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mNeo
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My momentous decision in the last 6 hours. 13 Mar 2008, 15:36
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kryzak
Then I ask the hard questions, go to the admit weekends, and make my decision
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... to go to Haas
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My momentous decision in the last 6 hours. 13 Mar 2008, 15:49
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LOL! funny, but probably true... :P
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My momentous decision in the last 6 hours. 14 Mar 2008, 06:18
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That was a interesting discussion you guys had!

I thought only IB was like that..long hours and getting burned out. Now I hear MC is also the same. This is news to me. Are there any other post MBA jobs like this?
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My momentous decision in the last 6 hours. 14 Mar 2008, 07:14
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if you work at an unfunded or early funding startup, it'll probably be like 80+ hours a week.
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My momentous decision in the last 6 hours. 14 Mar 2008, 13:29
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although there was maybe a bit of heat in this discussion, i really didn't mean to demean or offend anyone. i'll also be the first to say that i thought a lot like most of the people here for my first 10 years of working at large corporations. but things are a little different when you own your own company.

i own a small startup mobile wireless software company. we're live on some carriers but a really big huge one just signed and they want our app live in 2 weeks. they called yesterday, we got contracts signed, and they want to be live on april 1. in the mobile software world, having a large carrier to distribute your software is the key to success. basically, you can't succeed without it (many have tried, and all are failing).

but before i signed the contracts to commit, i called everyone into the conference room, told them what's going on, etc. everyone is excited and happy but this means...

unless you have a really good excuse, there are no vacations or days off (including weekends) from now until april 1. everyone is here first thing in the morning and we don't leave until 10pm every day. i didn't say "guys this is what we're doing so deal with it"...i actually asked and everyone agreed that this is what we need to do. the other option was to say "no, we can't b/c we won't be ready". this isn't something that i can do on my own.

one guy is taking 2 days off because his wife is having surgery.

another guy is fighting a life threatening disease so he needs to go to the hospital for treatments.

other than those two guys, everyone will be here. all vacations, training, etc. got cancelled. my company has 40 people.

this is what it's like to work in a startup. this is why everyone has stock options in addition to their high competitive salaries. i'll be the first to say that it's not for everybody but this is the work environment that it takes if you want to have a chance at becoming the next google, facebook, etc. i know some of those early guys out there and none of them took weekends off let alone vacations in their early days out there. if you want a 9-5 job with clear direction, scheduled meetings, easily schedule vacations, and the type of planning where sick days and vacations can easily be absorbed in the project...this isn't for you. each person here plays a significant role in the project and as a startup, i can't afford to have redundancy built in at each layer. if my sysadmin gets hit by a truck today then yes...we are screwed. heck, this is probably my ego talking but if i get hit by a truck tonight, they may as well shut down tomorrow.

anyway...just some insight.

RVD.
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My momentous decision in the last 6 hours. 14 Mar 2008, 19:29
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actually, RVD, the ironic thing is, if I were working for my own company or a company that I have a good stake in (i.e. startups), I wouldn't mind the situation you just described. I actually agree that employees at a startup should expect to do things like that. The sad thing is, the company that Avi is talking about is NOT a startup, nor do the employees really get a lot out of it for pouring their life into their jobs.

Case in point, I actually had that experience, with about 2 months, zero days off, 8am to 1am (yes, 1am) almost every day, to get a proposal done. No vacations, no holidays, no weekends, nada. Just work. We did it, and we got the contract. It was a huge win... what did the employees get? a 1 week pay bonus (after 50% witheld). Most of us didn't even get recognized in the company award section (because they had a "limit" of 25 people per group they can recognize). Very sad and it woke me up to the fact that I would never work that hard for a big company again.

I guess that's where I'm coming from and why I had my point of view. But I think we may just agree more than we think we do, RVD. :)
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My momentous decision in the last 6 hours. 15 Mar 2008, 17:24
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Interesting company JVD ;). Very competitive area youa re in at the moment (i know of lot's of companies in a similar area).

Being live on carriers is certainly one way to be succesful dependent on which countries you are approaching. The mobile landscape is different depending on the region, some areas are more carrier driven, others are more manufacturer driven, and even the manufacturers are moving more towards service orientation.

If you;re interested in having a chinwag, you're more than welcome to send me a PM and i can fill you in on what I do :)
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My momentous decision in the last 6 hours. 15 Mar 2008, 17:37
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kryzak
actually, RVD, the ironic thing is, if I were working for my own company or a company that I have a good stake in (i.e. startups), I wouldn't mind the situation you just described. I actually agree that employees at a startup should expect to do things like that. The sad thing is, the company that Avi is talking about is NOT a startup, nor do the employees really get a lot out of it for pouring their life into their jobs.

Case in point, I actually had that experience, with about 2 months, zero days off, 8am to 1am (yes, 1am) almost every day, to get a proposal done. No vacations, no holidays, no weekends, nada. Just work. We did it, and we got the contract. It was a huge win... what did the employees get? a 1 week pay bonus (after 50% witheld). Most of us didn't even get recognized in the company award section (because they had a "limit" of 25 people per group they can recognize). Very sad and it woke me up to the fact that I would never work that hard for a big company again.

I guess that's where I'm coming from and why I had my point of view. But I think we may just agree more than we think we do, RVD. :)
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The good thing about banks is if they work you like that, they will reward you for it at the end of the year with a pile of cash (unless you work at Bear Stearns :wink: )

Regarding the question above about consulting, I think the hours can be almost as bad as banking in some cases. Plus, you spend a lot of time at airports and on planes, and you don't get credit for most of those hours unless you are actually doing work.
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My momentous decision in the last 6 hours. 16 Mar 2008, 01:24
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yeah, for me, if I am investing in my own future somehow (getting options, getting bonuses that reflect work put in, etc...), then I am willing to put in the time to get the job done. If there's no recognition in any way (like the example I mentioned), then I wouldn't go out of my way and kill myself to work that hard for the company. Might sound selfish, but it's a personal choice that each one of us makes. :)
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