I was hired onto my first real coding job hourly at first. I asked to go "full time", and was hired "full time". Not long after that I asked my boss to authorize my working more than forty hours. It was only then that he pointed out that because I was "salaried", I was not paid any overtime, actually he could demand I work as many hours as he pleased.
What actually happened was that I studied like a demon until I qualified to work as a contract programmer - where I was paid hourly, and was never particularly expected to work excessively.
Given the pay that coders typically make I don't think it's unreasonable that we are exempt from overtime pay however that should not be regarded as carte blanche to demand we work as many hours as the management asks us to.
What actually happened was that I studied like a demon until I qualified to work as a contract programmer - where I was paid hourly, and was never particularly expected to work excessively.
Given the pay that coders typically make I don't think it's unreasonable that we are exempt from overtime pay however that should not be regarded as carte blanche to demand we work as many hours as the management asks us to.