HN Explorer

Did any of you guys at cool companies start somewhere subpar?

1 points by insecureGrad ↗ HN
Im graduating soon. I spent most of college studying Math because I used to be an academia wannabe, and now Im starting my software career at a company in the finance sector which I believe is far below what my ability will be a year from now (I've been programming and reading CS textbooks all the time for about half a year and I'm getting waay waay better than I was when I accepted the job last semester). Im a bit concerned that it will be hard for me to move on though due to my lacklustre initial placement, and my lack of connections at competitive companies.

Did any of you guys start at a sucky company and move on to something cool?

2 comments

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adotjdotr
Yes lots of people I know start at so called "sub-par" companies but pick up good experience/skills.

Lots of other friends I know have worked for nice shiny tech companies you've all heard of and would die to work for and have had AWFUL, TERRIBLE times and quit within the first six months.

The quality of the experience and the skills you pick is up is MORE important than brand name firms early in your life. Always focus on skills, thats what leads to fulfilment and of course getting paid.

asharpe
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.