About Me
A bit of my professional journey, from college to building a career.
2025-07-14
I used to listen to this song a lot when I was just getting into programming, so if you'd like, feel free to play it while reading this post:
1. Who am I?
My name is Gabriel Duete. I've been working as a Web Developer since 2021, and I'm currently a Front-End Developer at Juntos Somos Mais.
I'm a big fan of open source and have made a few contributions throughout my career — writing articles (dev.to, tabnews, and now here, haha), opening and interacting with PRs and issues on GitHub, answering questions on Stack Overflow in both EN and PT-BR, and participating in community events, especially with He4rt Developers.
Technologies I’ve worked with include: JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Next.js, Vue, Nuxt.js, Web Components, Stencil, CSS preprocessors (Tailwind, SASS, Styled-components, Chakra UI, Ionic, etc...), AWS, Sentry, Git, GitHub, Unit Testing, E2E Testing, CI/CD, Software Architecture, Clean Architecture, TDD, OOP.
2. Career
2.1 How I got into tech
Around the age of 16 or 17, I got to know the tech world better through my best friend and my brother. Right away, I felt like it matched perfectly with my personal goals and ambitions.
That’s when I decided to dive into it and start my journey to become a developer.
2.2 College Journey
To do that, I needed to get into a public university through Brazil’s national entrance exam (ENEM). Thankfully, I got a good score on the 2018 exam and was accepted into IFCE – Crato Campus in 2019!
Besides improving my programming fundamentals, I made amazing friends who I carry in my heart wherever I go. I’m so grateful to have met them — they made a huge difference in my life. I thank God for placing them in my path. Love you all! ❤️
During my second or third semester, something unexpected happened: the COVID-19 pandemic. Classes were suspended for “just 15 days” — and ended up being on hold for almost 3 years. It took a while for the institute to adapt to remote learning.
Despite the initial frustration, I saw it as a chance to fully focus on my career — and that’s how I started paving my way to my first job in tech.
In the meantime, a good friend of mine, Wilton, invited me to work on some freelance projects. I styled a website using Bootstrap and solved a few programming challenges. That was my first taste of making money from code. From there, I created a study roadmap and dove deeper into the field.
2.3 First Job!
In October 2021, the #He4rtConf2021 event took place with several talks and a recruiting initiative from Juntos Somos Mais. During the event, I applied for a Junior Front-End position. I went through the interview — and didn’t get the job.
But thankfully, the recruiter liked my profile and marked my name for a potential internship. A few days later, they called me — and I accepted!
I started as an intern in a super strong technical team. I was lucky to work with people who taught me a lot and helped shape my vision as a professional. True role models, both in coding and in teamwork and career mindset. From leadership to front-end to back-end — I learned from everyone.
Today, I’m a full-time developer and have been with the company for nearly 4 years, involved in lots of projects and different technologies. Still growing, learning, and thankful for every person who’s been part of this journey.
2.4 First International Freela!
In 2024, I landed my first freelance project for an international client, thanks to a referral from my buddy Rickelme. I teamed up with a friend, and we’ve been working on it — still in the MVP phase, but once it launches, I’ll definitely post about it here.
3. Final Thoughts
That’s it! A small recap of my journey so far. I’ll probably use this blog to post about the articles and projects I work on, so feel free to explore, read, comment, share ideas... thanks a lot for stopping by! God bless!