I Taught Myself to Code 3 Years Ago. Now I'm a Forward Deployed Engineer.

Hi, I'm Anthony. I went from zero coding knowledge to working with some of the smartest software engineers to build startups. Here's how I got there.

The Train Rides

Three years ago, I was working as an actuarial analyst. At the time, I had a roommate that did coding, and I always thought it looked fun - especially the working while traveling part.

After a while in the actuarial field, I started to contemplate my career path a lot because I wasn't sure if it was for me. I always had the feeling that I should be building something.

So I brought my Thinkpad on the train to and from work, and I'd study HTML, CSS, and JS on The Odin Project.

I studied every train ride, and also studied after work everyday, and was super motivated. However, I was stuck in tutorial hell, and was about to start learning advanced javascript on The Odin Project.

But something important changed my coding career trajectory.

Escaping Tutorial Hell

My roommate at the time kept on telling me to stop reading tutorials and just struggle building something. I kept saying "no it's better to get an in-depth understanding of the theory first".

That's until I finally caved in and tried it. I first watched a video of someone coding Next.js because I had no idea about anything besides HTML/CSS/JS, and then I set out to code a To-Do List.

This was one of the hardest things and needed so much googling/asking friends it's not even funny - I didn't even know about API calls.

After this, I went on to build a social media app called KroTalk, and got some friends to try it out.

It was so fun seeing people make posts and comments, the dopamine from building was insane.

The First Job

My friend got me an unpaid internship coding for a startup, and I worked on this on weekends and weekday nights, while still working as an actuarial analyst on weekdays.

I remember the imposter syndrome hitting hard. How was I meant to code something that actually gets deployed to a real website?

I took a big bet and quit my job to study coding at home full time (wouldn’t normally recommend this), and ended up helping friends code some projects to gain experience.

I eventually started working at Lyra after a friend referred me in, and the co-founders took a big bet on me - a guy still learning to code, and I’m still there to this day.

None of This Was Solo

I need to say this: none of this would've been possible without support from so many people.

Friends who helped me learn. People who gave me advice that transformed my career. Friends who answered every dumb question I had.

I wouldn't be here without them.

• I got my first few coding projects from friends.

• I was referred to my current company, Lyra, who took a bet on me and gave me amazing opportunities - even until now.

• Someone I met in SF made me learn Vim motions, which had a HUGE butterfly effect. It got me obsessed with automations, optimisation, productivity, and all things coding.

• And so so many more people

And that's actually why this newsletter exists.

Why I'm Starting Just Build

I really love coding and building things. I code basically all day and try out every new tool that comes out. I can't help it. I'm always checking X to see if new AI models or tools have dropped.

I also love helping people and sharing useful things I discover - because I wouldn't be here today without everyone who helped me.

So I'm starting Just Build.

Here's what you'll get every week:

• What I'm building. Side projects, experiments, things that break.

• AI tips that actually work. Tools I'm using, prompts that work, stuff that's actually useful.

• Important news in the coding space. What's happening that actually matters.

• Interesting stuff I find. Code patterns, articles, repos, whatever catches my attention.

Let's Build

If you're a dev who likes building things, experimenting with AI, or just wants to follow along with someone figuring it out in public - you're in the right place.

Thanks for being here.

See you next time.

Anthony