In this video I break down my salary progression as a software engineer, starting from my first internship in university all the way to senior roles about 7 years later. I share the actual hourly and monthly numbers I made at each step, plus what I was doing day-to-day—backend work in .NET (C#) and MySQL at first, then growing into bigger ownership where I could implement full features on my own. The big theme here is that software really does make money, but it compounds as you stack skills, responsibility, and confidence. I also talk honestly about the stuff people don’t always mention: impostor syndrome, bombing an interview, and how that kept me stuck longer than I should’ve been. Eventually I got laid off when my company cut costs, and that forced me to apply again—ended up landing a remote startup role with a big pay jump, but also way more stress and poor communication. I wrap it up with what I think matters most: money is great, but if you’re miserable and constantly thinking about work, it doesn’t count the way you think it will. My takeaway: keep coding, keep shipping, and don’t let fear stop you from leveling up.