I'm doing some research on which MBA careers offer the best work-life balance while still offering reasonable career advancement opportunities. I'm thinking we can rule out consulting and IB, because they have crazy hours for the most part. I guess that pretty much leaves industry jobs and high-end finance gigs. Any thoughts on this?

Personally, I'm looking at the oil & gas industry, but it'd be cool if I could get a job in cleantech/sustainability. As far as job function goes, maybe GM, marketing, BD, etc., that would see me climb the corporate ladder. I'm hoping for 50-hour weeks, but I guess that'd be a luxury in a competitive workplace. Anyway, thoughts on this would be appreciated.

I don't think you can classify such things by industry - it is very much an individual culture of a firm that decides this. The high end finance being a balanced life-style I am not sure about; you may not spend huge volumes of time at your desk, but you certainly aren't spending it at home with your family.

One of the best things about the firm I work for is the balance. My dog needs to get neutered next month and I expect I will be able to work from home for about five days around then to be with her. It is a give-take thing though, as I have spent two weeks continuous on different continents when the initial plan was for a four day trip.

I can't really see there being a great deal of climbing a corporate ladder on a 50-hour week. Many places that operate that way are very staid and the speed of progress becomes a frustration, though for you that may not be the case. There is certainly a trade-off on the dynamic style of the firm, the longer hours and the promotion opportunities. Given that, I think the hours in cleantec and similar would be pretty onerous as the business is so hot and competitive right now.

This is speaking outside of the banks where the attitude is somewhat out of kilter. With my big consulting friends life cannot be so bad, as they are frequently checking in at bars on foursquare at Thursday / Friday 1am.

O&G tends to have very reasonable hours but the travel can suck depending on the group you are in. I know people who spent months in some of the worst locations on earth. Even if you are working 8 hours a day, 5 days a week...you wont always enjoy your freetime because you may be in a hellish part of the world.

Work/Life balance I think is a touchy subject. Personally I would rather spend 50-60 hours a week doign something I love, than 40 hours a week doing something I hate. Companies doing the exact same type of work can result in a different experience based on who you work for and what the current demands are. I am sure at times over the last few years consulting had great work life balance, since there was no work and if you held on to your job you may have had a pretty light schedule

I have to admit that posts about US working hours, work/life balance, career, vacation, etc., seem to me like crazy people talk. You guys speak so naturally about "... 50-hour week on O&G" or " 100-hour on banking" ! That's insane ! The official working hours in Europe range from 35 to 39 hours per week, and 25 days of vacation per year is the norm. Of course, places such as consulting and banking work much more, but still not as much as in the US. Maybe I am an exception since I don't mind to work 60 hours per week, however my weekend and my 30-day vacation are sacred !

Anyway, I will keep reading this very interesting topic!

I used to always roll five days holiday and sell five days when I worked in Europe because it was impossible to take the vacation time offered.

The whole 39 hour work week is lip service from my experience. There was an economist article that (my summary) stated that the work week and early retirement age in Europe, where taken seriously, is a bad joke at the expense of the next generation.

I don't mind working weekends on my job now. My wife doesn't particularly appreciate it, but that is just something I manage.

I think you will find that the banker lifestyle is very much similar where the business type is similar, irrespective of where you are.

OK, so this kind of begs the question - which country is best for someone who appreciates a healthy work life balance and still offers good career opportunities? I know it probably has more to do with the industry than location, but just in general.

(04-21-2011 02:21 PM)lagomez Wrote:  OK, so this kind of begs the question - which country is best for someone who appreciates a healthy work life balance and still offers good career opportunities? I know it probably has more to do with the industry than location, but just in general.

This is kind of heading down the avenue of "where can I enjoy great success at minimal effort".

(04-21-2011 02:22 PM)guard88 Wrote:  

(04-21-2011 02:21 PM)lagomez Wrote:  OK, so this kind of begs the question - which country is best for someone who appreciates a healthy work life balance and still offers good career opportunities? I know it probably has more to do with the industry than location, but just in general.

This is kind of heading down the avenue of "where can I enjoy great success at minimal effort".

Oh no no, it's all about achieving the best ROI!

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(04-21-2011 02:23 PM)MD_NY Wrote:  Well then if you think so, then you were not in research. There you work up to 14-16 hrs a day for a joke of a salary (maybe 42k per year as postdoc, PhD students not to mention). So in the end, i believe what you want. If you want to have your freedom, your 40 hrs a week you have to make compromises and maybe do not wonder if the guy sitting next to you, who works 80 hrs a week gets promoted before you. And btw I'm from Germany, so i disagree that this is a U.S. only thing. I know many people who have tough work hours in high and higher positions.

Generally speaking, work-life balance is harder to achieve for jobs that have to do with the core functions of a company. In plain English, there's basically three kinds of jobs within any company in any industry:

Those who sell it, those who make it, and those who support the former two.

If you're in a job that "sells it" or "makes it" -- then the hours are less structured, more demanding, and there's greater expectations that your career be a greater priority than your family/personal life (i.e. more expectations to miss vacations, holidays, major personal events, etc. for work-related things that may be deemed more important for the company).

If you're in a revenue generating role and/or a role where you're building the company's core product or service, there's really not going to be much of a work-life balance. Even if let's say you want to be a partner at a fund -- you may have decent hours when there's not much going on, but if there's a big deal or investment you're making, the other fund partners are expecting that you make that a priority, even if such a deal/investment happens to take up a lot of your time that could coincide with personal/family stuff - of course it's not draconian (i.e. "you must miss your father's funeral!") as there's a bit of give and take in any front office position, but more often than not it's expected that you are to schedule your life around work UNLESS it's something major (i.e. death in the family, getting married, etc.).

That's why it's tough - not impossible, but always a tough trade off people make after a while. And why not everyone wants to move up the ladder after a while (or are willing to take a support/back office job if they really value their personal/family life even more).

Well then if you think so, then you were not in research. There you work up to 14-16 hrs a day for a joke of a salary (maybe 42k per year as postdoc, PhD students not to mention). So in the end, i believe what you want. If you want to have your freedom, your 40 hrs a week you have to make compromises and maybe do not wonder if the guy sitting next to you, who works 80 hrs a week gets promoted before you. And btw I'm from Germany, so i disagree that this is a U.S. only thing. I know many people who have tough work hours in high and higher positions.

What's the R in your ROI? If your R is US Dollars, work/life balance is not a factor.

I'd have to agree with 3underscore's assessment of what this topic is really about. If work/life balance is purely about hours worked per week, irrespective of salary, work content, location, etc... You should probably be a blogger

It's impossible to rate work/life balance within a single company, let alone an entire industry, because we all have different preferences.