@brickell Actually I had terrible study habits. 😛 My standard was 1 4-5 hour study session on the weekend and on alternate weeks I was off on Wednesdays, so I'd do one 4-5 hour study session on Wednesday, too. Studying on weeknights was rare, and my other weekend day was almost always free. So, I didn't do a lot of studying, just put it in one or two sessions a week. Then the last week or two before the exam I'd do more – that's when I'd get the 8+ hour study sessions, the weekend before the exam, and study from when I got home from work till I went to bed (which was still 9 or 10 pm) on Mon and Tues evening before a Wed test (always used a Wed I was off to test). Not great study habits, but they worked for 4 first-time passes, so guess it was OK. *shrug* I didn't see how everyone else studied till I'd already gotten a pass or two my way, so at that point I figured I'd try my way for the last ones, too, before trying everyone else's 24/7 style. 🙂
@CPA2021 Yes, some people do actually work 80-100 hours a week. Maybe not every week, 52 weeks a year, but yes some people do really work those hours at times. I worked public accounting for 1 year, and in the last week of tax season clocked over 100 hours, and decided to quit public. However, I guarantee you that was over 100 hours of actually working. I don't remember (though I do have it on a spreadsheet at home, since I was tracking hours for CPA requirements) my hours for the last few weeks before the end of tax season, but I think the couple weeks before were at least around if not over 80. We were a 2 1/2 person firm (the “1/2” was a college kid who worked part-time) with a lot of returns to complete, so we did what we had to do. My current boss works 6a-6p on a regular basis 5 days a week, and works Sat and Sun too, though not as long of hours on those days. I'm not sure what his normal hours are Sat and Sun, probably not enough for him to hit 80 hours on an every-week basis, but that's just his normal schedule; at bad times, he works more, and I'm sure hits and at times exceeds 80 hours. I'm in my “bad time” right now, and trying to keep it in the 65-ish range, but I'm just 12 days into the 8 weeks of madness; I may end up with some 75-80 hour weeks towards the end. Granted, right now, I'm taking some breaks and hopping on here, like right now, cause I have to clear my head; however, I wasn't doing that when I worked taxes, my boss isn't doing that now, and I won't be doing that if my hours are stretching to 75-80. I've heard you express this opinion before that no one really works 80-100 hour weeks and I'm not sure why you think that, but it's not true. Some people do, truly, work 80-100 hours in a week.