Paid to Wait, Pressured to Deliver: My First Coding Job

My first coding job was not what I expected. I was getting paid to do nothing! Or so I thought.

I landed it straight out of college, and at the time, I thought I had hit the jackpot. A full-time coding job after a simple interview process? It felt too good to be true, and in many ways, it was.

Training Days

Orientation started with a group training program. We took classes and had to pass tests on Java, MongoDB, and Splunk - tools I was already familiar with from college. Some of my new coworkers, however, struggled. Curious, I asked around about their backgrounds. To my surprise, most didn't have a programming background at all.

That was red flag number one.

Still, I continued with the three-month training program and passed everything with flying colors.

The Reality Sets In

After training, we learned how the company actually worked. We were told that we needed to apply to internal "projects" to stay employed.
That was red flag number two.

As it turns out, this wasn't a traditional tech company. It was a recruiting agency. They hired a wide range of people, trained them, and then placed them at client companies based on skill fit. We were contractors without official contracts or clear expectations.

At first, I didn't worry too much. I was still getting paid while waiting to be staffed, and they covered the cost of external training. It seemed like a decent deal.

Then came the kicker.

If you didn't land a project within a set timeframe, you'd be fired and possibly asked to pay back the money you earned during that time.

Stress hit me hard.

Hustle Mode

Over the next three months, I gave it everything I had. I applied to every internal project I could and earned as many certifications as possible in Python, JavaScript, Java, web development, and databases. I didn't want to take any chances.

The consistent paychecks kept me going. Every two weeks, I got paid, even though the uncertainty hung over me like a cloud.

Eventually, I landed a project with Kraft, working on their DevOps team focused on cloud solutions using Azure. My main responsibilities included fixing virtual machine images, configuring security groups, and managing user access. While I didn't get to do much coding, I learned a lot about cloud architecture.

One highlight was building a Python script that scanned virtual machines for suspicious user activity and shut them down automatically. That was a proud moment for me.

After three months, Kraft laid off all of us contractors due to budget cuts. Just like that, I was benched again and had to look for the next opportunity.

Back on the Bench

Despite being promoted to "senior" after my work at Kraft, I still had to find a new project. I used that time to dive deeper into Azure, earned another certification, and kept applying to internal projects. Six months and two certifications later, I landed a new role with Rosenthal Collins Group.

This time, I was tasked with rebuilding their HR employee portal using Flask and SQL. It was a solo project, and I wasn't very experienced with Flask, but I did what I could. After three months, the project was paused because of budget constraints, and I was asked to leave.

Time for a Change

At this point, I was tired. The constant job instability and pressure were overwhelming. The paychecks were nice, but the uncertainty wasn't worth it anymore. I decided to stop looking for new internal projects and instead spent my time on the bench applying for jobs elsewhere.

I knew I was lucky. Some of my coworkers got laid off after only a few weeks on the bench, and others never found a project at all. A lot of the layoffs felt random, and I couldn't understand how the company operated this way. It was nice to have steady pay, but it felt like I was unemployed most of the time.

I didn't feel like a developer. I felt like a tool that was moved around as needed, without being appreciated. I wasn't learning much at the companies I was placed with. I jumped from one contract to the next without really understanding how each company worked. It was always fast learning with very little time to deliver quality work. Once I got the hang of something, I'd be off the project due to budget constraints.

This was technically my first job, but I ended up working three different roles under the same title. I didn't get to sharpen my skills the way I wanted. Instead, I became a generalist who could do a bit of everything, but without deep knowledge in any one area.

A Brighter Chapter

Thankfully, my journey ended on a high note. After a year of sitting on the bench, I was officially laid off, but to my surprise, I wasn't asked to pay anything back. I had been with the company long enough that their repayment clause no longer applied. It was a huge relief.

During that year, I kept busy. I took on part-time and freelance gigs in the restaurant and Audio-Visual space and sent out countless resumes. That hustle paid off. Before officially leaving the company, I landed a role at The Coder School. A place that would become one of the most meaningful stops in my career so far. There, I discovered the joy of teaching and mentoring, and I learned how to make a difference, one line of code at a time.

Looking back, my first job wasn't what I expected, but it taught me a lot: how to adapt quickly, stay resilient, and find purpose in the chaos. And most importantly, it reminded me to always strive for better.