Why I Finally Finished

CodeMaster took me embarrassingly long to finish—years, in fact. The only reason it didn't take me longer is? AI.

AI has empowered people to chase their dreams. I'm one of them. I suddenly had access to all the answers I used to get stuck on. I already had two years of coding experience. People less skilled than me were using AI to ship applications. Why shouldn't I?

What was stopping me before was my lack of knowledge—I'd never built an app from scratch. But AI platformd like ChatGPT and Claude had all the knowledge of how to make applications successful. I used all the tools at my disposal because I decided: if I don't make this, if I don't finish it, no one will.

Where I Was Coming From

But to understand why CodeMaster mattered, you need to know where I was coming from.

I started coding in 2018 after an economics degree. I didn't know what path to take. This was during the coding bootcamp boom, and I got into a program for career changers—a chance to participate in a bootcamp and potentially get hired by their corporate sponsor.

At the end of the bootcamp, we had to present a full Angular application with a REST API. The bootcamp was Java-focused. We learned the basics and then had to demonstrate our skills. I struggled and didn't finish the project, but had to present what I had. They were not impressed, and I didn't get the position.

I still decided to apply to software development positions. I got a position but shorty after COVID broke our, and the project I got hired for was canceled. I worked the next two years in a software development role where I wasn't doing much development. I would get some tasks like fixing a React form or hooking up a new endpoint to our UI. But 75% of the work was data scraping and validation—not real coding. I kind of checked out. I wasn't an active participant in my own career.

Eventually, I ended up in a help desk position. That's when I realized I had to build something of my own.

The Realization

I started applying for jobs but wouldn't hear back. Sometimes on applications you'll have an option to put your GitHub profile or portfolio. My GitHub wasn't consistent, and I had nothing in my portfolio. I wanted a well-paying job in my chosen field, and I wasn't doing everything to make that possible.

I thought about contributing to open-source projects. I completed 2 pull requests before realizing I didn't care about the projects I was working on. I was already selling 40 hours of my time working for money. I didn't want to exploit more of my time on work that didn't matter to me. I had a folder full of half-completed projects. I already had basic skills. I didn't need to follow another tutorial. I needed to build an application I cared about.

In my mind, having one app with real users on the Chrome Store would be worth more than all my half-finished projects. I could improve my GitHub profile through commits, and I would get proof for job applications and also for myself.

I needed a job, but more than that, I needed proof.

Building CodeMaster

That's when I decided to build CodeMaster—a Chrome extension that helps developers master data structures and algorithms through spaced repetition and pattern-based learning. It integrates directly with LeetCode, adapting to your progress and reinforcing what you've learned.

But more than the product, what changed was me. For the first time, I wasn't giving up halfway.

That daily effort—showing up and working toward something that mattered to me—started to change things. I've always had high aspirations, just like a lot of people out there. I think the main difference between people who accomplish their dreams and the people who don't is that they don't run from the work.

What Changed

CodeMaster is 95% done. I'm fixing the final bugs before launching on October 30th. For the first time, I'm not abandoning a project halfway. That alone has changed how I see myself—as a developer again.

And it helped me feel like a developer again.

In the next few posts, I'll share what I learned from shipping CodeMaster—from how I used AI to accelerate development to the lessons that finally helped me finish.