When Cereal and Code Are Your Daily Grind

Holes and Cereal

I have holes in my jeans. Right on my knees. No, not because of what you thought – my bathroom sink is leaking, so, like, every odd Saturday I bend over and try to fix it. It my only pair. Why don't I put on my home sweatpants? Easy! because heating is expensive and I'm saving up. My breakfast is usually cereal, just as my dinner. I mean, I like cereal, but definitely not to this extent. I'm in my twenties and I know 7 languages, 5 of which are programming languages, but none of them have taught me what to say to the landlord when the rent is two months due.

The Big Day

But today is a big day. For the past month I've been saving up on cigs and today I'm eating out. There's this somewhat fancy place round the corner – a cafe, albeit a particularly posh one. Okay, so it's 1 PM and I'm heading out. My jeans are already on, so I look for my old sweatshirt to complete the look – good thing looking like a hobo is kinda in nowadays. I take my laptop with me, as always – it's my loyal friend, my sharp sword and my impenetrable shield. I don't have much spare time from coding, but if I do, I relax by coding for myself. Personal projects and stuff – the usual.

$25,00

– Hey! I'm Beth and I'll be taking care of you today, can I get you a drink or a cocktail for now?

– Oh... Uh... Yeah! A cappuccino please :)

– Anything to eat?

– Uh... no, maybe later

My social anxiety kicked in and I didn't even have time to look through the menu. Okay, can I even afford it? I've skimmed through the pages and... $25,00?! 25 dollars for a goddamn cappuccino?! Mate, this is literally my hourly rate. Are they out of their minds? This better be the best cappuccino of my life. Somewhat shocked and demotivated, I open up my laptop and load up the project. The life of a freelance software developer. $25, huh.

$140,00 (every day)

As I take microscopic sips of the best cappuccino of my time, I keep an eye on this guy across the room:

– ...a keto salad, a poached egg, a cheesecake, and a craft lemonade, please. For starters. Then, for the main course...

And the list went on. And on, and on, and on. And them some more. Man, judging by the prices in the menu, this guy must have spent like 140-150 dollars just on his lunch. He seemed outgoing, spoke loudly, and, for some reason, didn't make an impression of a particularly intellectual person. But maybe I'm being too judgemental. Probably. Come on, Jay – that's your envy speaking.

– Hey man, can I take your charger? Is it USB-C?

– Yeah, sure man, go ahead

– You're new here, right? I have my lunch here every day, it's a great place! I know everyone here

– Yeah, it's my first time here

– What are you having, a cappuccino? You don't eat anything?

– No I, uh... don't usually eat at this time of the day

– Huh, cool! And what do you do?

– Like, for a living?

– Yeah, what do you do?

– I'm a software developer. And you?

– Oh, I'm also an IT specialist!

Loro Piana and Tom Ford

Wait a second. $140,00 every day for a lunch, Loro Piana shoes and Tom Ford glasses. I'm gonna cite Plato, when his dog went two days without pooping – "you're full of shit".

– Oh, really? What languages?

– What about 'em?

– Tech stacks. Languages. What's yours?

– Oh, coding! No, I don't do that, haha. I actually can do everything except for coding lol

– I see... So what do you do exactly?

– Well, we make IT solutions for e-commerce business! I've hired a remote team of engineers – I just delegate tasks. And what languages do you use?

– LAMP stack

– Wh-what, like in Home Depot?

– No, like Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP

– Ah, "the oldies", haha

– What do you mean? These are the cornerstones of programming

– Well I don't know, my team just says that this stuff is old...

"Well, if you say so" I said to myself, covering the holes in my jeans.

Bug's life

I return home. Today I've lost 25 dollars but gained an important lesson: you don't have to know everything about everything to be successful. Sometimes, it's enough to find the right people to do the job and then just go on with your life. Hell, these people don't even have to share the same office as you. Why am I like this? Do I want to wear fancy Loro Piana shoes and Tom Ford glasses, and spend $100+ on a lunch every day? Nah man, give me my bugs, I love coding. But a little more money to pay the rent could definitely help.

"Platforms to find job as a freelance developer". Search. Match.dev – what's that? $40-50/hr.? More than enough for me, and a drop in the ocean for a successful entrepreneur. "team@match.dev". Compose.

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