Welcome to No Degree Engineer on Substack!
Welcome to No Degree Engineer on Substack!
A dedicated space where I'll share my experiences, insights and lessons I've gathered over the years in tech industry
In the spirit of making my content more accessible, I decided to move to Substack driven by a desire to ensure that my content is available and unrestricted to everyone without the limitations faced by non-members on my Medium.
No Degree Engineer is a dedicated space where I'll share my personal experiences, where I aim to share the insights and lessons I've gathered over the years about creating and managing large-scale, resilient, and efficient tech infrastructures and, what I learned building, organizing, and leading tech teams.
On Substack, I aim to write more frequently (I'll try monthly), using a newsletter format to bring these experiences.
Why No Degree Engineer?
My career path has been unconventional. Rising to a senior leadership position in the tech industry, I've navigated the complexities and challenges without a bachelor's degree and this inspired the name of this page.
I spent two and half years on my Bachelor's degree in Information Systems, which I didn't graduate, mainly because of personal life circumstances. A few years later, my job application was declined because I didn't have a Bachelor's degree, even after going through the entire interview process.
As a result, I decided to become a student again. This time, I enrolled in a Bachelor of Technology in Analysis and Systems Development mainly because this course was shorter, lasting only two years, and allowed me to skip several classes. During this period, I was already an experienced professional, which made the classes feel very boring. Coupled with some life circumstances, I once again didn't graduate.
Disclaimer: I'm not advocating against formal education, unlike that, this is my personal history.
Despite not graduate I gathered a lot of knowledge about the foundation of computer science that helped me to leverage my career which proves the importance of formal education.
Learn to learn
Generally, autodidacts are individuals who choose the subject they will study, their studying material, and the studying rhythm and time. Autodidacts may or may not have formal education, and their study may be either a complement or an alternative to formal education. - Wikipedia
There are several other notable autodidacts over history, but Leonardo da Vinci characterizes these characteristics he was an Italian polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, botanist, and writer.
The tech industry is dynamic, where things are changing every day, and experience and how you’ve done something before aren’t as important as the ability to think and learn new things.
My daddy tells me that when I was a kid I asked a lot of “why”, and named me “why-boy”. My curiosity drove me to the path to becoming an autodidact capable of learning almost everything I needed during my career to deliver projects.
The journey shaped my perspective, proving that it's possible to succeed in a professional career not going through the traditional academic paths but also with determination, skill, and continuous learning.
Your presence here is not just about reading content; it's about sharing a journey where every step challenges expectations and redefines possibilities. Whether you're carving your unique path or seeking diverse perspectives, I hope my stories resonate and encourage you in your endeavors.