[zschuessler]

I got started because I lived in a town of 400 people and there was nothing to do. My family weren't farmers, yet all my friends were. One day Dad brought a computer home with a 300mhz processor and it was either learn to be entertained by that, or twiddle my thumbs.

The first burst of inspiration that I wanted to do software was neopets.com. The idea of neopoints somehow magically being stored in this thing called a database and shared through a virtual economy created a deep curiosity in me. Enough that the early days of apache, php4, and mysql were enough to slog through as a kid (truly painful back then!).

I didn't get a degree. I went to a day of university and dropped out because they wanted six figures for things I already knew. Financially it was worth it to do that, but I am sad I wasn't able to live the 'college life' my friends did, and didn't make the same connections they did. Freelance life can be lonely unless you put the effort in to network.

My first paid work was SEO and content writing, then when WordPress 1 launched I found gigs making websites with it. I found clients through online forums and then asking those clients if they knew anyone I could do work for. The best gigs came from those referrals. Honestly I'm not sure I could do that in today's atmosphere! Back then there were no freelance websites (like Upwork) or video call systems to verify you weren't a 17 year old kid. Today it's much harder to find gigs among strangers, especially if you're young. My best months I was 19 and making $10k/m without my clients knowing I was so young :)

I'm an engineer today but have dabbled in other roles like UX, design, PM, bizdev. I love the flexibility and the compensation the right engineer role provides. I wouldn't say there is anything I hate about it, life is good!