Sometimes it is quite nice to reflect on what you have already achieved in life. Here, I only focus on tech things that I've learned since I started software development 20 years ago.

There were also some technologies or programming languages which I started to learn but abandoned at some point. I marked them with this emoji: 🏚.

20 years ago

• QBasic 🏚
• I found a QBasic IDE on some computer games magazine's disk. I was immediately caught and wanted to learn more about programming. I started by printing out source code and read it. A few weeks later I started by coding a simple quiz application.

19 years ago

• Visual Basic 6 🏚
• As my parents realized that I really like computer programming, they bought me a book like Visual Basic for Kids. I spent every minute learning Visual Basic. Eventually, I wrote an application that split large files into smaller chunks (floppy disk were still a thing in 2000), which was featured in a computer magazine 🥳

17 years ago

• Blitz BASIC, HTML and CSS
• Because I already was familiar with the BASIC dialect, I looked for a way to write computer games, so I discovered Blitz BASIC. It was easy for me to write simple 2d graphic games. A benefit of learning Blitz BASIC was, that there was a very active and helpful community in Germany.

15 years ago

• PHP, MySQL and JavaScript 🏚
• I launched my first website fifteen years ago (a platform where anyone could upload replays of Pro Evolution Soccer 3)

14 years ago

• Linux and server administration
• I ordered my first virtual server to install a Counter-Strike game server and an IRC bouncer.

13 years ago

• Network administration, Active Directory
• I began an apprenticeship as IT administrator in late 2006. No coding was involved, I didn't really like that job, but it taught me many computer science basic which are still helpful.

10 years ago

• Java, JavaScript, PHP, MySQL, MSSQL, C++, C#, Assembler
• Sounds like I learned a lot in this year. I started studying computer science after I finished my apprenticeship. It was very practical and I learned many programming languages and database systems.

7 years ago

• Java, Java EE, Spring Framework, Apache Tomcat, JBoss
• I landed my first job as software engineer in 2012 🥳. Everything I learned so far was nice and came helpful, but when you start working, you realize that you know nothing.

6 years ago

• AngularJS 🏚, jQuery 🏚, REST APIs
• Only backend coding make me go crazy. I wanted to learn some technologies where I actually was able to show what I've done. I started learning AngularJS with an online course from CodeSchool.

5 years ago

• Node.js, Docker 🐳
• My first contact with DevOps technologies, more precisely Docker.

4 years ago

• Jenkins, REST APIs, Swift 🏚, Android 🏚
• I started working for a new company where I developed the backend system for a mobile application. Because I wanted to have some basic knowledge of the apps, I started to learn Swift and Android.

3 years ago

• Docker 🐳
• Docker again, but this time a little more specific.

2 years ago

• TypeScript, Angular
• I have again changed to a new employer.
• This time I learned TypeScript and because I am doing more full stack work, I also had to learn Angular.

1 year ago

• Kubernetes, React
• When Docker Cloud was shut down last year, we were looking for a new way to host our services, we decided to go with Kubernetes. I don't regret this choice so far.
• I also did some more front end development, React ⚛️ has replaced Angular a bit.

0.5 years ago

• GatsbyJS ❤️, Headless CMS, JAMstack
• I built some websites for friends and local businesses. In my opinion static site generators and headless content management systems are the state-of-the-art nowadays.

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Cover Image by Ian Schneider on Unsplash