> Also, people dealing with shitty compensation for years or staying at the same job, because they are afraid that no one else will want them or that they aren't worth 3x the compensation they have today.

Well, perhaps it’s just that tech interviews are really elitist these days.

I had an employer that was saying things like, "This is how it works everywhere" when I complained about things. I ended up finding a website that compared abusive workplace behavior to abusive relationships, and I agreed with it... And still I stayed there until they screwed me on a raise, asking me if I could "wait until next year?"

I started looking after that and got a 40% pay raise starting out at the new job.

I knew what I was worth, and I still stayed. It's not just about not knowing what you're worth or thinking nobody else would want you. Sometimes it's about not wanting to deal with the unknown.

I absolutely encourage people who haven't gotten significant raises each year to look at other jobs. You're almost certainly underpaid, unless you're a senior dev. In which case you're merely probably underpaid.

That said, I've been here for 10 years and I'm happy. I'm a big fish in a small pond, and I have incredible job security, and I work the 40 hours that I want to. I know I could earn more, but now I value the rest of that more.

> It's a similar thing with work-life balance. It amazes me how many devs are unwilling to set boundaries and work ridiculous hours.

I have a simple rule, if I didn't set the deadline/estimate and it will require me to work over my hours then I simply don't.

I'm not going to be beholden to someone elses guess on how long something should take if it requires more hours than my contract says.

Which isn't to say I don't go over my hours occasionally (usually because I get lost in what I'm doing or it would be more efficient to finish it in one long day) but I generally take the time back later as well.

Burnout is the end result of doing it differently (for me) and a) I refuse to put myself through that again b) it is at the end of the day a just a job