Get Your Custom Solution Now!

🛣️ My Learning Journey into Software Engineering (and How You Can Follow It Too)

Posted by:

Michael

|

On:

|

, , ,

From Treehouse beginner in 2014 to building autonomous systems in 2025.

Here’s how I taught myself web development, moved into professional engineering roles, and ultimately became an architect of intelligent automation systems — with all the tools, platforms, and real stories in between.

📚 The Early Days — HTML, CSS, and JS Basics (2014–2015)

My journey began around 2014 when I discovered Treehouse, a beginner-friendly platform for learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

This was my first real exposure to:

  • Web page structure
  • Styling with CSS
  • Introductory JavaScript and DOM interaction

🛠️ Practice Platforms: Codeacademy + FreeCodeCamp

Shortly after, I found Codecademy and FreeCodeCamp. These were instrumental in leveling up my JS skills.

On FreeCodeCamp, I worked through:

  • JavaScript algorithms and data structures
  • Intro to React
  • REST API interaction
  • Basic front-end projects

🔗 My FCC Profile (if you want to link it)

🎥 YouTube + Udemy Mentorship (2016–2018)

After the foundational stuff, I moved on to deeper knowledge via YouTube and Udemy. These creators played a huge role in my growth:

📺 YouTube Channels

They taught me:

  • WordPress theming
  • JavaScript in the browser
  • API design + REST
  • React, Redux, and even jQuery back in the day

Udemy was also huge — I probably took 20+ courses on:

  • Modern JavaScript
  • React + Hooks (I was there when React 16 launched!)
  • Node.js
  • Webpack and build tooling

💼 Trailhead + Salesforce (2019–2020)

At one point, I pivoted into enterprise software — diving deep into Salesforce using Trailhead.

🧠 I earned ~120+ Trailhead badges, learning:

  • Salesforce Admin workflows
  • CRM architecture
  • Lightning UI builder
  • Declarative automation tools

This gave me early experience working in enterprise-grade systems — automation, permissions, roles, and workflows.

🎓 Formal Bootcamp Education

I eventually completed a university coding bootcamp, which helped formalize my knowledge and filled in the gaps.

It was here I solidified:

  • Professional React UI design
  • Component architecture
  • Agile methodology
  • API design + backend fundamentals

Right after graduation, I landed my first job as a frontend React engineer.

🧪 Real-World Engineering Work

Since then, I’ve worked in professional environments building:

  • Internal tools with React + TypeScript
  • Complex workflows
  • Secure enterprise apps
  • Automation dashboards

All while still coding on my own — daily.

🧠 Learning Never Stops — Recent Tech I’ve Picked Up

Over the last year alone, I’ve taught myself:

  • 🐧 Linux
  • 🐳 Docker
  • 🧠 n8n
  • 🧪 Unit & automated testing
  • 🌐 Networking concepts
  • 🔗 GraphQL
  • ⚙️ Infrastructure automation
  • 💡 AI-assisted development + memory systems

🧭 What I’d Recommend If You’re Starting Today

If you want to follow a similar path — here’s what I’d suggest:

  1. FreeCodeCamp — get your basics down
    🔗 https://www.freecodecamp.org/
  2. YouTube Creators — real-world skill growth
  3. Front-End Developer Roadmap (2025 Edition)
    🔗 https://roadmap.sh/frontend
  4. Back-End Developer Roadmap
    🔗 https://roadmap.sh/backend
  5. Start building. It doesn’t matter how small. Document what you learn. Reflect on what you build. Publish it somewhere. (Even if it’s just your notes.)

🔁 Bonus: My Automation + AI Journey

In recent years I’ve focused heavily on:

  • Building intelligent systems that learn from my work
  • Automating every possible layer of the dev lifecycle
  • Architecting agentic software that reflects and grows

If you’re curious about where you can go after you’ve mastered the basics, check out:

🧠 My Agentic Infrastructure Series
📝 How I Automatically Generate Blog Posts
📚 My Learn Page (coming soon)

👋 Final Thoughts

Everyone’s journey is different — but I hope mine gives you a map.

