How much is reasonable to study daily?

Right know I am going through The Odin Project. About 3/4 done with it. I actually have a B.S. in IT, but want to move out of it and do Web Dev. I had this idea that I might be ready to start applying in 6 months, but I had a reality check after reading stories. My experience in IT is tier 1 help desk, so I’m thinking I dont really have a upper hand. I’ve seen people say it took them 2 years of self study to land a job.

Some of the motivating “I got a job in under 6 months” stories talk about cramming 6+ hours a day on top of full-time work. I just did that for 3 years in college and I am just tired. I need to take time to workout, socialize, and spend some time doing things I love like hiking and kayaking. Meaning I may be only willing to commit to 2-3 hours a day.

Then I hear stories of people who wake up at 6am and go to bed at midnight to cram in time developing. I read somewhere that people look for someone who is putting in the 6-10hours a day of self-study?!

Can I say I am spending 2-3 hours a day on this and expect to find work or do I need to sell my soul to this? Should I plan for this to take 2+ years to land a job?

If I self taught myself 2 hours a day, do you think finding work is reasonable? I am not trying to sound like I am not willing to put in the work, but I’ve lived that insane study to work lifestyle for so long and I want to find a better balance in my life.

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There is no right answer to this question. It completely depends on you. There are so many factors involved here that I couldn’t even begin to list them all here. But it sounds like you want a better balance between life and work so I think you should do what makes you happiest at the moment and if that means putting a little less time into learning so you can enjoy other things then you’ll have to make peace with the fact that it might take you longer to achieve your goals.

But only you can make that decision. No one here is going to be able to tell you what is right for you.

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