2025 Review

2025 was easily the most transformative year of my life. I started the year as an electrician and I'm ending it as a software developer in the SF Bay Area.

I’ll be honest: this transition started with a bit of a personal breaking point, but it pushed me to face the fears that held me back. As a college dropout, I doubted if I could learn to code or if I was "too old" to pivot. I’ve learned this year that I am capable of learning anything I put my mind to.

Some highlights that changed my trajectory:

Stepping Outside Of My Comfort: Meeting Scott Chacon early in the year. A nervous lunch with him and his friends showed me what the tech community is really like. Huge thanks to Roro Okpu and John Nunemaker for their guidance since then.

Building The Foundation: Spent Jan–June in a backend mentorship program that gave me the foundation I needed.

Community: Winning a CascadiaJS ticket through Chris Griffing’s stream and meeting the incredible folks at Torc (shoutout to Jason Torres!). The Seattle community and CascadiaJS was a great experience!

The Big Move: My wife and I packed up and moved from Indiana to the West Coast. (Fun fact: Nebraska is a very long state).

I’m incredibly proud of how far I’ve come. I’m now looking for my first full-time role in tech and couldn't be more excited for what’s next.

Special thanks to my wife for being the ultimate partner through this wild ride.