I did on-call for a sleep medicine company. My calls were specifically during sleep hours (when the equipment is in use is when it has problems). The calls were rarely short, and I had no direct link to the equipment to run my own tests - it was always trying to troubleshoot via a usually non-techinical enduser. It was a great night if you received zero calls. I have my on-call battle-scars.

So this being said, I agree with the GP - on-call sucks, but one week in four is not that bad. One week in five and it's fairly breezy. One week in three or less and it's pretty bad - you basically stop having an external life altogether. Like the GP, I also thought the article was a bit whiny. Yes, there were some truths in it, but whines like "omg, there is crunch time" make the author sound pretty self-entitled. Another whine was "not working for the same boss that hired him"... after six years in the company. Who could take such a complaint seriously? One of the more valid problems listed is the shifting of priorities every two weeks. That stuff is a killer - to morale, to progress, to development, to pretty much everything.

That's the thing. For the types who do ooo work, it is a badge of pride - and I dare say if anything this is what she made him go to therapy over - I've had the conversation - "your job is ruining our fucking lives!" - "I enjoy it. It's hard but rewarding" - "you're getting your head checked".