I disagree. Often software projects require overtime. I've done it many times, as a junior systems programmer, senior programmer, manager and CTO. It comes with the territory.

If I hired people who were willing to go the extra mile, I took note of that. If people tried to stick to straight 8 hour days, and didn't pitch in when the rest of the team realized they needed to work more, those people were not going to advance, and might be the first cut if we had layoffs.

Unfortunately, that strategy works best when the programmers are young and don't have family responsibilities. But I did plenty of long hours as head of a family, too.

But it should be rewarded in some way: extra vacation time, perks, salary increases, bonuses, whatever.

And if you're a junior programmer and just want to work 8 hours a day, and get rich in a startup, then you are dreaming, and need to find another profession.