When I graduated from computer science, my first job was making pizza on campus so that I could pay the bills while I went through the grueling process of getting my first programming position.

I graduated in 2009, right after the economy shit the bed. Despite having sent hundreds of resumes out every week for months, very few people were hiring green kids fresh out of school. I made $10/hr, and only that much thanks to my previous kitchen experience.

It was a hard job for me to take. I'd just spent the last 7 years, countless nights in the lab, all my sweat and tears, a 16 month internship, tens of thousands of dollars, lived in poverty for most of adult life, all for this moment. $10/hr. To this day I maintain that school was the hardest I've ever worked and the most difficult thing I've ever done.

One day a friendly gentleman was sitting at the bar and I happened to be finishing my shift. We got to talking and somehow ended up on the topic of the chemistry of alcohol. And then he said to me:

“You're pretty smart. You should go to college!”

I had a big laugh and told him about my situation. Everything worked out in the end. But I'll always remember that moment.