Introduction👋

Hi I'm Fredrik Johansen, a young, inspired self-taught software developer with 5 years of experience with building different types of digital products/solutions. I'm a out-going and open-minded person, that's always ready for a new challenge/problem to solve to make an impact for other people.

The Start🌱

My journey of becoming a software developer, started when I was introduced to something called Skript, which is a programming language you can use to create little scripts inside of the game Minecraft. This was around 2013-2014, where I began setting up Minecraft servers and create custom plugins for it. The passion for both games and creating something that you wanted was what attracted me to begin developing those plugins.

Websites & Web Technologies🌐

I was later introduced to PHP on a vacation, which also introduced me for programming websites and work with databases. I started working on small web applications which communicated with a database and then rendered the data on the website. It was also here I started learning about which technologies are used to create website, and how the world wide web worked. I was funny enough learning JavaScript after I have learnt HTML, CSS & PHP, which is a unusually way of learning the web technologies.

School, Homework and Hobbies🎓

At the end of primary school, I had an opportunity have a 5 days internship at a company called Master to get a insight of how it was being a developer in a software company. During the 5 days of internship, I managed to get a quick introduction to the programming language C#, and developed a small program, which could store Pupils in a school and manage their information.

After primary school I chose to go to a high school (H.C. Ørsted Gymnasiet), where I could study software development, as well as other project-based subjects. These 3 years gave me a better understanding on how to develop software on a larger scale, and how to structure, plan and execute on projects.

Side Projects 💻

Because of the project-based learning we got thought during the 3 years, it also gave me an opportunity to create a bunch of projects within our assignments/homework.

One of the projects, that I used a bunch of time developing during my highschool years was the LectioToCal desktop application.

So I was creating different projects, both duing school (assignments/homework), but then also working/creating projects in my freetime as my hobby, which I thought could help me in my daily life. This helped me get a lot of hands-on experience with coding, and the mentality of learn-by-doing.

Work and Life balance💼

After graduating highschool, I chose to give the jobmarket a try. I gave myself 2 months to try to find a job, and if that failed, I would get university degree in software development.

Luckily after over ~50-60 rejections from various companies, a company called BLAST chose to say yes to my application. I got hired as a Fullstack Engineer, which was quiet a hard role to fulfill without any professional expierience.

I joined the excellent team consisting of ~8 developers, who's job was to build the next big website for esports fans, BLAST.tv. The website was still in Alpha when I joined, so the team and I worked hard on getting the first version of the site out the public.

After nearly 3 years of working hard on the site, expanding it to what we think is the best esports site out there. We can now say after 3 years, that we have over 250.000 registered users, and over 10 million page visits every year.

Experience💪

All of the hard work, and many hours (both working & overtime) put into the site, has given me a lot of experience, on how to collaborate within a team on a larger codebase as well as how it is to write professional code, which other users use on a daily basis.

The fast-paced environment has been an amazing environment to be in, since there hasn't been a day where I haven't learned something new. Our team and I, also try our best everyday to push each other in a better direction, so product can be the best that it can be.

Focus on mental wellbeing🧠

I have also found out that working in a fast-paced team and environment, it's also important to make sure your own mental wellbeing is at it's most optimal. This makes sure that you can give it 100% of your best self, every day.

That's also why I priotize my off-hours, where I workout quiet a bit, to clear and reset the mind. Reading books has also become one of my habits, that I do everyday to relax, but also to learn something new.

I think it's important not stand still, and also be in forward motion. A little quote that I live by is the following:

There will always be ups and downs in life. But the most important part, is that you're still moving forward.

Learn, learn & learn📖

I also try my best to keep up with the countless updates/announcements wihtin the software developer community. There is always an opportunity to learn something new, and maybe something that you can use in your professional life as well.

That's why I write blog posts about my findings, so others can learn from it. Build side-projects to keep my coding-skills fresh, and maybe build the next unicorn company🦄😂