1) Getting emails like this is, sadly, very common 2) Can you fake it? It depends. Some people have it easier than others when it comes to coding ... call it a

1) Getting emails like this is, sadly, very common 2) Can you fake it? It depends. Some people have it easier than others when it comes to coding ... call it an innate capability. If you have "it" and can learn fast, you might be able to fake an entry level position without effort. Anything more, not so much I'm afraid. So .. have you ever coded before? 3) Seriously think it through if you're going to fake it. Apart from stuff like reputational harm, if you are an alpha-personality, you might find it very hard to fail badly at something. For instance, people stay in PhD programs for years because they are smart and have no idea how to fail out. If I were you, I'd be honest with them ... tell them the extent of your prior knowledge and experience. If they can deal with that and you can learn fast ... that's awesome. If not, no big deal, right? :)