FAQs

Straight answers about how I work, what I take on, and how a project usually starts.

  • How old are you?

    I was born in August 1990, so today I am 33, but I am still feeling like a kid 🥳

  • Where do you live?

    My tax residence is in Hamburg. It’s a lovely city with an awesome dev community, beautiful running routes and probably the best cost of living / average salary balance in the European Union. 🇪🇺 Nevertheless, most of the time you will find me in different cities around the world. ✈️

  • Do you have a degree?

    Yes, I hold a Master's Degree in ECE (Electronics & Computer Engineering) since 2013. 🎓

  • What university have you attended?

    The department of Electronics and Computer Engineering in the Technical University of Crete. I graduated in 2013. 🎓

  • What's your favourite editor?

    IntelliJ IDEA for the win! 🙌 I’ve used VSC in the past but the difference in my productivity is huge. However, if you’re not into Java or Kotlin WebStorm would also be fine. Lately I've been diving into GoLang too, so I'm also using GoLand by JetBrains.

  • How do you get your 1st freelance project/job?

    Start building a portfolio consisting of small projects and ask yourself if you would like to hire somebody with a portfolio like yours. A solid portfolio takes time to be built, step by step, project after project. 
I implemented my first freelance project back in 2012. It was a JSP (Java Server Pages) fullstack web application to help a friend of a friend. My portfolio was almost empty back then (besides uni projects) so I got a few money in return. 💵

  • Should I enter freelancing or should I work in a company first?

    I strongly believe that if you are at the beginning of your career, working among other - more experienced - developers can only affect you in a positive way. Getting to know other devs with several years of experience, interacting and pairing with them can be a huge boost to your personal skillset. So my suggestion is, spend some years in a company first, familiarize yourself with fullstack development and then enter the freelancing world. 🌍

  • How do you land freelance jobs?

    Mainly through my already existing network. 🤝 I pay attention to details and the satisfaction of all my clients is really important to me. Having satisfied clients means that they will keep on recommending me to their network as well. Nonetheless, I’ve landed jobs through UpWork, LinkedIn as well as Instagram.

  • How do you prefer to learn something new?

    I prefer to get my hands dirty with it. For example, last year I wanted to learn NextJS, so I forced myself to build a web app for a client with NextJS. Started with a course, step by step feature by feature I got there and eventually delivered a fabulous Server Sider Rendered web app made with NextJS. Same with Astro, which I used to develop the latest version of my personal website. In the beginning it is hard but in the end it’s worth the effort. 💪

  • How do you manage your time?

    I use apps like Linear, Todevlist, JIRA and Asana to plan my time and my projects on a weekly basis. Furthermore, I use Timing (by Setapp) on my Macbook to track my working hours throughout the day. ⏳