I'm still (yes, still...) working on my PhD, but I'm consulting full time nowadays, and have been for a while.
I do tend to work far too many hours, but it's mostly because I'm enjoying what I'm doing, and am learning as much as I'm doing for clients. That said, I feel very fortunate that I spent a lot of time with my children, and that I have the flexibility to help my wife out and work on other things (e.g., the PhD) along with paying the mortgage and such. We've taken a 10-day family vacation to Europe for the last two summers, as well; travel can indeed be addictive!
I don't think that there's a tension between maximizing profit and family/friends. On the contrary, one of the reasons why I'm interested in the discussion here is that I'd like to make more during the hours that I do consult, so that I can work fewer hours and have more time to work on personal projects, sleep (!), and family, not necessarily in that order.
I'm still (yes, still...) working on my PhD, but I'm consulting full time nowadays, and have been for a while.
I do tend to work far too many hours, but it's mostly because I'm enjoying what I'm doing, and am learning as much as I'm doing for clients. That said, I feel very fortunate that I spent a lot of time with my children, and that I have the flexibility to help my wife out and work on other things (e.g., the PhD) along with paying the mortgage and such. We've taken a 10-day family vacation to Europe for the last two summers, as well; travel can indeed be addictive!
I don't think that there's a tension between maximizing profit and family/friends. On the contrary, one of the reasons why I'm interested in the discussion here is that I'd like to make more during the hours that I do consult, so that I can work fewer hours and have more time to work on personal projects, sleep (!), and family, not necessarily in that order.