I graduated from college with an Economics degree. I was working as a Business Analyst. I started looking at database schemas so I could write better document

I graduated from college with an Economics degree. I was working as a Business Analyst. I started looking at database schemas so I could write better documentation, and then started writing SQL to deliver reports myself instead of waiting on the engineering team. It didn't take long until executives were coming to me directly for their custom reporting needs. Eventually, I was running a rogue web server for generating dynamic reports. When I was "found out", I was absorbed into engineering, and started my "real" career as a SWE and started building web applications on a team. I broke that first-job barrier by getting myself a job close to the technology, and then solving problems that had a visible impact. (I want to add that, though I constantly pushed at the edge of my authority, I avoided ruffling feathers and was always a team player. I never went over my boss' head, for example, and generally asked permission.) I'm now in my third executive role, running engineering for a Series-A funded startup. Being able to bridge the divide between business and engineering really hits the sweet spot for me. I very much enjoy what I do.