I work about 40 hours most weeks. The most time consuming thing I do is research. I think in academia it depends on where you want to work and what your ambitions are in terms of work hours etc.. My dad was a surgeon and chief of surgery at a major hospital for a while, he averaged about an 80 hour work week. He was well paid overall but I think when we calculated it one time he made just over minimum wage (per hour worked). Medicine is extremely stressful and quickly getting more so (especially in the US). DD could eventually decide to go that route but I would not encourage it.