Learn back-end development and computer science for FREE at boot.dev.  Join the community of over 15,000 members here: https://bit.ly/3wtboux  In this video, I compare my life before and after having a six-figure tech salary.   Before, I was struggling to make ends meet. But now, with my high-paying tech job, life is better than ever. It's amazing how much difference a big salary can make in your life. Money does not equal happiness, but it does make your life a lot easier.

Yihua is a Lead Software Engineer & Lead Instructor at Zero To Mastery. He is also a first-generation immigrant who overcame many obstacles to become the successful software engineer and instructor he is today. Watch his inspiring story, and learn how you can achieve anything you set your mind to as a developer or entrepreneur.

I'm a self-taught web developer, and I didn't go to college. In this video, I share my perspective on why college might not be for everyone.  I talk about the pros (and cons) of going to school and how you can get started in your career without a degree. 

In this episode, Justin recounts how his parents went against him skipping college to learn code. He goes on to explain how he rose from being an IT employee to finally getting his foot in the tech industry, and how he was rejected for what he thought was his dream job before finally landing a better job at a better company.

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 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 NEVER give up or quit just because of failure Hone your skills, learn faster than others, improve the quality of your work over time; add real value to yourself and those around you 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 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 Be confident. Do not let someone else's lack of confidence drag you down...they're not worth your time Learn from the best; reflect on how they became successful & replicate their success for yourself (and extend it even further!) Always be learning & getting better - don't be satisfied with "good enough" or ordinary work! Have fun with it; life is meant to be enjoyed 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 ;-)

In this episode, Domitrius realized that he wouldn't get a job after graduating from a coding boot camp. What did he do from there? Follow Dom on Twitter here: @domitriusclark.

Luck has nothing to do with your success. Let me share what I mean by this.

TECH-OLOGY - From Food Stamps to Six Figure Salary as a Web Developer

Code Stories shares how pure will & simply never giving up will get you your first job

Will Johnson shares how he went from factory worker to self-taught developer in Kansas City.