Topic: Commute Times (UK)

I could handle any commute for 130 days tbh. 2 hours 40 every day is obviously a bit of a ball ache but it's time well spent with a book. Obviously it's easier to manage if you don't have a lot of walking between platforms and so on. Constantly losing your seat is annoying

@ralphdibny It sounds like you are taking a lot on. For me personally I wouldn't even think about taking that job. The duration and hours per day wouldn't be such an issue if I could do that sort of thing from home but the commute on that would just kill any time I got to spend with the family or getting out for exercise.

I hope you can strike a balance with it and remember that time away from a job is just as important as that gives you chance to return the next day with more energy and enthusiasm.

Cheers for the replies peeps. Interesting to get 2 very different responses!!

@kyleforrester87 I think I may have to do the book thing. I've got a load that have been on my shelf unread for 15 years so I was going to throw them away. Maybe I can give them one last try before they end up in the charity! Luckily it's only one train into London but then I have to get a tube or 2 after that 😨. I'll probably spend most of the train into London in the toilet anyway. I just hate that walk of shame as you exit the toilet on a packed commuter train though 😅. Hey you never know, maybe I'll start skipping the tube part in favour of a Boris Bike or a Sadiq Cycle or whatever they are called these days!

@render that's fair enough. I think I'll have to see how it goes for a while. I'd say my commutes are normally that long but I'm a ZHC so normally I can turn down work and strike a better balance (also random jobs I get put on might not go for a full shift so I claw some time back that way) but I can't afford to live independently on how much I currently work. I did ask for the extra money to accommodate the lack of flexibility with this new role.

But yeah, will have to see how it goes I think. The 9hr/day stint I did a few years back just killed me so I do wonder how much difference that one hour less will make. I think I do value my sanity much more than my colleagues value their own so we will see!

@ralphdibny when I commuted (about a year, 1 hour each way on the tube) I enjoyed the opportunity to read a book. I don’t tend to make a lot of time for it otherwise. I read a hell of lot of factual books about the space race lol. Also played a lot of Fez and FFX on Vita. If I wasn’t sat on a train chair I’d have just been on the sofa holding a controller anyway 😂

Only time it really sucked was during tube strikes and breakdowns.

Probably different if you have kids.

@kyleforrester87 Vita is a good shout as well actually. Still got a few PS Plus games left on it that I need to tick off before my sub runs out next year. No kids but I still do value my time and I dislike the necessity to give away my finite amount of time in exchange for means of survival at a disproportionate rate that favours large employers over me. But that's planet Earth for you, so what can I do 😂.

@ralphdibny I’ve frankly tried to just never think about employment like that, but I understand why people do 😂

@kyleforrester87 haha sorry for bumming you out. I think I can glaze over that perspective if either the work is ok or the people I work with are ok. This one is just a bit of a question mark. It's unrealistic but one day I might find a job that doesn't just make me feel like I'm wasting my life 😂

@ralphdibny It definitely made a difference having kids for me. Before I would have less of an issue with long commutes but now I really value that time with the family as I realise that you can never get that back. They will hopefully really value it too as you tend to remember that sort of thing when you're older.

@kyleforrester87 Reading on the tube is a great use of time though, I agree. Back when I was younger I used to spend a lot more time on public transport and used to enjoy the chance to read. Now I don't travel for work the only time I'm usually on a train is with the family and of course when you've got kids as they just badger the s*** out of you, or worse still those people around you 🤣

@render yeah I think so. I love my dad but I do vaguely remember not even realising what a dad was when I was small, like 3 years old. I guess because kids have early bed times, every now and then I'd catch a glimpse of my dad coming up the stairs after work when I was that age.

Hopefully I'll get to be a stay at home dad when it gets to that point in my life 😅. Would suit me down to the ground. Would be like my life up to that point except I get to look after people instead of being looked after. Will probably be quite unlikely though as it seems like couples need a 2 person income in order to actually afford a mortgage n all that.

@ralphdibny if you’re somehow developing yourself it’s never a waste, it doesn’t have to be a none stop thrill ride every day but if you are literally on auto pilot every day the hours and money (plus what the guy next to you or higher up are earning) are irrelevant in the end.

