The only activity that would take hours to complete is the Raid, which is level 28 anyway. I brought myself up to a level 26 in just a couple weeks only playing a couple hours every other day or so. It's very doable solo, though some of the higher level strikes and other activities are geared at people playing with friends.

I want to play, but all of my friends are already way deep in the level 20s. So, I feel like, how can I play with these people? I can't be apart of their high level strikes. From someone who hasn't played the retail version yet, what are my options, and how long does it take me to catch up?

Having a full time job, it can be difficult to spend the hours needed. I hear there's events that can take hours to complete. Is this game manageable for those with busy lives?

I haven't got the game yet. I probably won't get it till November/December. Disappointed on the effort on story so far, but the game looks fun at least. Bungie is good at keeping things enjoyable.

Pretty rough estimate going by my progress and what some other people have done: if you play hard, as in spend most of your time killing, and if you make use of bounties, you can get through about a level per hour up to 20. Once you get to 20, if you're lucky and/or you spent time on the right things, you can get gear to jump up another level or two right away. After that seems to be where the grind really sets in, which means it'll take longer to level up and it's hard to say just how long.
They did deliver on providing for people with different amounts of free time, at least. If your time's really limited, you can do a Crucible match (competitive multiplayer) or patrol for a few minutes; either one will get you XP and might get you gear and alternate currencies, and in patrols and parts of all the other modes except Crucible you can get glimmer (the main currency) and items to upgrade things with.

Damage to lower level enemies are needed, so if your friends don't mind easy missions you can still have fun together. I prefer to play with my friends vs earning the most XP. They might even start a new lower level character to play with you.

I'm 20 now.
It's depressing when I think about trying to get from 20 to 26+.
I get an hour or two of gaming per night after work.

It has stopped me from playing the game over the past 7 days. Doing that grind, largely on my own [matchmaking strikes has always put me into man fireteams :-/] is not appealing.

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While you can't join your high level friends they can join you. It's one of the clever parts of Destiny. The way the damage system works they'll be taking about as much damage as you do and they'll be dealing out roughly the same amount of damage you do. Yes, they might have their super come back a bit quicker or might jump a little higher, or might have a high end weapon that has a cool perk, but for the most part you're still playing as equals. Once you hit level five or six and have your grenade, double jump, super, and melee power you're pretty much set to get as many kills as your level 30 friend as long as you stick to missions that match your level.

Yes, there will be some activities you won't be able to do for a while, but the game is fun and remains fun even when high level friends join you.

I'm in the same boat. Life is busy, and I don't have time to play every day. According to my companion app, I've played 23h 45m since the game came out, and I am at level 21. My progress may not be a good baseline because I've spent most of that time playing with my kids, and they usually enjoy just roaming around and shooting on Patrol. And really, who doesn't enjoy that?

My point is that I haven't done a lot of the high-level reward activities, and I think my Legend reflects that: I have only a couple pieces of "rare" armor and no legendary/exotic armor. I have a few motes of light and some Vanguard marks (currency used to purchase better gear), but I'm a long way from obtaining anything of real excitement.

I've resigned myself to the fact that I won't get the coolest gear and will never go on a raid. Likewise, community events like the Queen's Wrath are just not going to last long enough for me to gain anything by participating.

Is Destiny the best game for a player like myself? Probably not, and there's a part of me that feels alienated and disappointed - like I'm missing out on the best part of the game (although if the best part of the game is simply leveling up my gear, it's assuredly not the game for me) But I still enjoy blasting head shots with my "uncommon" hand cannon, and I like the various activities. I think that is one thing Destiny does well: giving you a lot of options (once you reach level 18, even more so) for spending an hour enjoying Bungie's 30 seconds of fun.