Source: Reddit
One of the smartest people I ever met married one of my good friends from high school. She had dabbled in coding games for fun but had no IT experience. She was working minimum wage at a sandwich shop. I was a manager at an IT consulting firm.
I knew if given the chance to work in IT as a developer she would do great. So I pushed my company to hire her as an intern. With out any code camp, relevant college classes, or experience I was told our company could never hire her.
I helped her start small user group, put together a resume, and prep for an interview. Then I went back to my company and forced the issue. I had to use a number of favors just to get her an interview. Then I basically cashed in all my political capital, and said if she wasn’t successful I would be accountable for it.
They gave her a chance. And she kicked a$$ just as I knew she would. That was 5 years ago. Today she is a java developer making over $80k a year with full benefits. She loves her job, and my good friend doesn’t work much because his wife makes so much money.
Pushing so hard made a few people mad and it was a contributing factor to the company letting me go a year later. I found a new job so it worked out for me. I don’t think she realizes what it cost me to get her in. And it’s probably better that way. But knowing I gave her a chance to change the trajectory of her life makes me smile.
