My path to financial independence. This is the tale of how I went from working as a programmer in Slovakia to becoming an online course instructor. I discuss the difficulties I encountered along the way, how I developed a course for Udemy, and how I became a freelance developer.

I worked for various companies after graduating from college. I began in the city where I had spent the previous five years studying artificial intelligence (Kosice, Slovakia). I was pleasantly surprised to find myself working as a Software Developer (C++, C#) at Siemens Healthineers (Branch of Siemens), where I was employed. I was given the task of working on the Ultrasound project. We were updating and creating new imaging features for a medical ultrasound. It was a very interesting position, and I felt very satisfied that I was really making a difference.

Nothing endures forever, and my passion gradually waned. Slovakians have a very distinct mentality. Don’t get me wrong, Slovakians are very nice people, but I’ve always known I don’t belong here. I found it challenging to pay attention to issues that didn’t really matter, and I yearned to run away and explore more of the world.

I therefore moved forward. To become completely independent, I intended to begin working as a freelancer. How can someone with little experience work as a freelancer was the big query.

My strong will is the reason I am good at anything. When I decide to do something, I commit all of my time and complete passion to it.

I’ve always been interested in web development because creating web applications or applications for smartphones seemed like fun to me. You can immediately see how your work is progressing. Jobs are available everywhere, and you can work from home. In school, on my own projects, and at Siemens, I developed my first programming skills, but I was unfamiliar with contemporary frameworks at the time. So I enrolled in Udemy’s online courses. Before I learned about React and Angular, I was watching them for more than 8 hours every day.

I began to apply for various jobs, but it can be challenging if you have no prior web development experience. However, after two weeks, I got a job!

Junior Frontend Developer position available in Barcelona. Because they offered training as well, the job was fantastic. Before beginning to work on actual projects, it was comparable to attending university. They therefore hired me and about 20 additional workers, and we received at least three months of training. We worked on projects in groups over the past month, presenting them to the company on the final day.

But that would be too ideal… Sadly, I was among those who were excluded from their company even though I pleaded for their attention and asked why they weren’t keeping the rest of us with them.

Should you feel upset or angry after this kind of thing? I think that is a normal reaction, but you should always keep in mind that “If you are brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new Hello” – You can still encounter fresh obstacles and chances, Paul Coelho. Nothing is as terrible as it seems at first. I was able to move on because I was in a lovely city and had good experiences.

I started looking for jobs as a web developer, concentrating on Angular. After a week, I received a few job offers, even though my salary was double what it was in Barcelona. Again, it was time to pack my things and face the new challenge after I made the decision to apply for a job in Berlin.

In December 2016, just before Christmas, I arrived in Berlin. Berlin was gloomy, cold, and dark. I wasn’t lucky and I was living in a really terrible room in some dirty district of Berlin, next to a cinema for “adults”… It was awful—weak heating in the dead of winter, no regular access to the kitchen, bathroom, or toilet. I had to exit the apartment and enter a communal space to get there (I moved out after two weeks). Even worse, they never returned my deposit to me. I had to ask my parents for a loan at that point. The story wouldn’t be over if I kept going…

I started working at the office a few days later. The job was very difficult, and because I am always completely committed to improving myself, I worked crazily long hours both during and after work. I wanted to learn more and improve so that I could compete with the other developers. Although I had many wonderful encounters, I had a hard time making friends. I was thus largely by myself there.

After some time, I made the decision that it was time to leave Berlin. The business was very taken aback by my choice, but fortunately we came to an understanding that I could join the team as a Freelance Developer. I always wanted that, and it has finally come true. The idea shocked me.

I began my journey by visiting my family and friends in Slovakia before purchasing tickets to Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. I worked every day as usual while living in a very nice hostel for almost three months:D.

I spent the majority of my time in Spain. I visited my colleagues in Berlin and Portugal a few times. I shared a lovely home in Tarifa with other freelancers that was close to the water. In addition to regularly mountain climbing, I also learned to kitesurf.

The CTO of the business I was working for called me one day. The entire Berlin development department had to be fired because the business was relocating to another nation. You are aware of outsourcing.. But for a very long time, I had the idea to start something on my own. I really enjoyed working with modern JS frameworks, and I always enjoyed imparting knowledge to others.

Making a course for Udemy was my decision. Most importantly, I wanted to be independent. I wanted to make something on my own to share with others. I had recently purchased a microphone, and I had started recording and programming on my small Mackbook Pro 13′. I traveled to different countries to record my course, including Germany, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Spain. I was always carrying a laptop and a microphone.

I started putting together some course materials. I made the first applications I wanted to display. At first, I had more frameworks on my list of topics. Ember and Rails were decidedly left out. Even on the weekends, I was working all day long. Recording occupied every moment of my life. I finally completed the recording after three months of nonstop work. Although putting everything together required a lot of work, it was an amazing feeling. This process took me another two weeks.

And I released my course on June 28, 2018, feeling somewhat anxious about how other people would respond. Since its release three weeks ago, feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. However, I’ll wait to see how future responses to the course will pan out before I make any final decisions.

Although I still have a ton of projects in mind, I want to spend some time on my Udemy course because it needs a lot of focus right now. In order for my students to benefit the most from this course and have fun, I want to add more features to the applications.

My message to you is: No matter how difficult it may seem to realize your dreams, never give up. The possibilities are endless if you put enough effort, time, and passion into it. Believe in yourself!

Cheers and best of luck,

Filip