[taurath]

> This just isn’t true.

Yes it is (but you need to be overall personable and have good communication skills). After 1 year at a small dev shop I started with 0 years of experience, I got an offer at a big company you've heard of (not FAANG but public) for double. I didn't take it because I got bad vibes from the management but it was great to know I could. I say this not to brag that I'm brilliant because I am decidedly NOT brilliant - there have always been better coders than me everywhere I've worked since.

However, I had some PM experience before learning development which helped my "business" bona-fides. If you are 19 going from taco bell to a bootcamp I imagine proving that you can fit into an actual business culture is more important to getting you a job than coding ability (which is the min bar).

Truthfully, if you have 3 years exp with solid references, you should have recruiters knocking down your door with (mostly) bad offers of underpaying shops. There's no reason you shouldn't unless theres big red flags on your resume.