Self-taught path to programming with Roy Derks

Roy Derks, Manager of Engineering at Vandebron, shares with us his self-taught path to programming and his experience as a speaker. We also hear about the thriving ecosystem of Amsterdam!

Show Notes

Today, let's meet Roy Derks, Manager Engineering at Vandebron, Amsterdam.

During his Bachelor of Science Economics and Business Economics / Geography at Utrecht University, he founded MovieMarkt, a peer-to-peer marketplace that relied on the circular economy by allowing users to trade their used DVDs and Blu-Rays for free.

He then became Technical Product Manager for Wundershift for 2 years. Right after he co-founded his project SwitchBay, a user-to-user marketplace of used consumer electronics, he was hired as Senior Software Developer for the City of Amsterdam. May 2020, he became Lead Mobile Developer at Checkgesprek.nl by Chatback Company. And then in August, he found his new home at Vandebron as Manager Engineering.

Roy talks about his self-taught path to programming, the Impostor syndrome, his bootcamp initiative to teach code to refugees, his experience as a book writer (co-author of Fullstack GraphQL and author of React Projects), a speaker, how he prepares his talks, the importance of personal branding and investing in ourselves, his many travels in 2019, but also the dynamism and thriving ecosystem in Amsterdam, his passion for Open Source, the impact of COVID-19 on his work, and his goals for 2021.

Discover his inspiring and insightful story!

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