IT Jobs with good work life balance or that are 8am to 5pm? No weekends?

Im in IT as a system admin and my work life balance is just falling apart too much work being on call 24/7 or just not sleeping or having a life and i Hate it. I do like the work i do but REALLY HATE THE HOURS

Now my question is in what areas of IT is it more Monday Thru Friday 8am to 5pm? No on call no weekends i wanna get a job that is only 40 hours a week.

I like Computer support, or desktop support / field tech

Do they strictly work 40 hours a week?

Or do I have to change careers into a teacher or something

Please help because my family misses me so much for being gone from home and i want to go back to a regular 40 hour job and willing to take a pay cut as well Maybe still make somewhere in 40k to 60k

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stryder144

Honestly, it really depends on the employer. For instance, the state IT department that I spoke to recently does the 8-5 thing with, usually, one week a month on call, to include a weekend. I also talked to someone who does technical support for an online education company and they have shift work but it is only Mon-Fri. So it really just depends. Look for a business that does not have 24x7 hours and they will most likely have the type of hours you are looking for.

As an aside, I feel you on the hours thing. I work Sun-Wed, 6a-4p, full-time, where I leave my house before 5a. I also have a tutoring job Mon-Wed, 5:30p - 7:30p, where I get home around 8p. On top of that, I work Thur-Fri, usually 10a-6p at Geek Squad. 62ish hours a week, plus full-time (18 credits) of school work. I truly cherish the time I have with my family (wife and five kids) on my one day off a week, which is Saturday (assuming I don't have some school work to finish up). I am really looking forward to finishing my degree, a few more certs, and getting to a point where I can work M-F (or at least just 40hrs a week).

TechGuru80

40 hours every week seems almost like a pipe dream these days. Any type of job that bills somebody directly would be a good place to start looking. Not that you couldn't go over 40 hours but those type of jobs want as much bang for the buck as possible. There are jobs out there that have different types of shifts such as 12 hour days or 10 hour days as another option. The big problem with needing specific type of hours/shifts in IT is that you are the one who makes technology work. If people work off hours...you have to be available. With that being said...look at companies who have those type of primary working hours.

Success101

OP: It really depends on the employer. I've had 8 - 5 and then I've had 4 - 12.

Stryder: More respect to you. Don't know how you manage everything on your plate. Keep doing what you're doing!

stryder144

Thanks, Success101. I hope the OP doesn't think I was trying to hijack his thread. I feel for him and also desire to have a less insane schedule.

OP, if you haven't done so, network with other IT professionals in your area and find out who has the type of schedule you desire. Once you know who has it, ask them why they have it and try to compare their skills/experience/education/certs with yours. If there is a decided difference, then you know what you should concentrate on. If there isn't, then I'd start sending out your resume, with a cover sheet, to those companies that fit the schedule profile you prefer (even if there isn't a job opening posted). Remember, where there is a will, there is way. Keep at it and you'll eventually find a job with the proper work/life balance.

Good luck and keep us posted as to the progress you are making at finding that balance.

stryder144

You might want to look into a local technical school such as New Horizons and see if you qualify to teach there. They usually have good hours and the pay typically isn't too bad. Just a thought.

UnixGuy

It really depends on the employer. Avoid IT Service provider and managed services type companies. Look for maybe health care or government work where you have to work within an IT department. Non for profit as well. Get to the interview and you can get a feeling whether it is a busy environment or not.

Nightflier101BL

I work for local county government about 2 miles from my house. My job is 8:30am to 5:00pm Monday-Friday. We have a rotating on-call schedule between four of us - each person gets the phone for a week out of month.

The schedule is very nice but the pay is terrible. This is my first job in IT as a PC Technician, but do a lot more than my title.

It seems that these types of jobs are like this, good schedule, great benefits and stability but some of the lower pay scales for similar work.

22306

i know a lot of contractors that work 6:30 and get off at 3. if i had a wife and kids. i wont do more than 40 hours a week.i wouldnt want to chase money/career and lose my family.

Danielm7

22306 wrote: »

i know a lot of contractors that work 6:30 and get off at 3. if i had a wife and kids. i wont do more than 40 hours a week.i wouldnt want to chase money/career and lose my family.

I had an interview a few weeks ago for a contractor position. After the interview one of the guys pulled me aside and said, "I know some people might be against contracting, but listen, the company basically has to pay to work you past 40 hours, need approval, etc, you shouldn't have to pull more than 40 almost ever"

wes allen

Danielm7 wrote: »

I had an interview a few weeks ago for a contractor position. After the interview one of the guys pulled me aside and said, "I know some people might be against contracting, but listen, the company basically has to pay to work you past 40 hours, need approval, etc, you shouldn't have to pull more than 40 almost ever"

This. As a contractor, the only OT is if I really want it and can talk the client into paying 1.5X or 2X they rate they are paying for me. I did pull the weekly on call rotation at my last contract, but doesn't look like that will be the case with the new gig.

