I wanted to tell my story so I could help a lot of people who are seeking to become part of this big, fun, lovely but very demanding world that is the IT industry.
I started with this idea 6 years ago. At that time I have been working as a video editor and post producer for almost 10 years. The job was fun, I had the opportunity to work for big networks, made cool documentaries, big commercials, and my last gigs were for a huge Disney TV show. But I had lost the spark for the job, I felt like I wasn’t learning much, and I was doing the job almost in an automatic way. Also, the industry was unstable, I could always get a job, but I wasn’t able to plan much, because they were always 3 to 6 months jobs. I didn´t know what would come next and I didn’t have the freedom of a freelancer who can make more money and then rest for a couple of weeks. That wasn’t my case and also I was waiting for my second child.
Turning wheels when you are not in your 20\’s
So I decided to turn wheels. This was a big decision, I have a wife, two kids, a mortgage, a car, bills, among other things that had to be paid monthly. What led me to make this change? I always loved technology, I have been curious by it all my life. In my job I was a “pro-sumer” of technology (it’s a term for people who use the computer at a very high-level) but I wasn´t involved in the creation of technology.
How did i start?
So, one day i decided to start with a little HTML, CSS and JavaScript course . The first class was mental, I loved it, but when the theory became more and more difficult,I asked myself: \”What am i doing here? I don’t have the brains to do this! I don’t understand what is happening here\”. Also I still had my job, and became a father for the second time, so I had really few time to study. I felt like quiting a lot of times, nevertheless my will power was greater than anything, so I kept on studying, and kept on studying. When I finished that course, i started another one, about Node and Mongo. And finally I started a long-therm course of 10 months to learn more in depth. Since that day I haven´t stop coding or learning about different aspects of the developer world, from now: my world. Thanks to that I am now working as a React Native Developer in a great company and i love what I do.
Is this for anyone?
I won’t lie to you, becoming a developer is not for anyone. Do you have to be a genius? Do you need to know a lot of maths? Do you need to know a lot of complex algorithms? No! (it helps, but you don’t have to). The most important things you need are willpower and mental strength, and more especially you need perseverance.
When someone in their 20’s says they don’t have the time, I think I\’m a very positive example: I was 37 years old, I had a wife and two kids, and I still had the time.
You don’t have to study 8 hours per day, that will tire you out really fast, but you do have to study on a daily basis. Don’t leave a day without reading an article, coding or learning from books. Also try to see ahead and ask yourself what do you like, in what IT field do you want to work.
If you are only doing this for the money, it’s not gonna be a good path. It’s not possible to work in this area every day without loving it. You are going to have a bad time if that is the case, also are not going to see the big bucks for the first 2 or 3 years as a developer. But if you are passionate and love this world, go ahead! It’s an infinite world, with thousands of possible paths.
Sobre el autor: Me llamo Diego Harari, tengo 39 años. Hace poco que vivo en Europa y esto (entre varias cosas) me lo permite gracias a mi profesión. Soy desarrollador de aplicaciones móviles y también de web. Aparte de esto soy músico, habiendo estudiado más de 8 años y actualmente tengo mi banda aquí en España. Amo los animales y la naturaleza, vivo en un entorno de playa y montaña, intento conectarme con eso todos los días. Me pueden contactar por Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/diego.harari) o Twitter (https://twitter.com/HarariDiego).
