Luck, connections, and determination in that order to get me in the door. Luck for having computers around all the time and the privilege of being able to have

Luck, connections, and determination in that order to get me in the door. Luck for having computers around all the time and the privilege of being able to have worked on them and spent lots of time with them growing up. This gave me a really big head start. Luck also for turning some smaller gigs into much larger ones, because the opportunity is not something anyone can really replicate. Most companies explicitly shut off upward movement especially for lower stage positions. I ended up at the right place at the right time with the right skills at a role ancillary to good software engineers. From an ad for a part time low level position off of craigslist. Connections because I had a friend who had the patience to show me what to do and guide me on what to focus on. It wasn’t perfect but it helped a lot. Also got me in the door at the first job by recommending me as someone who learned fast. Determination in forcing myself to do the practice and try to learn and build things that got me into the first gig. After even 6 months of the first job everything became easier, companies would reach out to ME, I’d get incredible amounts of traction and my salary kept going up. Just getting the foot in the door matter immensely. Also there’s plenty more in the luck column, mostly around privilege. I’ve had many many friends who were capable but could not replicate it. I feel fortunate for the opportunities I was given early on. I wish there were more opportunities for capable and smart people. We as an industry treat junior engineers as if they have a disease.