Many people look at McKinsey or similar type firm employees as absolute geniuses or complete idiots. Total awe or a mix of scorn, disgust & jealousy.

When I was in university, I thought a typical day at a software engineering job would be full of solving complex integrals & developing our own

In the month of Ramadan, Muslims who observe fasts don't eat or drink from sunrise to sunset. As a kid, that meant breakfast was two hours earlier. I never liked sleeping when the sun was out, so I would spend the time on the home PC. A 16 MHz 286 Turbo, with an actual button to toggle the Turbo.