Is it normal to just work the normal work hours as a programmer?

64% Normal
3 Comments

I recently landed my first real job doing programming for a small-and-upcoming business. I tend to get in around 8:30 and work till 4:50. I can't work out of these hours cause I'd have no bus home (job is about a 30 minute drive away).
I've been hearing and reading alot about how programmers work insane hours, 14 or 16 hours a day or starting obscenely early and finishing around 2. I can't ever imagine myself getting so absorbed into a job. To me the 8 hours I do is a gruesome amount already. Will I be expected to pull these crazy hours off? And why do people even do this in the first place? I can understand if they had a deadline coming up and they were behind schedule, but otherwise it just seems self-destructive to me, to work that much.

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64% Normal
Based on 22 votes (14 yes)
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Comments ( 3 )
  • GoraIntoDesiGals
    11 years ago

    I program a bit on the side (not as a job) and I can't focus on a problem longer than about 2 hours. It would be impossible for me to work as a programmer lol. Yet I do advanced stuff such as Direct3D under C++

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    • Mmmpfh
      11 years ago

      That sounds very similar to me. When I'm at work if I get stuck on a tough error I can't keep my concentration on it for too long unless I deviate into other problems. I seriously don't know how I must look doing the job but I'm probably very slow at it

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      • GoraIntoDesiGals
        11 years ago

        It's mostly when I'm away from a problem that I can suddenly get a hunch on how to solve it. Being forced to stay 8 hours in front of a pc till I solve it would be a nightmare for me.

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