Why Rust and how I became interested in it?

Hey everyone,

I know you may be aware of me. I am a jobless programmer who has been running his coding YouTube channel for 3 years without having any idea what to do with it.

Initially, when I started, I had no idea about programming but teaching taught me a lot and this is the reason that I am still creating content for more than 3 years without getting tired.

I started it as a Roamer(you heard me right) because I was not sure which technology to pick and how to learn it and that’s why I chose my channel name Code Roamer.

I chose Golang initially because of its easiness and simplicity and made several projects. I thought that because of those projects, I could easily get a remote job. How stupid I was.

But I forgot that getting a remote job has some complications.

It depends on the tech stack, the location in which you’re living (whether the company is providing a job in that location or not), the problem-solving ability for a company instead of making the pet projects for yourself, and luck.

Why I switched from Golang to Rust?

I chose Rust because for two reasons.

1. Community

2. Remote job

After not getting any job in Golang even after submitting more than 600 applications, I was rethinking my decision and wanted to explore other options.

That’s where I started exploring, found Web3, and came to know that web3 mostly provides remote jobs.

I don’t want to enter into this debate that whether web3 is right or wrong, I want something that will help me start my career.

After exploring web3, I found that Solidity and Rust are options to go through. I didn’t choose Solidity because of OOP and at first, I was hesitant with Rust but Wat The Doodle motivated me to try this out.

I started slowly and began liking it.

After that, I started to find a mentor in Rust who could help me achieve the results in less time instead of wasting another 3 years without a job.

That’s where I found Nativelink and found the community really helpful.

Screenshot of taking guidance from the CTO of Nativelink

I made a few tutorial videos for them and as a result, they gifted me some books which I am always thankful for because those books helped me a lot in learning the concepts.

Names of the books:

1. Rust in 8 Hours

2. The Rust Programming Language

3. Rust Web Programming

After reading those books, I started creating content and making projects on the side to brush up my skills.

I also got a course from Coursera - Duke University that I completed successfully. Now I wanted a place to get mentored on a regular basis and solve problems.

That’s where I found the Rust online sessions that happen every week. I started attending those meetings and they assigned me some issues to explore and solve and fortunately, I solved an issue and now exploring more.

Screenshot of my first PR to Rust:

Sponsorship for my Rust content

On the 28th of December, a person reached out to me and said that he would sponsor my videos so that I could continue creating them.

How kind is this?

Take away

During this whole journey, you got the idea that the community is helpful and they’re regular in their efforts to improve this language more.

The second point is obvious and that is a job that I am regularly working on to get and if my efforts were regular, I will get one.

Beginners generally get an attraction to a community first and then the language because they need more help.

If I have gotten so much help from the Rust community, why not give back in return because many people started liking content?

That’s why I decided to give my full efforts to it while learning it, sharing videos and newsletters to help you more.

Thank you, for giving your time and I will be sharing these posts every week.