IT professionals in the "Bay Area" do not reflect the broader nationwide IT community. They tend to be younger, often fresh out of college with no family connec

IT professionals in the "Bay Area" do not reflect the broader nationwide IT community. They tend to be younger, often fresh out of college with no family connections in the area. My first job out of college (actually while I was in college doing a co-op program as well) was with a large IT company in Redwood Shores. I lived in SF proper. I had left my family and friends "back home" and joined my new "family" at work. Looking back, they were not co-workers, but more like fellow cult members. It was routine day in day out that we would get to work around 10am and work until 10pm then go clubbing for a couple of hours. This was work in the office and before the rise of startup houses. With a startup house and a fresh batch of fellow cultists right out of college working from their bedrooms, 60 hours a week seems easy to me. This is clearly not the way the broader IT community functions. Today, I work from home and put in 10 hour days Monday to Friday plus whatever I put in on the weekend. My wife who does defense/intelligence tech routinely works longer than me.