Is working at Cisco worth a 7-hour commute?

The Register ^ | Thursday 13th April 2006 | Ashlee Vance

[clamper1797]

It's an hour and a half each way to my work in Sillycon valley. BUT I come in to work when I feel like it and leave when I get the urge ... I do usually work 40-60 hours a week but very rarely more than 4 days in the office per week and rarely more than 6 hours per day in the office.

Thanks goodness for telecommuting

[M203M4]

I've done the 1 hour in each direction thing before (previous city, previous job), wouldn't accept even that anymore. But this guy...hey, his life. Just damn.

Right now, I'm damn lucky. A 1 minute minute walk, plus a 7 minute "commute" on the subway. It would take me longer to drive there, park in the (far away) parking lot, and walk from there to the office (plus having to pay $400+ a year to park + extra gas). Takes 15 minutes to drive there: car bridge != subway bridge.

[tcrlaf]

Used to Commute 100 Miles from South Bend to West Lafayette everyday....

Luckily, it was in a company-owned vehicle!!

[tcrlaf]

Long over-stay commutes like that are not unusual...
Did it for 15 months myself while working in Toronto...

[Syncro]

I commuted one mile for thirteen years until I sold the business.

I have two friends that live across the creek that are both stewardesses (stewardi?) and one works out of New York and the other out of London.

So they both commute, but the London based one has the longest commute.

Of course they just have to call an airline and get an empty seat, no charge. Pretty good duty even considering the commute.

Nowadays if I want to go to work, it's in the other room or just down the road.

So all my driving is mostly for fun these days.

Well except for earlier this week when I had a business trip to outside of Eugene, Oregan (Oops, Oregon)

Fun trip, I love to drive!

Wild Elk, Oregon coast and some Patriotic Pictures:

So that was my commute earlier this week, 1100 miles round trip, three days. LOL

[Dick Vomer]

Good God some people are stuck on stupid.

He's a dumb@ss. He'll die of blood clots in his legs, never get to see his kids do anything... for what?

On the flip side, that's what makes America so great. That we have the freedom to spend 1700 hours a year just driving back and forth to work.. then there's work, sleep..when does he get to DO anything?

His life, better him than me....we all make choices.

[Bob]

When I worked in Manhatten, I knew a number of folks that lived in upstate New York like Albany, Rochester, Ithaca, etc. They would commute in Monday morning, usually by train. They'd Have a dive they flopped at mon-thurs and went home Friday.

I worked a long-distance commute job once. I arranged to work it as a 4-day-a-week, 10-hour-a-day job.

To avoid the worst of the commute traffic, I'd arrive mid-morning Monday and work late, stay over Monday night and then both start and leave early Tuesday. Wednesday was a day off. I'd repeat my Monday/Tuesday routine on Thursday/Friday and still have a normal weekend off.

I found it much better doing two round trips per week rather than five.

[bert]

I used to work with an engineer that commuted 300 miles a day most days to a job with the Navy in Washington DC.

I'll gurantee you his job was not worth the time commuting. Of course he was so wiped out he didn't accomplish much but warm the chair.

[3_if_by_Treason]

Well I'll jump in here and say I drove "Over The Road" (OTR) as a solo truck driver for C. R. England for a little over 2 years in 93-96 and logged a little over 150,000 miles a year.

My average day was 800 miles, 900 if I was in a hurry and 1,000 if I was rushed.

I was only 2 feet from either my bed or my "desk" at any given time. I considered myself a professional tourist.

Driving a 65' long 8-1/2 foot wide 13-1/3 foot high 80,000 pound truck becomes as natural as driving your average car, more or less. I went to every state (and slept in them) except North Dakota and Montana, in every season, under every condition.

I went through a good portion of Canada too. I saw the United States, mostly at about 65 miles an hour, but hey, I saw it. I'm asked what my favorite place was, and I can say that everywhere I went was the best place I ever was. It's the people of our country that make it the great place that it is. I was raised in Marin County CA, so my reference point is some pretty dang good geography.

I managed to swim in all 5 Great Lakes and had many memorable adventures. My favorite time was spent in Arlington National Cemetery, keeping our fallen company for a while. That's a tough place to leave.

[Fintan]

 

[Mama_Bear]

Hi Syncro. Can I use photo #DSC03518.jpg for a pledge graphic for the Finest? Pleeeeeeeeease? (I will give you photo credit for it, of course.) I am always looking for nice flag photos and I like that one.

Oregon is beautiful, so are the Elk - although the one in the foreground looks a tad mangy. LOL.

My son has been in Anchorage on business this week and managed to locate and photograph some moose just outside of town. He was also witness to this brilliant escapade on an iceberg.

Click for story

Iceberg surfing, an extreme sport? LOL.

[thoughtomator]

I did a 2 1/2 hour commute (each way) for my first "real" job. It took me all of two months to move closer to it.

[Fred Hayek]

....had a specific policy AGAINST telecommuting........they had the same mindset..if they couldn't see you, you weren't working..

Micromanagement mentality. Now that I am with a small company, it's just about all telecommuting. I have PLC programming software at home, AutoCAD at home (all licensed), a high speed connecton, which is handy for remote troubleshooting, or a prelimary survey before I have to go to the clients' site for service. I still have to produce my deliverables, meet with the clients, commission equipment on site.

[dighton]

How'd you like to stall out at 500 ft, and die because Ford built a crappy car.

Found On Roof Dead.

[JoeGar]

The glorious Yosemite country and horses make the commute worth the effort ...

B.S.

[decal]

"...who pounds more than 30 cups of coffee by the end of the day.

"'I could live a bit closer, but it would cost more and wouldn't be anywhere near as scenic,' he said."

This goob spends anywhere from $40 to $100 a day on gasoline alone. How much extra could it be to live 150 miles closer?

Not to mention he's going to die from bladder cancer from all the coffee before he can retire. Fat lot of good the scenery will do him then.

[Magic Fingers]

"I used to have a job where my job commute consisted of literally 2 steps from the bed to the desk..."

I still do.

[RHINO369]

Plus our own governmnet doesn't trust people turning left at an uncontrolled stop light, like they will allow 3d movement.

[Huck]

What a maroon. I used to commute about 40 miles each way, but I finally broke free. It was worth it cuz I made money, bought a house in the country. Phase 2, recently achieved, was to work in the country where I live. I don't commute anymore. I do victory laps. Life is good. Thank you Lord.

[Viking2002]

Good. Sweet. Lord. I will NEVER AGAIN bitch to my wife about my 78 mile/75 minute commute each way.