If you have just graduated and are looking for your first job in the field, be prepared for sharks who want to hire you to cover for holiday, or to solve a problem within their company using your fresh thinking. If you have found one of these companies they will lie about the starting wage that was advertised and pay you significantly less, and if your desperate or too eager to work you will most likely take the job anyway.
So if you have ended up in one of these companies and been let go soon after, then don’t fret. List the work you did as freelance for the duration you were there and it will add to your commercial experience in your portfolio/C.V; make sure you don’t list the company as a permanent job, as that won’t look good on your C.V if you bounced so soon after working for them.
When you find the right role for you as an open source web developer make sure you conform and follow the convention of the existing software, even if you want to change it; there is a time and a place to put your own unique style and code across to a company and tell them about the changes that are needed, but it’s not when you have just started out in a new role, trust me.
Most small companies who use open source code for development will be elitist and the lead programmer will not take too kindly to threats on their position by your coding, so go with the flow be compliant and grow your skills and abilities in conjunction with theirs. Most of all you have to be prepared to work hard and keep well within the deadlines they have given to complete the tasks as if you go over a few or more times they won’t be forgiving.
If you conform and follow convention, work hard and keep to the deadlines your reputation will grow within those companies and you will eventually start too see your wage increase if your in a progressive company, and you will do very well working there.
When you have reached a point where you can progress no further then it’s time to assess where you want to be, and you can use your experiences to take you to the next stage in your career wherever you decide to go.