The range is really wide. If you’re building something simple, like a small B2C “vibe-coded” app for the App Store, you could totally get that done in a week or two. You can work 10–20 hours a week on the side, even with a full-time job, get a few micro-creators to promote it, and it’s manageable.
But on the other end of the spectrum, if you’re trying to take software to a serious level, it’s a completely different game. You’re talking 40–80 hours a week, going full-time, and putting everything else aside. That’s just the reality of trying to build something big.
So yeah, software has a huge range. You can absolutely do it on the side if the project is light, but if the goal is to scale it into something big, you’re going to be all-in.