<p>40-50 hour work week is common as a software engineer. Some even work more but not as common. But many professions work more than 40 hours a work. My brother who is an accountant works all the time during tax season which is about 4 months. My son who is in consulting got home pass midnight 3 times last week. You need to decide for yourself what is important to you, what kind of balance do you want in life. Few people get to 6 figure compensation per year working 40 hour weeks.</p>
<p>10 years ago outsourcing is unheard of. Now it is common to work with global teams in India, China. But it is still a hot job market because the software market has expanded so much. Look around you almost everything in life now is related some how to software. Look at how many apps are available for smart phones which didn’t even exist 10 years ago.</p>
<p>Most jobs are concentrated in several areas of the country. In those area, there are lots of jobs now but it goes in cycles as with everything else with the economy. It is one of the majors that pays very well with lots of jobs. As with all jobs, you need to be good at it. Where you went to school matters less than how well you can perform on the job.</p>