Raw LLM Responses

It depends greatly on your company, your team, and your teammates. On the opposite end of the spectrum to the OP and almost all the points he/she stated, I'm an engineer at company who values employee happiness. My company does not really do LC style interviews. Algorithm questions are usually easy level on LC. The interview is at least 50% culture fit. Because the company culture is all about being friendly and exciting! My manager is fun and cheerful. We frequently have chats about our favorite foods (both foodies). He provides valuable feedback and listens attentively to all the concerns I have about our team and our work. Hours are very comfortable and we get plenty of vacation/holiday time (30+ days per year). There are 6-8 all day fun parties/events per year during work days, 2 weeks of "build whatever fun thing you want", 2 hours per week of scheduled chatting/hangout time. Pretty much everyone is friendly and easy to talk to. The promotion and comp process is transparent, so it is very fair. We are paid well (I am paid 200k+ in Seattle at 4-6 years of experience, all non-FAANG. I went to a mediocre college for non-CS, no Master's degree). And yet, the company is successful and doing very well! We are currently 300-500 engineers strong. So yeah, it varies greatly. For people reading OP's post and getting scared: Find a place where the people are great. That is the most important thing. Edit: This got out of hand real quick! I'm honestly surprised people didn't know of the existence of companies with good WLB. That makes me a bit sad. I am not a recruiter, just an engineer who felt compelled to share my experience. Edit 2: I was never trying to single out the company I work for, which was one reason I did not include the name. Just trying to point out the existence of great workplaces. Edit 3: For new grads or people looking for their first job, the software engineering industry has statistically very high happiness compared to most other fields. I