Readme — Simple digits

It was the year 2000 when U2 released their tenth studio album — All That You Can't Leave Behind, and I discovered HTML as a programming language (as I mistakenly thought at the time) for the very first time. I learned that I could write some very basic instructions in a simple text file, save it with .html extension and load it in a browser. If I would update my HTML file, I could just hit ctrl+F5 in my browser and updated content would appear before my eyes.

I felt empowered. I knew how to make a web page, maybe even an entire website...

Soon, I discovered some more directives called Cascading Style Sheets which would allow me to add some styling to a web page. It felt like magic, and I was completely captivated by it.

I would sit at my Pentium computer with 166 MHz processor and 16 MB of RAM in the corner of our living room, listening to U2 on repeat and exploring it for hours.

But fatum (Latin for fate) had other plans. At the time I was in college, and as most of my generation would agree, it was crucial to get a degree — the only sure way for a secure and perhaps even successful career. At least, that's what our parents taught us. I foolishly convinced myself that these types of jobs are being outsourced to India anyway and thought, how could I possibly compete with one billion people :)

Life went on...

I completed my college education with a degree in economics and landed my first real job in a small IT firm where I quickly became the web portal manager. I wore many hats in that role, but I was mainly responsible for marketing and sales. The job paid the bills but I wasn't content, to say the least.

Finally, I had to admit to myself that I was not cut out for sales and to recognize that I needed a career path better suited for introverted individuals. I was in my thirties and didn't exactly know where to start. So I turned to one person who knows me the best – my mother. I asked her what was I like as a child, what did I like to do. Mom didn't even blink:

You loved playing with Lego sets, sometimes for hours. You'd get so immersed that I knew I didn't have to worry about you.

Obviously, I had a thing for building things so I thought perhaps I should follow that path. I was fortunate that my sister, my closest cousin, and many of the people I spent time with were engineers, most of them making a living in the IT sector. They were actually building things (software) and by the principle 'monkey see, monkey do', I decided to give it a try.

On a higher level of abstraction, building with Lego and building software aren't so different. In both cases you're piecing together small components to form something functional and complete.

I kept my mundane job while learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript at night. Since I loved building things, I didn't delve too much into tutorials; instead, I focused on creating real websites. It was during this time, that I launched the first version of the Kalkulatori.hr web app, using the CodeIgniter PHP framework, jQuery and UIKit.

Apart from that application, I also designed and developed several brochure websites and began learning the basics of WordPress and WooCommerce.

One February evening, my sister showed me a job listing for a frontend developer position at a company called Inchoo in Osijek. I already knew them as a market leader in building eCommerce solutions, so I decided to apply.

I lived in Zagreb and had no intention of moving to Osijek, but I wanted to get an interview to assess my standing in the job market. A couple of days after submitting my application, I had an interview with the lead frontend developer at Inchoo Hrvoje Jurišić, and just a few hours later, the CEO, Tomislav Bilić, called to offer me the job. To my surprise, I accepted the offer that very same night. I felt that this was an opportunity I couldn't let slip away.

Less than a month after my initial application, I moved into a rented apartment in Osijek and officially started my career as a frontend developer on March 8, 2017.