It has always been like that in start ups and elite organizations I have been around.
There is just simply a high fixed cost to be a good software engineer or doctor.
Looking at some youtube videos and setting up eclipse for Java just does not cut it.
There is often a vast business domain that has to be learned as well.
The yabba dabba do crowd will have a more limited set of roles to choose from.
There is just simply a high fixed cost to be a good software engineer
An 80 hour week should be an option for those who want it - and 80 hours a week well spent can put one at the top of one's profession. But I've worked at a number of successful organizations and with a number of good good software engineers for whom 80 hours was unheard of ... which in my view is all to the good as they get to be more than a paycheck to their families.