Let me counter your anecdote with my anecdote - I work <i>much</i> worse under pressure. Deadlines and commitments stress me out.<p>I suppose different people have different needs. I started with programming as a childhood hobby, and one thing I retained from that period of my life is the strong need for autonomy in the kind of projects I do, and in the way I do them. Which is, sadly, quite incompatibile with the way a typical employer wants you to work.