How long a day do you work for?

Miray Yasar answered on 1 Mar 2021:

While I was working as an engineer in missile/rocket industry I was working for 8 hours per day. However, as a PhD student I am working more to improve my knowledge more and fast.

Beth Macaulay answered on 1 Mar 2021:

For most jobs, people usually work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. However, when you’re a researcher or research student, you often need to do extra work at home, such as reading about your research subject or writing a paper about it.

Conor Ryan answered on 1 Mar 2021:

I love what I do so much I often end up thinking about work at crazy times, such as super early in the morning at the gym or standing in line at the grocery store, so sometimes it could be 10+ hours. If you enjoy it enough, it doesn’t seem like work, though!

Sergii Kushch answered on 2 Mar 2021:

I’d say that I work always. It doesn’t mean that I read only science journals or books or spend my time in front of a computer, it means that thinking process about tasks continues always. Sometimes, even when you sleep. 🙂

Helena Mylise Sorensen answered on 2 Mar 2021:

It will really depends on what tasks I am solving, but I believe strongly in having a very balanced work-life, I try to never ever work in weekends unless I have to.
If I have days where I will only have to write or read, I try and work 5 focused hours. That means no phone, no e-mails and no distractions. But this is tiring on the brain, so I take longer breaks then and respect my brain enough to not do more than 5 hours of that type of work.
If I am in the laboratory I am working with living cells and machinery, and they can sometimes be tricky and on their own agenda, so then my days can be very different in how long/short they are.

anon answered on 2 Mar 2021:

It depends on the day and the work that has to be done. The core hours when working as an engineer in a local authority are usually between 9am and 5pm, but often I need to work longer than that to make sure all of the work is complete. However, being a civil engineer is a lot of fun and the work is enjoyable, so I’m more than happy to do a few extra hours when I need to!

Mubashir Husain Rehmani answered on 2 Mar 2021:

Well, being a researcher or computer scientist, I need to think all the time about my research and once you achieve such attitude then and only then you can be distinguishable and recognized around the globe. It does not mean that you will not give time to yourself, your family, kids and exercise, but you need to manage your time in such a time that you give quality time to your research. Having said time, I have a daily schedule and I generally give 8 to 10 hours a day to my research work.

Siddra Maryam answered on 2 Mar 2021:

It usually depends on the day. In most of the jobs people work for 8hrs 5 days a week. but As a PhD student you usually needs to work a little bit more. But if you like your work you enjoy spending time in doing work.

Mike Hinchey answered on 2 Mar 2021:

That varies a lot. I travel a lot so I often have early starts or late finishes. So sometimes my day is very long, but that’s usually because I’m traveling (not this year!) or talking with people in other countries. I tend to read my email in the evenings because I hate to log-on in the morning and have lots of messages waiting. But I do have flexibility in my schedule: so there are days where I can take a morning off, or an afternoon off and just do something completely different. Also when I travel, I usually have some free time, which is great in a new city or new country.

Peter Megyesi answered on 2 Mar 2021: last edited 2 Mar 2021 9:54 am

It varies: on some days I only work 2 hours, on other days I work 10…

You now might be thinking, “OK, so on average you work 6 hours”. Well, yes if you really pushed me to give you a number, that would be between 6 and 8. But here’s a twist: I don’t think that number matters at all…

Instead, I think the most important (and probably the hardest) in anything you do: studying, working, sports etc. is that you identify when you are the most effective. And when you realise that you’re not effective at all, just stop doing whatever you’re doing at that moment.

There’s more or less famous 80/20 rule I nowadays like to follow: 80% of your best work comes from only 20% of your time (also called Pareto principle).
So what I try to do everyday is to find that 20% where I’m at my best. For me that’s usually in the morning hours but it can vary.
In that period I make sure that nothing disturbs me, concentrate and work hard. But in the rest of my day, I’d frequently go on a break, work out, or do some chores, anything that refreshes my mental batteries. 🙂

Melusine Pigeon answered on 2 Mar 2021:

The working hours are 8 hours a day for 5 days in the week, but as mentioned before this is flexible. Some weeks you need to work a bit more because of deadlines. And yes your research is such a part of your life that sometimes you have ideas in the middle of the night ! The brain never rests 🙂

Andrea Federico answered on 2 Mar 2021:

As a Master student, I don’t really have a fixed schedule, but I try to work 8 hours a day.

Aruna Chandrasekar answered on 2 Mar 2021:

it depends on the day. Some days I work 12 hours a day, and others 5. Every day is different and that’s what I love about being a scientist.

Krishna Panduru answered on 2 Mar 2021:

very much depends on the activity. if it’s admin work etc wrap up in 7-8 hours. If I’m working on research or something interested I tend to spend more time.

Alan Diaz answered on 2 Mar 2021:

As a researcher you get to build your own schedule, which is a flexibility/autonomy that you don’t find in many other jobs. Most of the time I have deadlines for projects, meetings and/or paper-submissions, thus I adapt my working days and hours accordingly. Some days I would just read for a few hours, other days I would have to design an idea and implement it and that might take over ten hours to do so! Moreover, once I stop for the day I try to completely disconnect. And, unless completely necessary, I avoid working on weekends. Also, if I had to overwork for a period of time, I make sure that I give my mind and body the rest that they need. I like to believe that I am in control of my work and not the other way around, it’s not about the number of hours but the actual work that I have to do. Plus, life is so much more than just work!

Hui Wang answered on 2 Mar 2021:

well, in the contract, it’s 8:30-17:30, 1-hour lunch break. but you may think about work at other times.

Alessandra Mileo answered on 2 Mar 2021: last edited 2 Mar 2021 4:27 pm

It really depends. It is not a 9 to 5 job, it is more based on what you need to do and your deadlines. Sometimes I don’t even realised I am working longer simply because I am doing something I really enjoy. Other times I am exhausted and need more breaks…if you are well organised you can keep a healthy work-life balance and the flexibility is amazing.

Jun Lin answered on 2 Mar 2021:

It depends actually. On a normal day without experimental task, I work for about 8 hours. If I need to do experiments, I may have to work longer because labs could be fully booked by others in the next days or even weeks and I’ll just have to finish my experiments even that means I have to stay in lab close to midnight.

Question: How long a day do you work for?

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