How do I get out of an 8-5 job?

36 comments

1. Save a huge portion of your paycheck and invest aggressively. Also start a side business

2. Be a freelancer accountant, you make your own shedule you decide what job to take or pass

3. You could join the military. It’s peacetime so not much going on right now if you’re in the US.

   If you’re too old for that, consider changing fields to something that you think might be more rewarding. It’s never too late to do that.

4. Go to trade school and get a 7-3 job instead.

5. Get a CPA and do remote book keeping. Move to the islands and only take on a comfortable amount of clients…. fish, drink rum, fook chicks the rest of your life…… CPA by day, Jimmy Buffet at night!

6. My dude. You just said you have no debts or family to support, so just quit?

   Go take some of your savings and travel. Find yourself. Try (almost) everything. Find out what it is that makes you excited to live. And then do that. Do it until you die.

   INB4 someone tells me that’s irresponsible and he would have to worry about gaps in resume and running out of money blah blah blah. One life man. That’s it. One time here. Just GO.

   Done.

7. This is me but my office is a construction site. Its been only 2,5 years and im already fucking done

8. Could always “accidentally” put a “typo” in an account number that happens to be your account number and make it more rewarding and then move to a spectacular place with no extradition laws/agreements… I mean accidents happen right lol

9. get an 8-4 job

10. Could find one that’s 10pm – 6am instead

11. When your at work plot your escape there, there is no better way to create an escape plan than when you’re in the heat of the suck, if you can use headphones study, research, and study some more when you’re on the clock, if headphones aren’t an option then do your best to have the discipline to only have your mind on a way out. Write fiction ebooks, amazon store, start a channel, maybe even plot away to college. Stack notes and research, and when you go home get back to work writing, noting, plotting

12. With no family you should be able to invest serious money in the stock market.
    The Biden has made such a mess of America that it is a good time to “buy low.”

    Then become an investor and quit your job.

13. Cut all expenses. You don’t need most things. Life can be cheap

14. Self employment.

15. Amongst all the unhelpful responses I have not seen the suggestion to do an hour overtime every day

    On a serious note, it is not super hard to change to almost anything if you don’t have family or debt.

16. The front door at 5pm.

17. I normally use the door but I guess a window could work too

18. Passive income streams. Basically sink all your extra money/time into creating these and eventually you’ll be out of the rat race.

19. What’s your billable rate? Multiply that by 2000 (or your billable hours) , and you have what your firm is making in revenue off your work.

    You are now in business for yourself. As of yesterday. You have one client paying client with a bunch of terms and conditions.

    What if you drop that client and hang a shingle outside your garage? Who do you know that could be a new client?

    Start building that list now. Network, find business owners, butter up those you work with right now for when you jump ship and start your own thing or join a different firm.

20. If my office experience is like yours, you have lots of down time at work, or at least time when you’re not being supervised? Find out if your job provides free training on subjects you’re interested in, even like LinkedIn courses. Do that as much as you can, and follow the other posters who are giving solid advice like investing, etc.

    Save all the money you can, with the goal of buying at least a little piece of property. Housing and real estate are the *closest* you can get to permanently appreciating investments.

21. Generally speaking, working 8-5 is about the minimum you can work and afford a good standard of living. You could maybe find a role that only required 30 hours a week and could still pay you enough, but you probably wouldn’t be overly comfortable on that salary.

    If you want to work less than 8-5 you’re going to have to work more than that for many years first.

22. Darn, I’d actually trade careers/schedules with you right now. Been working over 15 years and only had a 9 to 5 once which was about 3 months of training. My sleep and overall wellbeing regulated and I felt great during that time period. I was literally just talking to someone about how i regret not being an accountant and having a boring workplace. question for you, are you fulfilled otherwise in life? love, hobbies, overall mental health? My life is plenty exciting outside of work so im guessing thats why im craving that consistent slow pace of an 9/5.

23. Someone said contract work and I think that would spice up your life plenty. I also like the idea of 10 or 12 hour days. I’m not sure how you translate accountant work into those days but I went from working 5 days a week to 3 and the change in my everyday life was big. Sure those days didn’t leave any space for after work drinks but I don’t care to do that. I also don’t work out in the morning so 7am to 7pm didn’t hurt me. 4 10s is also something that comes up. These are often something you see in healthcare. Just spitballin’

24. Learn to code.

    Programming is one of those jobs where it’s a lot easier to work from home.

25. Worked as a tech for 11 years and grew tired of it. Then moved to teaching and loved it for many years, then using those same skills left teaching for estimating and claims. Loved it until hearing loss made it impossible to do. You don’t say if you’re a CPA but maybe doing your own thing would change-up your feelings about the job. I know 3-4 accountants/CPA’s and they like it but only one of em works for a corporation. The others all hung out their shingle and did well with it.

26. How do I get a 8-5 job?

27. God I’d love an 8-5 job. Currently on 7-7 for the last 17yrs, doesn’t get tiring at all…

28. I feel your pain. I was a CPA. Retired now. When people ask me what I did for a living I tell them I’m a “recovering CPA”.

29. I’m confused, genuinely, I live in Norway, and an 8 to 4 job is the norm here, almost everyone has one, but I hardly ever hear of anyone complaining about having an 8 to 4 job here.

    Why, whenever I hear Americans talk about an 8 to 5 or 9 to 5 job, does it usually sound like they hate it so much, that they think it’s so unbearable and unfair or unreasonable?

30. maybe you should just be honest and let them know you’re unhappy. if that doesn’t work ask for a crazy pay raise and a bonus to stay. you don’t want to use my advice i’m currently out of work.

31. Become an accountant for the mafia, get overconfident, skim from the top, do cocaine, become paranoid that they know, flee to South America and go by Reynaldo. Beats the cubicle

32. Get a different skillset. Im leaving the office world to become a respiratory therapist. In my city RRTs can make 80K and youre helping people in a hands on, technical fashion. There are many AAS degrees that lead to real careers. Lots in healthcare like xray, ultrasound, nursing but things like air traffic controller can be very lucrative.

33. Hello! Fellow accountant here 👋🏻 I totally felt your way because quite frankly, I could get my job done in about 2-3 hours a day- 5 with a few meetings folded in, but pre pandemic the expectation was 9-10 hours per day in the office plus I had about 2 hour commute. Since 2020, I work from home. Just starting to be “hybrid” but barely- and even so I save all my work for that one day. When I’m home, I cook meals, study for CPA, workout, go for walks outside, learn a new language, take naps, go to gym, journal. My advice is find a finance or accounting based job for an industry (you didn’t mention if you work big 4?) so many companies have remote work now. Message me if you want to chat!

34. Sometimes you gotta grind for a few years to build a solid financial foundation for yourself. It sucks, but creating a reasonable 5 year plan will help get over the kefkaesque existential dread.

35. Just don’t show up. You’ll be out of there in no time.

36. In my own opinion and personal experience here’s what I got. If you want to be your own boss, make your own hours and decide your own pay, go the freelancer route. HOWEVER, if you enjoy the 9-5 grind but hate leaving the house, find a really good paying work from home job. That’s what me, my mom, and some other family members did and we all love it.