> The biggest red flag is struggling with personal finance.
As it turns out, being unable to get a job (at least one that pays a reasonable wage) is a common cause of "struggling with personal finance".
As it turns out, being unable to get a job (at least one that pays a reasonable wage) is a common cause of "struggling with personal finance".
Less than a year of school, even 100% paid with loans, can easily be paid off on $30k/yr.
Plenty in our industry if they have the right set of skills (including soft skills). It might be unreasonable for OP to expect more but lets not pretend that there are no very highly paid young people in the software industry.