I have to really agree with this, well put. I'm FT at a startup now, love everyone I work with (we're a very small team of 5) and we all feel an urgency to 'make things happen'. I'm the oldest person in the group, have a 2yr old and another one on the way. I've been lucky (sad to say) to be able to work at home a few days of the week and I'm usually out of the ofc, heading home at 5/5:30. I have to because of family.

When I didn't have a family, I worked 10-12 hours a day, no problem. Mostly because I wanted to and not because it was required. I feel like no job (unless it's your own making) is worth the crap that dhh talks about in his post. Sadly with tech, it is definitely headed in that direction.

Ultimately, being FT is not a good thing in tech. You rarely work only 40 hours, there's always pressure to work on vacation (such bs that one is), weekends, etc - basically the MS posters. The only way to avoid this is to be the boss (altho that has certain requirements as well) or be a contractor with very fixed boundaries (I simply say "I have 9-5 M-F available only. I"m not available for emergencies or weekend work."). And for the stock; unless you're a higher level employee in the company that can negotiate a great stock and benefits package, you get nothing compared to those at the top.

So the ultimate question is: are you willing to be a wage slave that makes someone else's dreams come true?

That said, tech is _the_ platform to make any dream happen as long as you're creative and persistent.