> Junior is the time to learn as much as possible and take risky bets (and suffer accordingly). When I was in a junior in a factory, the night shift knew me well.

That would require a whole, separate article.

Many (most?) juniors grinding like that in a major company will work hard to get nowhere. Speaking from experience. Yes, I learned some lessons:

1. Get a different job. Deadend jobs definitely exist, and are quite common.

2. Ignore senior folks who say "You're whining. It's crappy everywhere. Just learn to take it."

Number 2 has been wrong every single time someone said it.

> Nowadays, I've pared it back to 50 or so hours per week, because I now have a family,

This is not the endorsement you think it is. I've done quite well by insisting on 40 hour weeks. I'm going to assume you're doing much better than I am, because otherwise it seems like a life wasted.

Don't get me wrong. If you want to go much farther than I have, you likely will have to grind and work hard and smart and be lucky. But I assure you - most of the people I know who worked hard are not in a better position than I am (or if they are, the difference is incremental).