Orchestral are you trolling kr full time now?
This thread is so bad!

After 25 years in the workforce, I finally arrived at that conclusion. I used to have something akin to a Calvinist work ethic and for years I regularly did in excess of 60 hours a week. After coming to the realisation that employers are NOT your "friends" , are rarely supportive, will rarely support your endeavours to better yourself and have no hesitation whatsoever in letting you know that they're doing YOU the "favour" by employing you - I have absolutely no hesitation in sticking it to the man these days.

Back to the original question. I would say if you are using work as means to an end and have a "prize" in sight i.e. it leading to your desired vocation or it bankrolling something near and dear to your heart, then if you're sufficiently motivated, there's nothing wrong in working as much as you see fit. If, however, you're working all the hours that God sends just to survive, you're consistently fatigued, have no personal life to speak of and are wondering exactly why you're doing this - then it's high time to step off the treadmill to maintain a work/life balance. It's become something of a cliche but it's absolutely true, no one on their death bed ever thinks about how they should have spent more time in the office.

Is there a chance that you will "get your foot in the door" and start earning more for doing what you enjoy?
You work in a museum right? What is the name of the scheme you are on, if you don't mind me asking. My friend is wanting to work in museums when she graduates....

Well, I am the apprentice but the apprenticeship is not specific to the museums-It just happened that this apprenticeship was based at the museums. Does that make sense? There are lots of other people doing the same apprenticeship as me but in different council buildings.

It's a government/council apprenticeship scheme and i'm not sure if i can keep my foot in this particular door when my contract is over because there have been so many apprentices before me who haven't secured full time employment.; but for some reason i almost think i might be able to because at the moment i am not fannying around making posters and wearing a name badge i am actually doing a real person's job that no one else would do if i left (everyone is really overworked there). Hmmm although, i'm i know the other apprentices did important jobs that still haven't been filled since they have gone...I have heard lots of gossip about expanding teams including the one I work with so hopefully if this is true I will apply for those jobs when they come up.

Apart from that I think the amount of varied experience you get being an apprentice is extremely helpful for future/different museum related jobs if i'm not successful in securing perm. from now until my contract ends.

80+ hrs is workaholic.

I love graveyard shift/night work. I actually want to go deal poker games or blackjack at the casino around her on the graveyard shift. Its great because when other people are going to work you are getting off work and generally only the most eccentric people are willing to work or play in the middle of the night.

also you shouldn't define yourself by your career or what you do. What you do and who you are as a person are two different things. you give your employer your time and effort and they give you their money. It is not possible to have a happy, meaningful, or successful life in anything when your values, goals, ambitions, and desires are defined for you by someone else whether its an employer, friend, family member, spouse, athletic competitor, or the culture of the larger society in which you live. Life just becomes exponentially easier when you stop letting other people define who you are for you.