*906 - common sentiment

Previously, as students: Could not imagine how one could survive the dreaded "nine-to-five" work hours.

Now: We do quiet celebratory dances and sneak guiltily out of the office if we get to leave by 8 pm.

Welcome to the world of market research (well, just at this particular company, probably).

Oddly enough, one adapts surprisingly quickly to complete lifestyle overhauls. I no longer bat an eyelid at 50-hour (barest minimum) work weeks, though I still panic mildly at the news of several colleagues staying till 3 am (that's ridiculous by any standards).

It amazes me that in addition to being brilliant and thoroughly dedicated to their work, everyone here is young, cool, and mostly awesome. You would think that people like that would have a little more of a life than we do!

The verdict is that I'm happy enough now, with expectations of becoming even happier in time, after I've scaled the obligatory steep (and somewhat cumbersome) learning curve.

:)

(And no, "overtime pay" does not exist in our books! If it did, we could be rich!)