Software Development and the Reality of Missed Deadlines

Are software developers always forced to do overtime when they miss a deadline?

You can't really answer this question without talking about what kind of software developers you're referring to.

The high skill kind of developer who can work at FAANG companies may be asked to put in overtime from time to time. And their compensation is…high enough that you can easily understand why they're willing to put in the extra time. But they also rarely have a hard time finding another job, so too much “forced” overtime means they'll likely say no and quit, either before or after they find another job.

Lower skill developers on the other hand seem to take months to a year or more to find another job, and they're stuck over a barrel. They're usually paid enough to be salaried, and so asking them to work overtime costs the employer nothing—and if they feel that they can't find another job easily, they may actually feel forced to comply.

I don't have anything like numbers on how many such employees have to work extremely long hours, but with other answers to this question saying things like “developers usually work 50-60 hours,” and “all engineers work overtime,” it seems likely they many, if not most, of these jobs require long hours.

It can also depend on the company and the nature of the deadline. Some things can't really be moved. When I worked in the game industry, the truism was that “you can't move Christmas,” and back when games sold in boxes, that was maybe 80% of the sales of many games. Or maybe you're working for a startup and you know they need to make a big release to stay in the black.

So if you're invested in the product or company, you can feel quite motivated to work overtime to ship on time. Is that being forced?

No, software developers are not always forced to work overtime when a deadline is missed. But at some companies they seem to always be forced to work overtime, and at other companies they'd never consider it.

If it matters to you, it should be something you ask about in the interview. Remember you're interviewing the company at the same time they're interviewing you.