2024-2025 Retrospective

I'm writing this from my home office, our new puppy Theo zooming around like a maniac in the background. It's been almost two years since I wrote about burnout and breaking into tech, and yeah yeah, I probably should've posted an update sooner. But here we are.

Spoiler: I'm still in tech, still occasionally burned out, and I've switched jobs twice. Let's get into it.

Wins

2024

• 2 years of being married to my wonderful supportive wife, Leah (she's been my biggest cheerleader through all of this)
• I gave my first conference talk at THAT Conference (RIP). Terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure
• Met some amazing new people
• Landed my first job in Software Development at This Dot Labs 🎉

2025

• 3 years of being married to my wonderful supportive wife, Leah
• Leah and I got our first puppy, Theo 🐶
• Landed my second job in Software Development at Commerce 🎉
• Attended Render ATL
• Attended my first conference as a sponsor running a booth at Commit Your Code in Dallas, TX.
• Built some fun legos
• Traveled to one of my dream destinations I've been wanting to visit, Banff Canada 🇨🇦

Let's Talk About Jobs

Who would have thought breaking into tech would lead to switching jobs twice in the same year!? Like, what!?

I'm not going to get into all the details, but here's the honest version: I was genuinely happy at This Dot Labs. Great team, interesting work, and definitely wasn't looking to leave. But then Commerce reached out with an opportunity that checked boxes I didn't even know I had. More hands-on coding and a chance to get into Developer Experience work.

Making that decision was harder than I expected. Leaving a good thing for something potentially better is scary. But I took the leap, and so far? No regrets.

The lesson here: sometimes opportunities find you when you're not looking. Stay open.

Burnout (Again, But Different)

A few years ago, I was burned out from the endless apply-reject-repeat cycle. This time? It was different.

I pulled back from posting on social media. Obviously, no blog posts happened. I wasn't showing up in the tech community like I used to. But here's the thing: I gave myself permission to do that.

After fighting so hard to break into tech, I needed to actually be in tech. To focus on my new roles, learn the ropes, and not feel guilty about going quiet. That break wasn't failure; it was necessary.

But now I'm back. Rested-ish. Ready to write, post, and reconnect with the community that helped me get here.

The Future

I'm beyond stoked for what's to come in 2026. I'm ready to get back to writing more technical posts, and would love to make a video or two. I want to dive more into my creative side along with software development. So I'm stoked to explore all of that!

Goals for 2026:

• Write more blog posts
• Start a monthly newsletter
• Make a video or two and post to YouTube
• Speak at more conferences
• Go to at least one conference
• Build more side projects
• Learn as much as I can about AI, LLMs, and the craziness that is happening in the tech world

Final Thoughts

If you're in that quiet season right now — the one where you're not posting, not building side projects, maybe just surviving — that's okay. Sometimes progress looks like showing up to your job and doing your best. That counts.

Catch you in the next post.

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Moments From the Journey

2024

2025