Man, thank you for writing this. I am totally in a similar boat - but at it for 3x as long. It looks like you are far more agreeable than me when it comes to th

Man, thank you for writing this. I am totally in a similar boat - but at it for 3x as long. It looks like you are far more agreeable than me when it comes to these assignments. Consider that for most jobs, there is naturally a 98-99% rejection rate. Only one position and 300 candidates. So assume that most coding exercises you do will go nowhere, will not be reviewed, and will leave you feeling disappointed. You are a thought-worker, and an obviously talented one. The most important thing you can do is to stay nimble and don't get discouraged or bitter. Part of that means saying "no" to unreasonable requests. You don't have to full out say no - you can also just negotiate down the scope to something digestible. Identify your limit and push back should anyone attempt to cross it. For me, if it's a good company and the test is reasonable, i'll throw in 2 hours. If it's a BS test, I'll push back or skip entirely. These companies hiring with absurd processes do not know what they're doing - and will walk all over you/us if given the opportunity.