The arbitrary 8.5-9 hour workday drives me nuts, because a lot of the time, I really only have 3 or 4 hours worth of work to do. I generally work quickly and I value my time. Can I make a decent living doing something that gives me this kind of flexibility?
Yeah, but someone who fixes 12 bugs a week doesn’t make any more money than someone who fixes 6 bugs a week.
This was a lesson that was hard for me to learn, but finally I figured out that working my ass off every week wasn’t actually getting me ahead. The stuff that actually got me attention only took a few hours every week.
So now I set reasonable expectations. Sure, if I worked every minute I could crank out 12 bug fixes, but I don’t want to have that much stress. I’m going to sign up for 4 I know I can fix with time to spare, giving myself lots of buffer in case one ends up being a lot harder.
In fact, sometimes signing up for just 1, but it’s the hardest one, is actually the most impactful but the least stressful.
Not taking on too much means I can take a break in the middle of the day, or finish a little early, knowing I’m meeting my expectations.
But more importantly, I can spend a few hours every week looking for opportunities to go above and beyond - something that’s annoying everybody but never seems to be prioritized by anyone. I also have more time to mentor others. And THAT sort of thing is what gets me recognized when it comes time for bonuses and promotions.
All of that without working overtime.
My general point in the context of this discussion is that you cannot just work 3 hours a day and think nobody is going to notice or that it’s not going to have an impact on your ability to get jobs in the software development space. You should also not come into it thinking it’s possible to run out of work. Neither of those things are true.
It’s also true that you can have a good work/life balance and not work more than your 40. That’s usually enough to keep everything on track and it’s what I do.
That a said, the people who solve 12 bugs over 6 most certainly do get paid more because they get promoted faster if they’re not a dick and don’t make the mistake of making themselves too irreplaceable at their current level. I literally got a 12% raise at one job for some above and beyond work I did and I continued to get more pay by basically holding the company hostage with my wealth of skills.
Solving 12 bugs a week over 6 gets you promoted to Senior and that’s it.
If you want to advance further in your career, it’s entirely about your impact, not the quantity of work. It’s about seeing the big picture - like recognizing a whole class of bugs all come from one poorly-designed interface, and taking the time and effort to create a better one and get everyone to migrate. It’s hard work but it doesn’t necessarily require a lot of hours. It’s about working smarter and not harder.
You got a 12% raise for some above and beyond work.
Getting promoted beyond Senior often means a 100% raise.