6m, published October 25, 2026
From $12 to $25 with one client. Here's how I ask for a raise. With direct clients from OnlineJobs or LinkedIn, I give it at least 3 months first: contribute, become indispensable, then ask. My 2020 client went $12, then $13 after a month, $15 after 3 months, $17, $18, $19, and $25 after 1 to 2 years. That's now my minimum rate with them. Rule 2: new role, new rate. I went from software engineer to CTO, and I won't take a new role without the cha-ching. Salaried? My first job in 2017 went 18K, 20K after regularization, 40K a year later. Good luck sa job hunting, mga boss. Sana lahat tayo pumaldo.
One email when the first course opens. Nothing else.
Get notifiedMas simple na ang resume ko ngayon. I compare it with my older layouts, then show the prompt I send to ChatGPT: ATS-friendly formatting, keywords based on my actual work, and a check for improvements. Sent na ang request; the review is still pending in this clip. Save this for your next resume review.
Passing tests can still leave a required button missing. In this 1:21 excerpt from my technical interview, I explain why I validate AI work against the requirements and inspect recorded end-to-end checks. I describe a missing-button example despite passing tests, then explain why I keep human approval before release. What do you check before approving an AI-assisted feature?
If AI ever takes the dev career, my plan B is trading and investing. It has the highest earning potential in a short time, but it comes with a lot of risk and a lot of learning. I paid for my lessons. In 2018 I lost $500 in about 5 minutes trading USD/GBP at the office, back when that was a lot of money for me. Then Axie: I was a manager with a lot of scholars, SLP crashed, and I lost more than 1M. Now I trade mid to long term with my own capital (NVIDIA, IREN, Palantir), and I'm saving hard so my family is ready if it ever happens. Fair warning: only 5-10% of traders are profitable. Not financial advice.
I work for my kids. That's why I rarely burn out. From 2020 to 2024 there was no AI, and I juggled multiple client projects, each with its own scope. What keeps me going, number one: my kids, my family. I don't want them to struggle, and I want them to have a better future than the one I got. So I'm steering them toward finance, fintech and business, careers AI won't easily hit, like trading. Kids as young as 7 can start trading now. Since my eldest turned 6, I stopped buying toys: you work for your own. When I do burn out, I play on my PC or my Nintendo Switch, or I rewatch Code Geass. We try to travel abroad twice a year, Japan this year: Fukuoka, then Hokkaido, 14 days. Then local trips, good food, jogging, the treadmill. I'm the sole breadwinner, so there's no backing out. As long as you have motivation, you won't burn out that easily.