That said, nothing wrong with a bit of positive thinking/bullsh*t to get you to Friday 😂

@ralphdibny hey there, bit late to this (and my first post on the forum in weeks, had a bit of a quiet spell for some reason...)

I personally wouldn't do that. I've had to do similar commute times for work regularly and I struggled at times. However that was driving, had it been a train journey it might be different, as you can sit back on a train and do something else (be it reading or gaming on a switch).

However I think for a short period to earn yourself some good money it's not a bad idea. Best of luck!

@NedStarksGhost good to hear from you! I hope all is well! I just read one of your older posts about what happened with your interview in the end to refresh my memory. Sounds like a similarish experience to me getting this role in some ways. I was quite relieved when my initial request for a raise was denied. I just thought that 11 hour days wouldn't be for me. But then they come back a couple days later and met my proposed fee so I couldn't really say no then.

But yeah, will certainly give it a good crack. I've done the calculator on MSE (moneysaving expert) to work out what my actual takehome will be after tax/NI/pension/student loan and with our estimated essentials budget, it looks like I will have some disposable income at the very least after we've moved into the new place. I can't remember the exact numbers but it's probably enough for me at the moment. I guess I'll start paying into the help to buy ISA again which I stopped doing when I hit the minimum that I needed to claim the maximum government grant. That was during the lockdowns so money was tight. I just needed to hit that figure though before I stopped paying last year. Will be good to top it up some more even if it makes no difference to the grant itself.

But yeah will just have to see how it goes I think. Time to become an adult, finally, in my early 30s 😂😭.

How you getting on anyway? Still ticking over in your current job? Have you kept your eye open for other positions?

Well, for me it feels so much better not to have to depend on buses anymore. The anxiety of having to rush when finishing work for the day is gone! Huzzah!

@ralphdibny hey thanks, good to hear from you as well. Sounds like a good situation then if they've given the raise, must mean they want you there as well which is good for you! And disposable income is always a welcomed thing!

Yeah I'm well thanks. Still at the same place, keeping an eye out but not jumping ship for anything. Still the same issues. There's been some similar job positions open up but either too far or I think they're a bit too much of a jump up for me, skills wise!

@JohnnyShoulder That's awesome, congratulations on that. It would be nice to be able to walk to work instead of be in traffic during rush hour.

@NedStarksGhost When you say they are jump skills wise, it might be worth still applying if it's something you want to do. I haven't interviewed anyone for a while but back when I did we basically had a list of skills we needed as a minimum and then some that would be great but weren't strictly necessary. Both went on the job advert in the hope that we'd get the ideal candidates but most people that made it through to the interviews didn't meet the spec completely. We even ended up taking on someone who didn't even meet the minimum purely because they seemed like a real team player and willing to learn, and they worked out really well in the end.

Just a thought anyway that it might be worth going for even if it seems like a stretch as they might be working it a similar way.

@render Thanks for the advice. I have read to treat those lists more as a list of what we would like instead of an absolute must have these skills.

@NedStarksGhost You could also learn some of the skills needed by doing courses whilst working (most companies in the UK will pay for this) or simply by doing the tasks involved if they are not too complicated. I've lost count the amount of people I've trained up over the years when they have joined the team, and know next to nothing.

@NedStarksGhost ah fair enough. Yeah, don't feel afraid to apply for jobs you don't feel fully qualified for! I don't speak from experience because I often get put off by the same thing plus I am really picky about the sorts of places I want to work at. But yeah, I know loads of people that have got decent jobs despite not just being unqualified, but being woefully unqualified for certain positions. It seems like madness but I think the common sense you are showing by not applying for those jobs, probably means that you are indeed qualified to do them so just go for them if you see something you like the look of!

@JohnnyShoulder yeah true. I think the prospect of change and new challenges worries me more with experience. When I was new and a junior 5 years ago I felt I had that to fall back on a bit more. It's good to hear some stories though from people hiring those who they're willing to train up. Thanks dude.

@ralphdibny yeah I get you! I think in the tech world there's a lot of that. I know people in my place who are here and I have no idea how, given they've not only got the job unqualified but have proven to be a liability! Thanks for the advice though, it's definitely something I should do!

Here's one, one hour lunches or half hour lunches?

What are people's thoughts, experiences and expectations?