Your Career is 60,000 hours of your life

Have you heard of a printer session in Hong Kong? It is one of the many strange things professionals do during a Hong Kong IPO.

Directors of a company, financial advisers, lawyers, auditors, so and so experts are all locked up in the same room - the printer. They (mainly juniors) are forced to go through every page of the listing document, double check every figure, and verify every statement (from the age of directors to the reason that the revenue decreased).

And they do that from 8 a.m. in the morning until 3 a.m. of the next day, pretending that they are even awake. Then it begins again, and it could last for more than two weeks.

Printer session is still the very worst experience in my life (maybe I am lucky from this perspective). I questioned the purpose of my life at that time. I had trouble sleeping. I got emotional. My heart rate raised when I see the email from my boss and client. I spent my Sunday (if I was lucky enough to get a day off) evening worrying about Monday. Simply, I was unhappy.

Your job is more than a paycheck. An average US employee work more than 2,000 hours a year. Assuming you work for 30 years, it’s 60,000 hours of your life. On the contrary, your weekends are just less than 30% of your life.

Worse still, your job does not end when you clock out. Think of how much time is spent on thinking about your work after you get off. Think of the times you discuss your work with your friends and families. Like it or not, your job is part of your life.

A career is a long-term commitment to developing skills, building relationships, and (hopefully) making contribution to the society. A career, in addition to money, brings you satisfaction. It develops your character. It helps you build social connection with your colleagues, clients, and customers. If you are really lucky, it may even provide you with provide a sense of purpose. (I intended to write a meaning in your life, but that’s probably a bit too much.)

I am hardly saying my job now is perfect or does all the above. (I certainly want to earn more.)

What I am saying is – your work, job, and career matters. While it does not have to check all the boxes, you at least have to love some part of it. It could be the people. It could be the challenge. It could even be the style of working.  

But if it is a living hell (admit it – IPO lawyers out there), why are you still doing that? Seriously, ask yourself that.

Your best years are likely in between your 20s – 60s. That’s when you get the right mix of experience, energy, and money.  Use your 60,000 hours wisely.