How did I get a software job at 17?

Hello, I am Liam Filer a 17 Year old who managed to work his way into a company as a backend engineer a few months ago. I just wanted to share my knowledge, how I got to this point and what you can do to get further in your career!

Networking, Networking, Networking. Whatever way you thinks best - messaging other software engineers in your area on LinkedIn - messaging any software engineer on discord - going to hackathons. There is literally countless ways to be able to network in the industry and networking, especially as a younger software engineer - is needed for your success.

BE CONFIDENT!

When you are showcasing your work - projects you’ve done. It does not matter if that project isn’t the most in depth piece - when you’re confident about what you’ve done - the people around you will be confident in you as well. I got my first internship at a company because I put myself out there which then meant I had some experience in the workplace. This showed the company that I now work for that I had that work experience that they want - even if I am younger.

How to act for interviews

I hear a lot about being your best self and a lot about how you should act in interviews. I think you should tailor yourself towards each interview but don’t let that divert away from the fact that you should still be yourself. Lets say you did get the job - you wouldn’t be able to put on that performance forever would you? Exactly. Be your best self but BE YOURSELF!

I did also want to add that you should be confident but just read above and tailor that towards your interviews + being socially confident gives you so many opportunities even if they aren’t job roles - I have made many ‘vibe code’ projects with other older developers who then in turn keep in contact with me and speak about me highly if there company does have a role open.

I want to make this a longer series so please do say if you want to know anything!

Thank you for reading - If you do have questions do not feel afraid to shoot me an email at Liamfiler@outlook.com