On the Road to the Keyboard: Curiosity, detours, and learning my way into tech

Published on February 03, 2026

When Writing Fell Silent

One of the things I missed when I started learning and working in IT was writing.

Because all my life, I was writing. Since I was a kid. Poetry, lyrics, blogs, project applications, motivational letters, bachelor diploma work, seminar works (again), master’s thesis, applications for graduate programs or conferences, and so on…

But in this field, I didn’t feel prepared. I didn’t have the expertise. I was the reader, not the writer. The student, not the teacher.

Even though in many tutorials or books I found the advice to write a blog if you want to learn something more deeply (one of them was Shawn Wang in The Coding Career Handbook). And it made sense. That’s how I learned before, in previous jobs and studies.

To understand what I’m talking about, I need to provide some information about my educational and professional background - and a bit of my personal life.

Analog Childhood, Digital Future

I’m from the ‘89/90 generation. We grew up outside - playing hide and seek, football, basketball - and then went home to Tetris, Nintendo, and later computers. Technology was always there, quietly growing with us, but it never felt like a destination. Just another part of childhood.

My first encounters were simple: Tetris, PlayStation, internet cafés, Counter-Strike on local networks. The internet meant email and mIRC. Nothing magical, nothing serious. Just fun.

What stayed with me more than technology was curiosity. I liked opening things to see how they worked, even when I couldn’t put them back together. Still, I didn’t imagine a future with computers. I was drawn to art and ideas - books, poetry, history, music.

Music became my path early. I started playing clarinet at ten and stayed with it for years, through music school, high school, and even a rap group on the side. At some point, I realized music alone wasn’t enough - not because I didn’t love it, but because I wanted to explore more.

Looking back, it wasn’t technology that shaped me. It was curiosity. And that curiosity just happened to find its way there later.

The Long Way Around

After musical high school, I enrolled in law school. I graduated, then got an MA in International Law, worked as a teaching assistant, started a local chapter of an international libertarian student organization, spent a year doing practice at the local court, and passed the bar exam.

And then I realized I didn’t want to work as a lawyer. I wanted to continue teaching.

Since there was no open position for that, I continued working with non-profit organizations and moved to the capital for the next couple of years. Everything was cool - traveling, meeting new people, organizing events, writing projects…

But I wanted something else. More freedom at work, more financial stability, and a job where I wouldn’t depend on fundraising or work closely with governmental institutions.

My Unplanned Start in Tech

Because I already had some basic knowledge of WordPress and had taken a short course, I thought: why not start with that?

I found a job in a US marketing company as a WordPress formatter. I wasn’t expected to be online for 8 hours or attend meetings. I just had to complete daily tasks. That was perfect.

Along the way, I learned affiliate marketing. When I optimized my workflow, I finished tasks quickly and had plenty of free time. I used that time to take freelance projects as a WordPress developer and slowly became interested in CSS and JavaScript, especially when clients needed custom changes without overloading the site with new plugins.

I took a full-stack development course for a few months. It wasn’t enough to make me an expert, but it gave me the literature, tutorials, and direction to continue on my own.

At that point, I had financial stability, was improving my developer skills, and could work from wherever and whenever I wanted. When a new position opened, I recommended and trained my girlfriend (now my wife) to work with me. We were already living together, so this worked great.

This period lasted for three years - two of them during the pandemic.

Forced Out of the Comfort Zone

Then Covid happened.

I was following the market closely. Before the layoffs started, everyone was investing in online shops, web apps, and e-commerce. Still, I was afraid. I knew that when layoffs came, we would be among the first to go - remote workers in positions that could be easily automated.

That pushed me to dig deeper into web development and learn skills that would make me more employable. I found courses on Udemy, picked one, followed YouTube channels, learned the basics, built projects, and passed milestones.

The layoff eventually reached me - while I was on vacation.

But I didn’t panic. I thought: “Okay, this isn’t that bad. I’m out of my comfort zone now, and I’ve gained some skills.”

It was time to finish tutorials, update my CV, and start applying for jobs.

At the same time, AI entered the game. I was already on the waiting list for something called ChatGPT. While learning and preparing for technical interviews, it helped me understand things I couldn’t easily find on YouTube - especially older libraries or concepts.

Looking Back From Here

And now, three years later, I have three years of experience as a full-stack software developer.

AI is no longer just a developer topic. After I got my job, the Covid bubble burst. More layoffs followed. The market became stricter, and it’s much harder now to enter as a junior developer without experience or just a bachelor’s degree in CS.

Maybe I caught the last train to this profession - at least for this cycle.

Looking back, I can point out a few things that led me here.

Curiosity

If I hadn’t nurtured the curiosity of a child throughout my life, I wouldn’t be here.

When the guy who maintained the website quit his job, I stepped up and said I wanted to learn WordPress and take care of the sites. I struggled, but I wanted to understand how it worked.

If I hadn’t been curious about how plugins work behind the scenes, or how to make custom changes in CSS and JavaScript, I would probably still be there. If I hadn’t wanted to understand the differences between Vanilla JS and Vue, or Vue and React, I wouldn’t have gotten my first full-time job.

And then it continued - Node.js, databases, cloud services, and more.

Lifetime Learning

That curiosity is closely connected to learning.

“Don’t stop learning” is the new “don’t stop believing.”

I always thought of myself as an art soul - writing, music, a bit of bohemian life. I decided not to be a professional musician, even though I can’t imagine a day without music. Then I enrolled in law school and was good at it.

I used to be skeptical that I could ever learn programming. And now, that’s my profession. The point is simple: I want to learn. If there were a profession where you get paid just for learning, I would probably do that 😄

Soft Skills Matter

And what’s the point of learning if you don’t gain something from it?

Through different stages of my life, I built soft skills. As a musician, I learned how to control stage fright and perform in front of large audiences. Non-profit work added meetings and presentations with partners and stakeholders; mingling at conferences, mentoring students and . That brought new soft skills and

Research and methodology from my studies shaped how I approach writing and problem-solving today.

All of that helps me now - in meetings, demos, software presentations for stakeholders. Writing skills help me structure emails and motivational letters clearly. Conferences taught me how to approach new people with confidence. Group workshops taught me how to work in a team.

Becoming, Not Arriving

My point is simple: change is the only constant. We never know where our path might lead if we explore it with the curiosity of a child. Technology has always been around me, but so have art and the social sciences. We are complex creations, shaped by every book we read and every conversation we have - whether with a friend, a teacher, or a stranger. These experiences don’t change our core vision of the life we want to live; instead, they influence the work we do, the interests we pursue, and the ways we move closer to that vision.