Wow, a lot of replies.<p>Just want to clarify my meaning here. The intent is really a more frank and critical version of mmaunder&#x27;s advice above.<p>When I say he is unprofessional, I&#x27;m not talking about per se what he did at work, how he left (involuntarily), or his reaction. That was more amateurish, which isn&#x27;t exactly &quot;professional,&quot; but not unprofessional. He should have set expectations and negotiated better and harder earlier. He should have done a job search on the DL so he had something lined up before giving an ultimatum; the writing was on the wall anyway. Woulda shoulda coulda. Well, coding and negotiating skills are not correlated. Join the club. Hopefully he will learn and do better next time.<p>What is unprofessional is posting a pseudonymous rant to Hacker News with your email address and &quot;begging for work.&quot;<p>Posting a pseudonymous &quot;My shitty employer shafted me&quot; story to HN would be spot on. But turning that into a job solicitation is a huge, unprofessional blunder. Yeah, he touched a nerve and got bumped up the page. Yeah, he&#x27;s probably going to be inundated with offers. Charity offers for weak positions of the kind he left. Maybe he won&#x27;t be screwed over hard, but he won&#x27;t be treated like a professional and get the terms he could if he were working from a position of strength, competence, confidence and success. He&#x27;ll get an offer consistent with desperation. Do you want to work at a company that seeks out desperate candidates as your colleagues?<p>The fact is, if you want $75K, you have to find someone who thinks you are worth $75K. If you don&#x27;t have a degree or a distinguished resume, you&#x27;ve got a lot to prove even in a tight job market for engineers. The way you do that is show that you kick ass on the front end and can lay down code with the next guy, and communicate your worth and expectations with confidence.<p>But yeah, those of you who think a self-pitying rant about starving in a trailer and getting fired from his first glorified internship in a winning career strategy, you do what works for you.