In my experience work-life balance in the software industry, at least in the United States, is better than people seem to think. In particular, large companies

In my experience work-life balance in the software industry, at least in the United States, is better than people seem to think. In particular, large companies have better work-life balance than startups and they pay more, too. I've been in the industry for nearly a decade and pretty much work 40-hour weeks, including at a company that has a reputation for people working long hours, and I've never been on call. It's really the team, not the company, that matters. People who join teams that work long hours generally know what they are getting themselves into.