How long can you work 100 hour weeks before it get unhealthy

I still think it's crazy, but if you're young go for it. Just eat and sleep well and have a woman that can support and understand your lifestyle.

 

From what I understood he is having relationship problems due to that lifestyle. I also highly doubt it's possible to find a new one when all you do is sleep and work.

 

it would be great for kids...just make sure to get some photos to put on the walls so they remember what you look like...

 

...Or at least USED to look like, now that he's gonna be all grey-haired and wrinkled from stress in a couple years.

 

One saving grace is he doesnt do real work so that makes it a lot easier

 

Imagine someone pulling these kind of hours in a job where decision-making and reaction quality are critical? Pilot? Dead. Crane operator? Dead. Corporate CEO? Billions lost. Scientist? Boom. Engineer? Bridge just fell down.

Fortunately it would appear that investment banking does not require critical decision making, attention to detail or alertness...hell, do you even have to be awake?

 

I used to do that ten years ago and for at least four years I was ok.
But then, I was 26 years old, 30 by the time I advanced to an other department.
I'm not sure I can do it now!!!
I had to support our team that was working for the PSI last Friday, and I worked for 23 hours straight.
By the end, I was almost sleeping in my shoes

 

I don't believe you can be fully alert working 100 hours per week. You'd likely fail the NASA eye-tracking test now used by many businesses to assess impairment. With that kind of impairment you might do something really stupid like think up some kind of complicated derivative, sell tons of it and then bet against it because you know how bleary you were when you wrote it...then you'd make millions for your bank and get that koosh job at the top of the pyramid scheme.

 

When was the last time one of those top guys changed? How often does it generally happen and how many people drop out before that? My guess is at best one in a thousand make it that far, probably less.

I find it somewhat ironic that you still find time to post on forums

 

iPad user.

 

As a scientist, I don't know anyone in my field who works less than 60 hours a week on average. I do however start to notice a precipitous drop in productivity if I work more than 70, so its often a question of forcing yourself to go to sleep or to exercise etc.
I'd argue the converse is unhealthy as well. People who only work 35 hours a week are probably in jobs that they don't enjoy or that aren't interesting. I have never been in that position, so I don't know what its like, but I imagine it must really be challenging on the psyche in the long haul.

The Ibanker and Media types who work 90+ hour weeks are super human, and i'll never understand how they can do it.

 

What good does all that work do for you if let's say 5 years from now on you will die by freak accident, cancer, bank robber or whatever. Would it be much more sensible to live while you can(and are young to enjoy it) and not valuate everything through money(or promise of future money)? There are jobs that pay well enough and don't drain all of your life.

For me personally I had a 4 week period where I worked bit over 250hours(consultation gig) and even that already felt like too much. I started skipping regular exercise, not talking to friends enough etc. Cannot imagine pulling of 100 hours a week for years to come. Things like staying in good health will come and bite your ass later on like if you screw up your back and cannot even lay down without having some chronic pain... Balance your life would be my recommendation.

 

It is unhealthy and sucks as well.

 

It sounds like you don't understand how to occupy yourself aside from work. I certainly could work 35hrs a week and be totally happy. I have worked 60 hours a week and more, but did not perceive it as a benefit.

 

Working as a programmer I seriously can't imagine having anything else I'd rather do for living. Though "problem" I do have is that I have tons of other hobbies I also want to do (biking, photography, reading, ...) and I'd love to e.g have 8h/day, 4 days/week during summer.

You could say "just do those hobbies as work!" but that doesn't really work out that well because then it would likely be that I'm forced to do what the employer wants, not what I want.

 

Exactly. Glad someone else appreciates the many different interesting things in life.