As a corollary to this, I was laid off from the first "real" software development job I ever worked, when I was an intern (though, I was finishing off the summe

As a corollary to this, I was laid off from the first "real" software development job I ever worked, when I was an intern (though, I was finishing off the summer with a full time offer in hand). I was interning for a recently acquired ~10 person startup that basically operated like it had before the acquisition. The parent company lost confidence in the product we were building (and a few other things). As a result, they came in one Friday and laid off everyone in one fell swoop, including intern me. It was a humbling experience at 19 to be handing my company provided laptop to an HR person and signing away the offer letter I had only gotten a few weeks prior. Definitely a good lesson in job permanence in this industry. Sometimes, it probably doesn't matter how good you are, shit happens.