How coding changed my life

If you've never seen me before – hi, my name's Abbas 👋

I started writing code in 2017, while I was 21 years old with nothing going for myself and no real direction in life.

I started off with £0 in my bank account, 0 followers on my page, and 0 skills. I knew absolutely nothing about coding, business, marketing, or anything at all. But something inside me knew this was the path I needed to take.

So, I randomly one day searched online how websites were made, and from there began my journey. I was going to be a web developer. That was going to be my path.

What's funny is that my first website was terrible. Truly horrid. I have some pictures, but I won't subject your eyes to them. Take my word for it. I was bad, and it showed. But I pressed on.

Through the years, I kept writing code, even though I wasn't making money from it yet. I've worked in retail, sales, labour, and in a warehouse to make ends meet while I was pursuing my craft. I knew I was going to make this work somehow.

Fast forward through what we developers call "tutorial hell," and I made my first sale. I sold a website for £300. It felt electric. I felt like I had just printed money. That was the first big win I needed to keep going. It was the first time someone was willing to pay me for my work.

But the real game-changer was yet to come.

I decided to step back into the world of 9-5 work. But I didn't have a computer science degree to lean on. How would anyone hire me?

Here's the secret: Hiring managers primarily care about experience. That's something I had plenty of simply because I had been consistently building projects. So I took to applying for tech jobs once again.

I didn't feel like I could make it. I felt like I was rusty, that my code didn't warrant a full-time wage. But, I applied anyway, and through LinkedIn, something stuck. I went through the interview process, and then I received an email that changed everything:

I had been offered a job with a salary of £45,000.

I leaped with joy. I literally stood up, shouted at the sky, and jumped up and down. Maybe a tear ran down my cheek. I had MADE it.

It's a few years on now, and I still think that was one of the most defining moments of my career. That job offer didn't just change my bank account – it changed my entire life.

Now, I've been working in tech for several years, and I've even run my own profitable projects. These projects have successfully replaced my income. (With a record month exceeding £20,000 🤯)

I genuinely look forward to doing what I love (solving problems), without having to worry about how my bills are going to be paid. I finally have the freedom and flexibility to have the life I always wanted.

It's crazy, I know. But I think it's fair to say that coding has completely changed my life.

And I truly believe that if you take it seriously, coding can change your life too.

So how do you do it? Well, thankfully, it's not as hard as you might think. With dedication, persistence, and the right guidance, you too can transform your life through coding – just like I did.