Below is a quick summary of my life, since the day I was born, until my first job in Software Development.

1990: Hello, World!

I was born in Caicó, a city in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The name Caicó originates from the indigenous word ‘Queicuó’, which means ‘Cuó river and mountain’. The region is also known for constant droughts and extreme poverty.

In the early 1990s, Brazil faced significant economic challenges in less developed areas, such as Caicó. São Paulo - being the industrial and financial center - attracted my Mama’s family, which were seeking better living conditions and economic prospects. We moved to São Paulo in 1992.

2011: How I discovered Computer Science

Back in 2011, I was working as a SEO consultant at Red Bricks Media and getting really good at it… so good I started looking at what others were doing around the company, so that I could make my work more efficient.

That’s when I met Diogo - a Software Engineer so passionate about Computer Science, that he would easily spend all his lunch break answering my newbie questions about how computer works, create a course to teach me programming with PHP and become a close friend. I was so blown away by what Diogo told me about computers back then, that I couldn’t stop thinking about what I would be able to do, if I became a Computer Scientist like himself. So I dove deep into the topic and started learning about how to build websites.

2012: University (first trial)

After a year or so studying how to think like a Computer Scientist on my employers computers, I decided it was the career I wanted to pursue. So I enrolled into Computer Science at Universidade Anhembi Morumbi.

My first computer

Investing in a computer as a 22 year old me was… challenging. I was married, living in a 1-bedroom house with my in-law and 3 dogs. I didn’t have the money to buy it, so I took out a loan from a financial institution and hoped I’d be able to pay it fully. Turns out I never did, but it was the best investment I did back then. It allowed me to have access to free education, other cultures and, more importantly, it empowered me to be my best self.

It was a Samsung Laptop running Windows Linux (thanks to Erik for the influence) - which was the perfect fit for me, given I was hungry to learn everything about computers.

Finding an internship

1st Attempt: Failed

Back then, I didn’t know how to build connections with people, so I always used a direct approach. First I asked the course coordinator for instructions on how to find an internship.

Hey Mario. You’re here only for 4 months. It’s your first semester. You need to wait at least until your 4th semester to apply for internships. You won’t find anything until then. Have patience.

2nd Attempt: Skipped

After that terrible conversation, I pulled a list of ALL tech startups in São Paulo and sent an email to them introducing myself and asking for an internship. In return, they would have a chance to pay me less than what the market pays, because I’d be forever grateful for the opportunity and work really hard.

A lot of them replied. Some of them didn’t have an open role, but they still wanted to let me know my behavior was awesome. I did get into few interviews, but declined, because they were not aligned with my values and goals.

3rd Attempt: Succeeded!

I said I didn’t know how to build connections with everyone, but I knew how to make them laugh, and I made Daniel laugh hard many times. So I asked him to recommend me to iG for an internship. Which he did. I and other two class mates from uni passed the interview and we worked as a team. Let’s go!

2013: Computer Science Internship

I left my stable paying SEO job to work as an intern in a field I wasn’t familiar with yet. The moment I did that, I started to use my savings to pay for my uni. In fact, I wouldn’t have cashflow to pay for my bills in 6 months. Interestingly enough, that was the timeline for my internship, so I worked really hard to get promoted to a full-time role. And thanks to the shockingly empowerment I received from everyone at iG, I not only got a full-time role, but I also transitioned to a Backend role (something I learned I prefered) and then got a huge pay bump.

My time at iG was one of the most enjoyable experiences at work I’ve ever had. I will talk more about this in the future, but for now, I’ll just say that it was life changing.