[VRay]

It was basically as that guy described when I was there through 2015, but it really wasn't that bad. I saved enough money in the bank to quit and live off it for 6 months, and after that it was less like an oppressive life and more like a game I was playing.

I'll tell you what was REALLY stressful: Trying to find my first engineering job after graduating from college. It took almost 9 months, and I ended up in a really shitty low-paying internship. The whole time bills I couldn't pay kept piling up, and my best friend in the world (my cat) ended up passing away partly because I couldn't afford to pay for any more surgeries after putting thousands of dollars' worth on my card.

If you can land a job at Amazon, though, congratulations: You've made it. You can get a programming job anywhere in the world and make money in the 95th+ percentile. You've got health benefits, a 401k plan, life insurance, etc. If you ever get so burned out that you're crying at your desk, just quit your job, sell your shit, break your lease, and backpack around the world for a year. (Or go get a laughably easy ~$100k/year job out in the Midwest)