How does a substitute teacher, waiter, bartender, and UPS package handler end up as a Solutions Architect @ AWS?
That's the question I get asked all the time. Here's the honest answer: a lot of rejection.
I deployed my first website in 8th grade: a blog with custom DNS and fancy bells and whistles. Basically WordPress-level stuff (I used "Blogger" a former Google product), but this was 2005 - that was black magic back then. But I lacked direction and discipline. Fast forward to my twenties, and my resume ended up rather unconventional.
I finally transitioned to a market research team lead at a tech startup. This was my first "big break."
When COVID hit in 2020, I got laid off. I got my first two cloud certifications. I thought, "Okay, now I'm legit. Someone will surely hire me.
People kept telling me it was a numbers game. So I did what any reasonable person does: I interviewed with everyone. Hundreds of interviews. Every. Single. One. Rejected me.
But here's what I did that most people don't: If somebody made me feel dumb in an interview, I went and fixed it. I studied it. Got asked about Kubernetes and fumbled? Spent the next week deep-diving into container orchestration. Blanked on a system design question? Built it myself to understand it.
Anyways...after years of rejection by the whole ecosystem...Amazon Web Services decided to say yes. Three and a half years later, I had a top 1% Customer Obsession award, was advising on $100M+ in federal cloud spend, held 16 multi-cloud certifications, and was helping partners build production GenAI systems.
Here's What Those Hundreds of Interviews Taught Me
You need to be able to articulate what you know. Not just know it. Articulate it under pressure, in real-time, to skeptical interviewers who are looking for reasons to say no.
But here's the problem: If nobody in your family works in tech, how are you supposed to figure this stuff out? Listening to YouTube videos? Reading blog posts? Technology is broad. What am I supposed to study? It seems like every role wants something different. What can I focus on?!
The truth is: Interviews are the BEST practice for interviewing. Believe it or not, that's how I learned. Through hundreds of attempts. Through bombing questions, feeling stupid, then going home and actually learning the material.
gitGood is the second best thing. And it's a hell of a lot cheaper than failing your way through 100+ real interviews. Plus, it gives you a roadmap through the chaos.
So What is gitGood?
After doing interviews on both sides of the table, I learned exactly what separates candidates who get offers from those who don't. GitGood addresses all of it:
Real Interview Prep That Forces You to Articulate
- 14+ categories covering what interviews actually test: System Design, Cloud Architecture (AWS/GCP/Azure: I hold 16 multi-cloud certs), Kubernetes, Databases, Security, GenAI, and yes, Algorithms
- Multiple-choice questions that test deep conceptual understanding: the stuff that separates "I memorized this" from "I can explain this to a hiring manager"
- Live code execution for Node.js and Python challenges (because theory without practice is useless)
- Behavioral prep with STAR method examples (technical skills get you in the door; being able to talk about your experience gets you the offer. I learned this through hundreds of attempts)
Gamification That Keeps You Coming Back
I'm a distance runner (2:55 Boston Marathon). I know what keeps you showing up day after day. So GitGood has:
- Skill badges (Bronze → Silver → Gold) that make progress visible
- Leaderboards that tap into healthy competition
- Streak tracking (because consistency beats cramming. Trust me, I tried both)
- Achievements that celebrate milestones
Your Profile = Your Proof
This is the part I'm most excited about: Your gitGood profile is a verified skill portfolio. Recruiters can see your badges, your scores, your areas of expertise. Objective proof of what you can do.
Because I remember having two certifications and still being told I wasn't qualified. No more screaming into the void with 100 cold applications. No more "we need someone with more experience" when you've literally proven your knowledge.
1-on-1 Mentoring
For $100/hour, I'll work with you directly. I'll share everything I learned from those hundreds of interviews: what worked, what bombed, the questions that keep coming up, how to turn market research and business analysis experience into "Solutions Architect at AWS." I'll teach you what nobody taught me.
Actually Affordable
I built this for people like past-me, working multiple jobs during COVID, studying for certs, wondering when it would finally click. So:
- Free tier to get started
- Premium: $5/month (or $40/year) for everything
That's less than one drink at the bar I used to work at. For the full question bank, detailed explanations, and analytics that track your progress.
The Tech Stack
Next.js, TypeScript, Tailwind, AWS Amplify, DynamoDB, Lambda for code execution, Stripe for payments, all infrastructure-as-code with Terraform. Built with the same AWS services I used to architect for defense contractors like Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
What's Coming Next
I'm building recruiter tools so companies can discover pre-assessed talent directly on the platform. Imagine: instead of being told your unconventional background is a "concern," recruiters find you based on demonstrated skills and verified badges. That's the vision.
Real Talk
The industry is missing out on incredible talent because the interview process favors pedigree over ability. More importantly, it favors people who had mentors, family connections, or CS professors who taught them how to interview.
I didn't have any of that. I learned by failing. A lot. But every failure became a study guide.
If you're grinding right now (working jobs that have nothing to do with tech while you study, collecting certifications that don't seem to matter, getting rejected but refusing to quit, and you're the first person in your family trying to break into tech), this is for you. I see you. I was you.
Try gitGood.dev. Let's git' good together. 🚀
And seriously, if you have feedback, hit me up. This platform exists because I struggled through hundreds of interviews even with certifications in hand. I want to make sure it genuinely helps others break through faster than I did.