12/2    Help. I've had several jobs and none of them seem to give me
        a good work-and-life balance. While this didn't matter when
        I was young, I'm beginning to realize that I'm reaching an age
        where I really need that balance. What is your workplace like,
        and how do you reach a good work-and-life balance? P.S. I
        don't need tom^H^H^Hgov workers to gloat about cushy gov jobs.
        \_ I work at a big company (Top 10 website) and work 45-50 hrs/wk.
           I am a middle manager, but most people work about that much here,
           maybe a bit less. There are lots of parents and the company makes
           a point of being family friendly. Most people stay here a very
           long time, which tells you something right there. I used to work
           at startups, but once the first kid was born, looked for a less
           demanding corporate job and found it. -ausman
           \_ so all the startups were too intense for a family guy?
              \_ I have worked at three of them and yes, they would all have
                 been too much. Maybe after the kids are a little bit older.
                 There are probably startups out there that it is okay to
                 work less at, especially if you are not that ambitious.
                 \_ can you give me a few examples why it's too much?
                    like, chaos, bandaid, pager all the time, etc?
                    \_ Have you ever worked at a startup?
                       \_ no. tell us.
                          \_ Every one I have ever worked at the average
                             engineer or sysadmin put in 55+ hrs/wk. As a
                             sysadmin you are constantly being hounded to fix
                             random broken shit RIGHT NOW, usually by people
                             who are standing around your desk waiting for
                             your attention. You can expect to be called in
                             the middle of the night to fix anything that
                             you might remotely have anything to do with.
                             You will never have enough hours, or hardware
                             or management support to really do the stuff
                             that really needs to get done. And these were
                             all successful start-ups (two IPOs and one
                             buyout)!
                             \_ ok, IT really sucks, startup or not. But
                                what about sales and marketing?
                                \_ I have no idea. IT does not suck in a
                                   well run company.