> If you're a salaried employee, the company will almost always demand more time than you want to provide.... Don't expect them to value your time in any meaningful sense. Protect it for yourself in the most graceful and diplomatic way possible.
This is so extremely important, right from the get go. If, in your first months of employment you work 60 hour weeks, you have set the expectation that will continue.
If, on the other hand, you push back to what is reasonable, that's the expectation that has been set, and will continue into the future.
I once pushed so that I could have a reasonable schedule, and I got fired pretty quickly. They literally told me that I was good at my tasks, but I wasn't putting enough time. As far as I know, their schedules were basically illegal in my country (not the USoA), although theoretically my firing was legal (they just ended my probation period).
It was not a good place to work. The money was fine, but time trumps money unless in case of extreme need. I eventually found a workplace with sane schedules where I am both happy and productive.
This is so extremely important, right from the get go. If, in your first months of employment you work 60 hour weeks, you have set the expectation that will continue.
If, on the other hand, you push back to what is reasonable, that's the expectation that has been set, and will continue into the future.