[gwbas1c]

I live in the US:

In 2020-2021 I spent 20 weeks looking, and applied for 57 jobs.

> I've probably spent more than a month on take-home assignments

I (usually) won't do a take home that I suspect will take me more than 3 hours. Basically, if I have to "learn" to use some kind of framework / pattern in order to do the takehome, I punt. (Unless I want to learn to use the framework / pattern.)

The imbalance of time with long take homes assignments is perverse, because the people evaluating your take home only invest a few minutes into evaluating it: Long take homes are only worth doing once you've had a lot of contact with the company, and there's some kind of payment in return for work. (IE, Duck Duck Go does a good interview and then pays a reasonable rate for the take home.)