Lessons Learned From Being A Complete Fuck Up To Being A Successful Software Developer In My 20s

As the title says, when I was 22, I was a complete mess: I quit College; I was working a 9–5 minimum wage job requiring me to watch TV and register celebrity appearances. I was working a one-week day shift and a one-week night shift. It was horrible, and I hated my life; I smoked weed daily and had panic attacks in the middle of the night.

Fast forward 5 years, and I am now a Software Developer @ Google and a successful freelancer earning more than 100k$ living in Romania.

Here is what I learned from that period and what you can do if you are in a similar position.

Lesson #1: Panic attacks means something needs to change

During this period, I had panic attacks every night, saying to myself: “What the fuck am I doing with my life?”. I felt stuck; I was lying to my parents that I was still in College and couldn’t quit smoking weed.

When I decided to face all my issues, my panic attacks disappeared completely.

Lesson #2: Come clean about your life

I was always thinking about the intricate web of lies I told everyone. It sucked coming clean to my parents, and it took about two months for my relationship with my dad to start again, but it was a necessary step.

I made a vow that I would not lie again from that moment, and this was one of the things that propelled my carrier to this moment.

Lesson #3: Welcome the feeling of being at the bottom

When I got back in College and was two years behind everybody, I felt like a failure, but I realized that I now had the advantage of being desperate, which helped me work more than my peers.

I began to work under a professor, and soon enough, I was an assistant for the programming labs, and I was getting paid!

Lesson #4: Downgrading your lifestyle is ok

When I decided to go back to College, I knew I had to quit my shitty job, which meant going back to the college boarding houses, which sucked. I had to share the room with another guy. I thought I would be depressed because of downgrading my lifestyle, but I was ok with it when I got there.

Don’t be afraid of accepting less than you are accustomed to achieving a goal. The experience will be amazing!

If you are in a similar situation, remember others have done it. Face your issues, don’t lie, and get to solving them one by one.

IF this helped, DM me on Twitter @ovstoica, and let’s chat!

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