I will say that if scheduling is important, then public sector jobs would be worth looking into. You may give up some pay for it though.

pinkydapimp

I would say contracting, Field engineering, pre and post sales engineering roles are generally 9-5 since your delivering services. Ive been in that realm for 10 years and damn near get to make my schedule. great work life balance. Something to think about!

But i will add that in any role it will depend on the company what the work life balance is. So thats one of those things you really need to find out when interviewing. For me, i would rather work more early in my career and set myself up for better work life balance later in my career. Luckily i have yet to find a role where work life balance was an issue. Maybe ive been lucky.

tprice5

22306 wrote: »

i know a lot of contractors that work 6:30 and get off at 3. if i had a wife and kids. i wont do more than 40 hours a week.i wouldnt want to chase money/career and lose my family.

This guy has got it all figured out.

stryder144

22306 wrote: »

i know a lot of contractors that work 6:30 and get off at 3. if i had a wife and kids. i wont do more than 40 hours a week.i wouldnt want to chase money/career and lose my family.

Exactly. Thankful God my family understands that transitioning from one career to an entirely new one takes a few years of sacrifice. I, for one, agree with you in that I would give up the extra income if my wife and I felt that what was being given was too much of a sacrifice. Hopefully, you will have a rock solid career set up before you start a family. I wouldn't wish the jam packed schedule that I have on anyone, not even someone I didn't like very much.

Chitownjedi

I just ended my employment as i was literally on call 24/7 and it killed work life. Once you are on salary you are screwed if they expect you to work 55+ hours a week, but pay you on a 40 hour a week scale. I asked to be made hourly at a lessor rate to compensate for what they expected to last the next year in terms of 12 to 14 hour days with no time off eligible until 10 months in.

They said they couldn't do it. I left and found contract work. Ill be starting in a few weeks and I'm told 40 hours is max they expect, and you don't take work home with you. No stress and more time for myself and family ...can't beat it.

Look into contractor work...make them pay for those zombie hours.

aftereffector

GRC and auditing would be pretty stable. Teaching, though - it may seem like a lot of time off, but I know a few teachers and they work 11-12 hours a day during the week and 4-8 hours a day on weekends on all the adminstrative overhead that can't get done during school hours. Ugh.

Nersesian

So I used to read these threads about people putting in X amount of hours worth of overtime and complaining about the lack of work/life balance and think to myself, these people are deluded thinking they can get away with 40 hours in IT. What slackers. Good thing I don't have that mentality.

I then aged a little, got a little more burnt at the edges and accepted a job with a non-profit. Heed this illustrious techs of TechExams: Employers will take advantage of you. They will work you until you quit and then replace you, chalking your inability to work around the clock up to the lack of a team mentality. Do not fall for the lie. If you're working six and seven days a week, on call with no time to pursue you interests, start looking for other opportunities. I get that wherever you live may be difficult to find options. I get you may be happy where you're at and be ok with putting in the hours needed. I certainly did. But, at some point you will get older and getting up at 3am to reset a file server, or address a problem with a backup isn't going to fly with your wife, your kids or your schedule. If you have none of these and think it may be due to your schedule...its due to your schedule. Its completely reasonable to be able to turn off your phone and go to a movie, have dinner or throwback a cocktail. You're not a doctor, and even if you were, they have off times more frequently than they do on-call times.

Sometimes its necessary, but if this is a permanent thing, the company has an internal problem it needs to address. As long as you toe the line, its not going to be resolved. I'm in the office at 8am and typically leave around 6pm which is my choice. I don't have an "obligation" to check email when I'm out of the office and if my work phone rings, I know something is on fire. If I were to get an after hours call that wasn't an absolute emergency, someone is not going to have a very good day tomorrow. I treat my direct reports the same way. If something needs to be completed on the weekend, I lead with an apology and try and make up for the time by letting them go early the next day.

I refuse to go back to the 24/7 schedule, regardless of how much I'm paid. Its not tenable, its not right and it shouldn't be on you to fix an employer's inability to staff correctly.