I started with HTML and CSS.
Now I’m building infrastructure that thinks, reasons, and automates.

Start small. Stay consistent. Let curiosity lead you.

🧭 Part 2: My Software Engineering Roadmap — From HTML to Autonomous Systems

Want to become an AI-powered automation engineer? Here’s the exact roadmap I followed — and how you can follow it too.

This post outlines the full stack of technologies, concepts, and tools I learned on the path from beginner coder to building autonomous software systems like Guardian. Whether you’re just starting or leveling up, this roadmap is for you.

📍 Phase 1: Foundations of Web Development

This phase gives you the essential building blocks of the web.

✅ Topics to Learn

  • HTML (page structure)
  • CSS (styling + layout)
  • Basic JavaScript (variables, loops, DOM)
  • Responsive design (media queries, flexbox, grid)

🔗 Resources

📍 Phase 2: JavaScript Mastery

Once you’re comfortable with the basics, go deeper.

✅ Topics to Learn

  • ES6+ JavaScript (arrow functions, destructuring, classes, etc.)
  • Array methods (map, filter, reduce)
  • Async JS (fetch, async/await)
  • Working with APIs

🔗 Resources

📍 Phase 3: Frontend Frameworks

This is where you go from “I know JS” to “I can build real web apps.”

✅ Topics to Learn

  • React (Hooks, Components, Props, State)
  • JSX and Virtual DOM
  • React Router
  • State management (Context, Redux, Zustand)
  • UI Libraries (Material UI, Tailwind)

🔗 Resources

📍 Phase 4: Backend Basics

Learn how the web actually works behind the scenes.

✅ Topics to Learn

  • Node.js + Express
  • REST API design
  • CRUD operations
  • PostgreSQL / MongoDB
  • Authentication

🔗 Resources

📍 Phase 5: Fullstack Projects

Now it’s time to build real apps. This is where you level up fast.

✅ Sample Projects

  • Task manager with login
  • Blogging platform (hello 👋)
  • Dashboard UI with API data
  • Fullstack clone (e.g. Twitter, Notion, etc.)

🔗 Resources

📍 Phase 6: Tooling & DevOps

Learn how to work like a professional developer.

✅ Topics to Learn

  • Git & GitHub (branches, PRs)
  • CI/CD (GitHub Actions, Netlify)
  • Docker (containers, local dev)
  • Linux basics (terminal, file systems)

🔗 Resources

📍 Phase 7: Automation, Testing, and APIs

Here’s where you start to stand out.

✅ Topics to Learn

  • Unit testing (Vitest, Jest)
  • API testing (Playwright, Postman)
  • GraphQL (Apollo, URQL)
  • Automation tools (n8n, Zapier)
  • API clients (Axios, TanStack Query)

📍 Phase 8: AI, Agents, and Intelligent Systems (My Current Work)

This is where I live now. This is where Guardian was born.

✅ Topics to Learn

  • Local LLMs (Ollama, Mistral, GPT4All)
  • Memory architecture (Qdrant, Supabase, vector embeddings)
  • Automation orchestration (n8n + agents)
  • CLI tools (Bun + TypeScript)
  • Dev agent + code generation workflows
  • Realtime infra (Supabase Realtime, WebSockets)

🔗 Starter Posts:

🧠 Tools I Use Daily

Here’s the tech that runs my stack right now:

  • React + TypeScript + Vite (frontend)
  • Supabase + Qdrant (backend infra)
  • Docker + Tailscale + Cloudflare (infra orchestration)
  • Bun (CLI tooling + server)
  • n8n (automation engine)
  • Ollama + Gemini (AI inference + workflows)

🔄 Learning Never Stops

Even now, I’m still learning. Still pushing.

I document everything:

  • Daily blog posts (automatically generated!)
  • System architecture guides
  • Experiments with new LLM workflows

🚀 Your Next Step

If you’re just starting: Use this roadmap.
If you’re intermediate: Pick a project and go deeper.
If you’re advanced: Join me in building the future of intelligent automation.

Start small. Build daily.
And one day, you’ll be running a system like Guardian too.

Posted by

Michael

in

, , ,

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *