60 hours is not that much, especially if you like what you do, and ESPECIALLY if you are well compensated. it is very easy to have family/friends/hobbies and work 60 hours a week. I have a great job where I average 50-60 hrs per week. I have many hobbies which require a lot of time, and I also sleep a lot and watch a buttload of TV. Some weeks I work 30 hours and do lots of fun stuff. last week I worked 96 hours and wanted to die (or at least sleep indefinitely) a lot. My record as an attending is 110. I also get 12-14 weeks of vacation a year, though, so it all evens out. If you balk at working 60 hours a week, medicine is unlikely to be a great career choice. You will definitely have to work more than 60 hrs/week for at least some (or most/all) weeks in residency. After that, sure, you could find a job in some field (maybe even anesthesia!) where you don't work as much, but you'll have to sacrifice something (money, vacation, desirable location, specialty choice, etc). Even if you don't go into medicine, show me a job where you make anything close to what an anesthesiologist makes pulling 40-50 hrs/week, never mind get >8 weeks vacation. I don't think it exists.