About
The Dev Startup is a weekly newsletter where I share my thoughts on technology, software development, and product hosting. I aim to provide a mix of my personal insights, quick tech tips, and in-depth articles and guides on using different technologies.
Additionally, I strive to include an entrepreneurial perspective on software and product development, adhering to the mantra of "ship fast." Shipping fast does not necessarily mean creating low-quality products; I believe it is possible to build and ship quickly while maintaining a high level of quality.
This newsletter is as much a journey for me as I hope it will be for you.
Who am I?
My name is Christian Højsager.
Four years ago, I quit my six-year career as a soldier in the Danish Army, where I worked in a specialized NATO unit, deploying IT infrastructure all over the world. After six years and a couple of tours to Afghanistan and Iraq, I decided to settle down and start a civilian career. However, transitioning to civilian life can be a challenging endeavor.
With no formal civilian education, I started spending almost all of my spare time learning IT infrastructure and cloud technologies. I bought some old Dell servers on eBay and built my own server rack to start learning technologies such as Windows Server, Linux, VMware, and Azure. I dedicated countless hours to troubleshooting, reading articles, and watching YouTube videos, but it all paid off.
I managed to secure a trainee position as a systems administrator at a company. Just three months into the job, I was converted to a full-time employee.
Over the next three years, I worked tirelessly, learning everything I could about cloud technologies, networking, and Python development. On the job, I averaged 45 hours per week, even though I was only paid for 37 hours, and I spent an additional 10-15 hours of my spare time each week learning in my home lab.
After three years at the company, I was contacted by a major cloud consulting company and offered a position as a Cloud Solution Specialist, working as a cloud infrastructure architect and product developer. This new role tripled my earnings compared to my salary as a sergeant in the army.
From there, I never slowed down. I always seek ways to improve and learn new things. In the last couple of years, I have transitioned from a more "infrastructure-minded" role to becoming a Senior Software Engineer. Today, I build enterprise products with .NET and Next.js, hosted in Azure.
In my spare time, I now focus on building and shipping my own products.
Be sure to follow me on socials
