renown for their workplace benefits, such as Google.
I'm not trying to say that it's wrong or entitled to want to work 40 hours or less, but unrealistic goals aren't healthy. A 40 hour work week that pays well is an aspirational goal that will require sacrifice to attain, and is not something easily accomplished. From the outset, you'll have to be smart about you career decisions and end up working a lot. Once you're in the position to take a job that provides better work-life balance while still paying the bills, you'll have to make a difficult choice between free time and income/career advancement.
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