I've worked for a number of companies. Many have treated their employees as disposable. Some have not. I've lasted much longer, and done better work, at those that have not. I've found that working for companies that don't have stockholders much preferable to those companies that do. The best places I've worked are a) non-profits (Again, the paycheck is only 95% of high-end competitive. 5% is a price I'm willing to pay for a non-shit work environment), and b) Companies small enough that you actually know the owner.

So, why do you put up with it?

If you honestly feel that this is how your company will treat you, quit. Keep quitting until you find a manager you can trust.

Aaah, no... Academic institution with extremely strong technical track, plus paid post-graduate classes if I so choose... Which I can take where I work, on company time.

Hi.. The OP you're quoting here:

Yes, what you've talked about is what I've experienced in for-profit industry... But here at a non-profit research lab, it's not like that at all.

Freedom to study/use new technologies so long as they apply to your projects. Crunch time is 45-50 hours a week, and so far I've only had 3 weeks of crunch time in the last year. Salaries aren't super-duper awesome, but they are competitive, but they also have the best benefit package I've seen anywhere.

Also, I don't have employees: I'm just a developer now. I gave up management to go back to developing, because I ~am~ a passionate developer. There is an extremely strong technical track here which will likely allow me to remain a developer for the rest of my career, if that's what I choose.

These great jobs in software ~are~ out there... You have to find them, and be the kind of person they want to hire.

Interesting... I wonder if you and I work in the same research joint. :)

OP here: It's a research lab. Some of our work includes things like missile defense, space programs, submarines, and brain-computer interfaces.

Honestly? It's like f*ing Eureka in here, minus the regular life-threatening events.

That is an ~excellent~ question, which I might not use directly in a job interview, but would try to figure out during the process. Job interviews go both ways, and this is a very valuable assessment to make.

Look, if money is your focus, there are LOTS of companies willing to give you lots of money, and will give you a soul-crushing or brain-numbing job. I turned many of them down during my last job hunt.

I work for an academic non-profit, been there about a year. Happier here then I've been anywhere else in my career.

The salaries are on the low-end of competitive. However, there is a point at which more money no longer truly motivates me, and I passed that years ago. Now, there are other cultural things which do motivate me. They include:

I'm not the only person who's at the top of their game. It's nice to be able to really learn from others.
I get to go home on the evenings, and the weekends.
I can work from home when it's practical.
I don't have someone hawking over me.
I have a large amount of freedom to execute the work in a manner which makes sense to me (This is why people who care about their craft are important!)
I have interesting and very difficult problems to solve.
The problems I solve aren't just about lining someone's pockets with money. There's more purpose here.

There are lots of places that survive off of hiring mediocrity, and have controls/standards in place to help hedge that (Extensive code standards, technology restrictions, other bureaucratic controls). Some people are VERY comfortable with that level of constraint. In those kinds of places I have quickly grown frustrated and unhappy. Of course, those places that survive off of mediocrity ALSO think they want passionate developers... But very often they don't really, they just want people who will work super extra hard but not ask questions nor challenge the system. It's up to the candidate to distinguish between the two.

So, when managing, I'm always looking for passionate developers. Here's why:

Where I work, there are no grunts. There are no people who mindlessly grind out code. We're not building yet another website: We're solving hard problems, and we want everyone to contribute. To contribute with value, you need to not stagnate in one technology for half your career. You need to be well-read about software. And while we work very few weekends, sometimes there are longer days (like anywhere).

When I mean I'm looking for a passionate developer, I'm looking for someone who cares about their craft, not just someone who shows up to close bug tickets and collect a paycheck.

They answer fundamentally different questions:

Science illuminates "how", religion helps answer "why". They start clashing when they think they can answer both questions.

Did some more digging. Here are the details (from http://blogs.technet.com/b/mmpc/archive/2014/01/09/tackling-the-sefnit-botnet-tor-hazard.aspx) :

Cleanup efforts

Since the Sefnit-caused Tor eruption in August, we have worked to curb this risk. In this process, we consulted with Tor project developers to help plan the cleanup. We retroactively remediated machines that had previously been cleaned of Sefnit but still had a Sefnit-added Tor service:

October 27, 2013: We modified our signatures to remove the Sefnit-added Tor client service. Signature and remediation are included in all Microsoft security software, including Microsoft Security Essentials, Windows Defender on Windows 8, Microsoft Safety Scanner, Microsoft System Center Endpoint Protection, and Windows Defender Offline.
November 12, 2013: Signature and remediation is included in Malicious Software Removal Tool and delivered through Windows Update/Microsoft Update.

"who choose not to afford a more expensive iPhone."

FTFY

Lots of people CAN buy iPhones, but many of us find that it's not worth the expense (for various reasons)

Goddamnit, no mod points. Thankfully, based on what I'm reading, whatever real-world karma there is will work in your favor. Thank you, and have a wonderful holiday season.