Yes, many of us did. So many people miss that we need skills around working (in teams, by ourselves, with deadlines) as well as technical skills (in whatever i

Yes, many of us did. So many people miss that we need skills around working (in teams, by ourselves, with deadlines) as well as technical skills (in whatever industry you kick off). The 'working' skills are going to be crucial wherever you end up. The best reference I ever had was from an early boss I had in a job that I hated: he simply said I applied myself, worked as part of the team, and was diligent. That will often speak more than 'he worked on this really cool project' when it comes to getting into that cool company we all aspire to. The only thing stopping you from building connections at competitive companies is you: these guys are accessible at Meetups, on Twitter, GitHub, etc. etc.