A few years ago I was a new grad with a Bachelor's in CS. I found the posting for a programmer position with MemoryTag with the following description: "Fun and fast growing company seeking programmer who excels at C++, PHP, and Database development. Helps to also have at least a basic understanding of the following: HTML/CSS, JavaScript, Java, Objective C, and SSL security." I sent in my resume and got a reply saying "Impressive resume! Do you have a minute to speak tomorrow?" So we scheduled a call and everything looked good so we moved onto an in-person interview. They were pretty far so I had to drive 1.5 hours to get there. I sit down with two of the guys running the place and suddenly they started asking me about my C# and mobile development background, none of which were brought up in the job description or phone screen. They went from "impressive resume!" to "you're extremely junior and we would need to spend a lot of time bringing you up to speed." As far as I could tell, they didn't use C++ or any of the skills listed in the description at all. That's fine, I'm always open to something new. But it would have been nice if they'd actually put that in the job description. The topic moved to compensation. I was a new grad, pretty desperate for anything so I asked for a very low $45-50k (I was really desperate). I have tutored people working in Silicon Valley who started making $65-75k. Well, their eyes went wide and they couldn't say no fast enough. They said "we aren't Silicon Valley you know! We can't afford that much on such a junior candidate!" I was pretty stunned and left the interview thinking I was worthless. A few days later the CEO attempts to call me for an offer. I was pre-occupied at the moment and asked that he send me an email but he was very hesitant to do so. Finally, he sends me an email with the most ridiculous offer I have ever seen to date. $14/hour. For a software programming position. I had done internships that paid me more. Hell, I worked a cashier for about the same salary. I politely asked him if he'd consider moving to $20/hour (again, I was desperate) and he said "Sorry not to start you have too far to come." I politely turned him down and he never replied. A few months later I got a job with a semiconductor company that paid me $75k a year and I've been with them for two years now. I always look back on this day and remember that I'm nowhere near as worthless as some people think I am. For anyone reading this, don't give up. You will find the right place for you, because it's definitely not here.