&gt; You&#x27;re forgetting something: the toll it takes on you as a person.<p>&gt; Those long nights,<p>What nerd hasn&#x27;t spent all night building something cool?  I&#x27;ve &#x2F;never&#x2F; been asked to stay at the office after hours and it&#x27;s not an expectation that any of the big tech firms have.<p>&gt; long commutes<p>No one gives a crap when you get in.  I usually leave for work at like 10 AM and complete my 30 mile commute in about 40 minutes -- it&#x27;s no big deal.<p>&gt; (if you don&#x27;t live a block away),<p>I used to have a shorter commute but I think SF is more fun and it&#x27;s not that big of a deal...<p>&gt; they can all wear you down.<p>I suppose if they were as you&#x27;ve stated them, but they&#x27;re not.<p>&gt; You&#x27;re pressured into working more<p>You&#x27;re really not.  Also, we get like 21 full days of PTO, and I&#x27;m eligible for my sabbatical in another 6 months, which is just an additional month of free PTO.<p>&gt; and you have less time to spend with friends and family<p>In addition to the fact that I get to hang out with friends pretty much whenever I want (no one cares about the 9-5 thing), I&#x27;m able to use my generous PTO to go visit family, which I probably do 3-4 times a year (honestly, love my family, but more would be too much)<p>&gt; (work IS your friends and family! :&#x27;)),<p>I get to work with a lot of smart people who I deeply respect and do consider to be exceptional friends.  I also have friends who work at different tech companies and even outside of tech, and I get them the same was as anybody else, hanging out.<p>&gt; less time for dating<p>We&#x27;ve got plenty of time for dating.  My friends are going on dates all the time actually.  Dinner, Drinks, Hiking... they&#x27;re all totally possible thing to do.<p>&gt; (and let&#x27;s be honest: if you&#x27;re a single man in the Valley, you&#x27;re not getting laid).<p>Not going to dignify this with a response.<p>&gt; It just sucks.<p>You are incorrect<p>&gt; Is that worth it?<p>Beyond the shadow of a doubt :)