[P_I_Staker]

Yup. I agree about work life balance and not letting your profession consume you. On the other hand "real professions" do have continuing education outside of work, and it does seem to suck. Takes similar, or even more hours than personal coding, and it's probably less enjoyable. There's an argument that programmers should be treated more like licensed professionals, be more liable for mistakes due to negligence, and have more demands placed on them.