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Discussion on: How did you get your first Dev job?

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Gabe Mot • Edited

I still remember it like it was yesterday. I had an exam the next day, on Computer Networks, but wasn't in any mood to learn for it. I remember slowly dragging my body inside the dorm-room, trying to find some motivation for learning. It was 5 or 6 PM. Just before entering the building, I saw an ad in the window about a local company doing a presentation that evening, in one of the university's buildings, about their job openings. I didn't even enter the dorm-room any more, I just went directly there. They showed us what they had and at the end gave us some forms where we were supposed to check next to the skills we (thought we) had. I remember striking the check-boxes next to C, C++ and Java and that was it.

After a while, I got a call asking me to come in for an interview. They "obliterated" me. :-) I was a mess. Or so I thought... Two weeks pass and I get an email asking when can I start. I went in the following Monday. They trained the hell out of me for 3 months and kept on learning new stuff for the next 3 years or so. This was back in 2006.

I've spent almost 11 years in that company, where I've tried to poke my nose in everything that seemed new and interesting. It's still a good place to start a career in the IT industry, taking in fresh graduates or students who haven't graduated yet, without any prior experience, and teaching them the basics.

Oh, by the way, I also managed to pass that Networking exam I mentioned at the beginning. I found some Cisco courses online and stormed through those that night. Taking in Tanenbaum's "Computer Networks" in one night just didn't seem practical. Or feasible. :-)