My first software job was also right out of high school in June of 2006. I was recruited by a small consulting firm that had a specific project in mind that al

My first software job was also right out of high school in June of 2006. I was recruited by a small consulting firm that had a specific project in mind that aligned with a fake project I had on a resume. My resume was fake because there was a BCIS project in high school to create a resume and post it, but I forgot to take it down, but I didn't let them know that either. I bluffed my way passed two interviews, was given a $30k salary and benefits. Within a month I was running the team, and within 6 months I had shipped my first product (an ocean shipping contract management system). This is after they had been trying to write this software for over 6 years with no success. The company then decided that I was worth more than the rest of the team, took me into a meeting told me that I would be getting more responsibilities, and asked if I cared if they laid off the rest of the team. I agreed with them thinking that by laying them off I'd get a big raise... I did not, I just got longer hours and even some weekend work! So after a month of that exploitation, I quit to focus on a couple of side projects that were almost making enough money for me since I still lived with my parents. First jobs (especially in "industry")as an undereducated 18 year old kid are crazy exploitative. I didn't know the difference between salary and hourly, or the fact that salary means you work as long as we want you for the same pay as if you didn't work at all.