I was a below-average student
I am not a college graduate. I am a self-taught front-end engineer who has been on this journey for 5 years and still going strong. This career is not always easy, to be honest, but if you're willing to work hard enough you can do anything.

You might have heard that education is the new currency of our time and maybe some part of you believes that too; but what happens when your education does not come with a degree? What are we supposed to do then? Well, I'm here to tell you: don't give up! Give yourself time and space so that your skills can grow as mine did. It took me years before I could be good at what I do.

What I learned

1. Get your hands dirty / become an expert at what you love doing; repeatedly practice every day until you're at least pretty decent at it
2. NEVER give up or quit just because of failure
3. Hone your skills, learn faster than others, improve the quality of your work over time; add real value to yourself and those around you
4. Never feel too proud to ask for help -- it's easy to get caught up in your own head and end up going down a dark path of no return
5. Build strong, valuable relationships with those around you - this includes becoming an expert at networking and getting referrals. Some are hungry for knowledge; others just want to stay stagnant. Take advantage of the latter if possible
6. Be confident. Do not let someone else's lack of confidence drag you down...they're not worth your time
7. Learn from the best; reflect on how they became successful & replicate their success for yourself (and extend it even further!)
8. Always be learning & getting better - don't be satisfied with "good enough" or ordinary work!
9. Have fun with it; life is meant to be enjoyed
10. Go out on a limb - so what if it breaks? Life's worth living isn't it? Look at all the opportunities that would've been missed had you not taken a risk. There are always more trees in the forest ;-)