Not only are you doing worse work than you normally would at a sustainable rate but you're also putting tons of pressure on people's home life. I saw 3 divorces at my second studio from people working hours along those lines.
If you really think that's sustainable then you have no place in this or any other tech industry. We aren't in emergency service or work in an environment where lives are on the line. Those hours have no place here.
Obviously these jobs have occasional acute long work times but I'd say that jobs where lives are on the line is precisely where society doesn't want chronically sleep deprived workers.
Not something I want to be part of, but 30+k bonus for six months of hell is a choice many people would happily take. Hell look at fishing boats they do 15 hour days of hard and dangerous manual labor. But, again they tend to pay people for that effort.
30,000 / (35 * 2 * 4 * 6) = ~$17/hr = ~34k/yr
That seems like a poor deal for putting your family through 6 months of hell.
> Not something I want to be part of
Then don't fucking endorse it!
30,000 / (22.5 * 4 * 6) = ~$55/hr = ~$110k/yr
So, it's closer to 46$ / hour: 30,000 / (52 weeks * 1/2 year * 25 hours)
Anyway, if you consider doing this 1 out of 4 years that's 60k extra for a 'hell' year not bad for a 22 year old. And again 30k is for entry level people it can go up quite a bit.
Alternatively, many Animators only work crunch they end up working 6 months a year and taking 6 months off.
Yes they do and they catch a ton of shit for doing it. I got tore into one day because I dared to leave at the early hour of 11:00pm having got to the office at 8am that morning.
Look, it's obvious that you haven't been on one of these death marches and so you don't really understand what type of a toll that it puts on a team. My example of hourly rate was to point out that it's an awful trade on one side for putting your family through 6 months of hell.
If money was really the important factor here then people wouldn't be working for entertainment companies because compensation is worse across the board(from engineers to animators/artists and designers). I work with a ton of ex-gamedev people who've made the transition out and there's literally no comparison.
Your $46/hr rate for instance doesn't even crack based Google SWE pay, not including their bonuses.
I get that there's a prestige and a sense of accomplishment of working at Disney/your dream studio. That still doesn't excuse them from grinding people into the ground with these insane hours.
Look I have done the whole you work sleep or eat and nothing else for peanuts. That does not mean everyone who works 50+ hour weeks is getting shafted.
As to family obligations, not everyone is in that boat. Sure, working insane hours may not seem like a great way to spend your early 20's, but it's also not required that everyone do this. You can make a solid living without pulling crunch time, but it's reasonable for the option to exist.
Really, step outside your bubble. Some people working 80 hour weeks pull in a few million per year, they have options and still chose that lifestyle.
PS: And nobody is forced to do this, if nothing else quitting is an option.
I leave my comments as is, anyone advocating for crunch has no place it any part of the tech industry, full stop.
But, again I am not saying it's a good idea as general practice. Just that it's not nessisarily irrational behavior.
That said, you seem to be ignoring what I have actually said in favor of your own personal rage. I suspect you would be happier setting that aside.
I do know 3 people who did by working insane hours in their early 20's. Less time to spend money + more money makes saving 50+k per year after taxes viable. None of them kept working those hours for that long but compound interest works much faster with a larger nest egg.
Now, they used a second job to get there, but having your boss pay you for extra time also works.