Hmmm... I have a really hard time accounting with the MIT course load, which throws shade onto the rest of the article. Yes, I have no doubt large firms offer

Hmmm... I have a really hard time accounting with the MIT course load, which throws shade onto the rest of the article. Yes, I have no doubt large firms offer NDAs at separation. I regularly sign NDAs when I start a new job, and when I exit them. Each time, I am compensated. The exit NDAs are reasonably narrow, and limited in time. If I do not like them, I do not sign them or ask for changes. It is just as much "hush money" or "not to tell" money about the company culture, as it is about intellectual property. It does not read like the OP was forced, threatened or coerced. If so, it is abhorrent and should be trumpeted to all. > I worked hard at MIT. I routinely took seven to ten classes per semester and filled whatever hours were left in the day with part-time jobs and tutoring. MIT uses a combination of lectures/recitations, labs/design/field, and outside prep in 'units'. I converted the units to credits. Overall, a 1-credit course is 3 hours a week work. Most courses are 3 and 4 credit. If we take 50% of the ten classes at 3 credit, and 50% at 4 credit, that comes out to be 335 and 345, or 105 hours. At max that 120 hours a week (10 courses @ 4 creds/class), and at minimum is still 63 hours a week (7 courses @ 3 creds/class). Full time load at MIT is 36 or more units, or 12 credits.[0] Three MIT units is approximately equal to one "semester hour" or credit.[1][2] First year students are limited to 60 units (20 credits)[3] and >you should note 48-54 units is still considered a typical load and advisable for most students. Requirements at MIT are structured so that you do not need to exceed 54 units per semester (or 48 in many cases) to successfully complete your degree in 4 years. [4] [0] https://registrar.mit.edu/registration-academics/student-status/registration-load-light-load https://registrar.mit.edu/registration-academics/student-sta... [1] https://ospa.utdallas.edu/semester-credit-hours-fall-2019-average-student-course-load-by-classification/ https://ospa.utdallas.edu/semester-credit-hours-fall-2019-av... [2] https://registrar.mit.edu/sites/default/files/2018-12/calculating_instructional_units.pdf https://registrar.mit.edu/sites/default/files/2018-12/calcul... [3] https://firstyear.mit.edu/academics-exploration/credit-limits-grading/first-year-credit-limits/ https://firstyear.mit.edu/academics-exploration/credit-limit... [4] https://firstyear.mit.edu/academics-exploration/credit-limits-grading/ https://firstyear.mit.edu/academics-exploration/credit-limit...