Danielm7

I read a great strategy for those 3am required updates on reddit the other day. A few people said that they agree, then tell the person requesting it that they'll need them to test it right afterwards with them so they are sure it is OK. That way they can roll back or continue the upgrade. The requester usually says "nah I'll get it at 9 when I come in" in which they explain they can't do the upgrade unless they person is connected to test. Seems it could work pretty well to getting upgrades and maintenance pushed to more reasonable times. The idea that only IT should have to work in the middle of the night when the rest of the company doesn't have to is just silly.

wolfinsheepsclothing

Geez, some of you guys work insane schedules! M-F here (9a-3p core hours).

Gorby

I can relate to the need for a 8-5 schedule, like others said I read these forums and figured bi could handle the 24/7 schedule. Ended up hating the job since I had a crap schedule overnight and was on call. Some people don't mind it but I learned it was NOT for me. Look for government contracts or non profits.

networker050184

In my experience it's usually the mid level "admins" or "operations" people that have the horrible hours. These are the people responsible for responding to escalations no matter the time or day. The entry level helpdesk guy or the senior level architect guy are not likely to be called for issues outside of 9-5 unless something is terribly wrong.

I used to work long hours, weekends, etc. but now I'm usually only working 7 hours a day or so. No on call in a few years now.

210mike

There are ton of terrible IT jobs out there, you owe it to yourself to find a good one. People stay in crappy jobs way too long... maybe you feel like you owe them, or your feel your so important to the company you can't leave. Yes you can, it's not your problem IT is understaffed. Do what is best for you!
I'm really fortunate in my current position. We have a Global team of folks, so there is very little on-call or after hours work. The guys in Europe, or the West Coast can handle things that fall outside of my core hours. I rarely work more than 40 hours a week, and if you're constantly putting out fires after hours, there is something wrong in your environment that needs to be fixed.

Don't settle for a crappy IT gig. Find a good one.

chopsticks

This thread is so darn right! To work 24x7 is basically crazy, and mis-management or exploit by company on their staffing. So, yes, I too on the side of rejecting 24x7 type of work too.

tprice5

Nersesian wrote: »

So I used to read these threads about people putting in X amount of hours worth of overtime and complaining about the lack of work/life balance and think to myself, these people are deluded thinking they can get away with 40 hours in IT. What slackers. Good thing I don't have that mentality.

I then aged a little, got a little more burnt at the edges and accepted a job with a non-profit. Heed this illustrious techs of TechExams: Employers will take advantage of you. They will work you until you quit and then replace you, chalking your inability to work around the clock up to the lack of a team mentality. Do not fall for the lie. If you're working six and seven days a week, on call with no time to pursue you interests, start looking for other opportunities. I get that wherever you live may be difficult to find options. I get you may be happy where you're at and be ok with putting in the hours needed. I certainly did. But, at some point you will get older and getting up at 3am to reset a file server, or address a problem with a backup isn't going to fly with your wife, your kids or your schedule. If you have none of these and think it may be due to your schedule...its due to your schedule. Its completely reasonable to be able to turn off your phone and go to a movie, have dinner or throwback a cocktail. You're not a doctor, and even if you were, they have off times more frequently than they do on-call times.

Sometimes its necessary, but if this is a permanent thing, the company has an internal problem it needs to address. As long as you toe the line, its not going to be resolved. I'm in the office at 8am and typically leave around 6pm which is my choice. I don't have an "obligation" to check email when I'm out of the office and if my work phone rings, I know something is on fire. If I were to get an after hours call that wasn't an absolute emergency, someone is not going to have a very good day tomorrow. I treat my direct reports the same way. If something needs to be completed on the weekend, I lead with an apology and try and make up for the time by letting them go early the next day.

I refuse to go back to the 24/7 schedule, regardless of how much I'm paid. Its not tenable, its not right and it shouldn't be on you to fix an employer's inability to staff correctly.

I really appreciated this post.

JoJoCal19

I guess I'm lucky that in over 9 years of IT, with most all in security, I've only ever worked over 40 hours in a week on a couple of occasions, and that was paid. I've been salaried since the beginning of this year and I'm thankful that as aftereffector said, in GRC land it's stable and I've not worked over 40 hours once.

logisticalstyles

I'm doing work as a contractor for a software company on the Help Desk and my hours are 8:30 - 5:30. No weekends no on-call schedule. I thought it was because I was a contractor but event the full time employees keep similar schedules. To be honest they actually work a more relaxed schedule than me. When I worked Full time for an accounting firm on the help desk we had after hours, weekends and an rotating on call schedule. The worst part was being on salary so there was no overtime. When I worked in a call center doing tech support there was always overtime and weekends available to work. I kind of miss the option of making some overtime, but I'm happy with my current schedule. I just need to find a part time side job to make some extra money.