Logical flaw in evaluating Work Experience?

I think there are two large flaws in your thinking that your number of hours in the office correlate directly with "more work experience".
1. There is so much more to "work experience" than the hours you spend in the office.
2. Most applicants spend more than the average 40 hour work week in the office.

I would say the average applicant works significantly more than the average 40 hour work week. In fact, I don't know anyone that works less than 60 hours a week that has now chosen to apply to Bschool.

That being said, Bschools aren't necessarily looking for someone that has worked 6000 hours or 10,000 hours, or 2000 hours. The average american full-time work week is 2000 hours, yes, but there is so much more that a Bschool cares about, none of which have to do with the amount of hours you've spent as a spreadsheet monkey. And how many "average" Americans do you know applying to top Bschools?

As banker, I know that there is a lot to learn from 1000s of hours of "working". But there is so much more to learn in the years of work experience; Performance evaluations, promotions, time management, life/work balance, office culture, interworkings of a business/company, new positions, new initiatives, new bosses/coworkers, new teams, etc... All of this learning moves at the same pace. Bschools want you to be able to apply this knowledge to what you're learning. I'd even argue that most schools would care just as much, or MORE about some of these topics than how many hours a week you work.

It's the same old story. Guy works for 1.5 years, works long hours, and suddenly thinks he has 5 years of work experience under his belt. This isn't how it works. Adcoms know industries and typical hours, but they want to see that you've had enough time to grow personally and professionally...

If you need further proof about the "average" 40 hour work week for bschool applicants I would take a look at this poll: how-many-hours-do-you-work-a-week-126914.html It hasn't filled out yet, but I'm confident that the 40 hour work week idea will go out the door...

I think the big flaw is that you're underestimating what others are doing. Most applicants to top b-schools aren't working 9-to-5. For many applicants, their work schedules are dictated by the projects and deadlines they are working on, so it'll vary from one week to the next, one project to the next, and so forth. And quite a number also travel on business. Or they work on weekends from home. Or they do some work in the evenings from home.

"Hours worked" on its own really doesn't tell the adcom a whole lot (and most b-schools do ask for that on the applications forms: how many hours on average per week).

Also, internships don't count, no matter how you slice and dice it.

Not to sound harsh, but there's nothing special about your working hours, nor should you feel you should get any extra credit for it. In any case, it comes down to what you accomplished, and not how many hours you are in the office (because if you really want to get macho about it, all the investment bankers have you beat in terms of working without sleep).

Thank you Alex, GMATLA.

Your responses have allowed me to look back and think outside the little box I live in.

It was a bit self-centered of me.

However, just to share the amazing work culture Korea has, take a look at this exerpt from an article by Forbes.


Source: (ugh, can't post urls yet... please google)

And this is a government job!

Anyhow, my work schedule is pretty much the same, if not worse... guess I was just getting frustrated and vented. It's completely challenging my mental limits to cope with this stress - and I guess this is somewhat a stepping stone for me in getting into business schools.

Cheers.

I'm currently typing this message at 2 in the morning, and I've been at the office since 7:30 this morning. This occurs 4 days a week (Monday through Thursday). I'm a traveling consultant, so on Friday mornings I take a 3-hour flight back home. I then work 9-7 on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, at which point I take another 3 hour flight back to my client site to do it all over again. I don't even have the worst of it at my firm or in the industry. Investment bankers work absolutely brutal hours, but the most grueling part to me is all the travel. Sometimes I find it funny that people apply to b-school dreaming to have a job just like this, but I digress.

A lot of people work hard, but I think the important thing is to take a step back and think about what you've learned from your job, and how your skills have improved over the time you've worked there.