Armands' journey started way back when he was just a teenager, frustrated by the endless grind of the online game Runescape. Rather than suffer through it, he decided to take matters into his own hands and started coding bots to automate tedious tasks. "I think I was 13 at that point…I got banned a couple of times for that" Armands recalls, laughing at his youthful exploits. "That's not the best idea. But eventually I created the bot that didn't get me banned."

That early foray into coding laid the groundwork for Armands' future career in software engineering. After high school, he pursued a computer science degree, but he wasn't going to wait until graduation to start putting his skills to the test. During his second year, Armands scored an internship paying a cool $700 per month - not bad for a college kid in Latvia.

The internship turned into a full-time gig, and Armands found himself having to balance his studies with his professional responsibilities. "I wasn’t going to classes at the university, I was only going to the exams," he explains. This unorthodox approach worked...until mandatory lectures were introduced in his third year.

Determined to finish his degree even though he found more satisfaction working, Armands transferred to a UK university with an online program. And when he did graduate, he felt restless and unfulfilled in his job. So Armands did what any self-respecting developer would do - he started looking for a better opportunity. And that's when he discovered G2i, a community of brilliant freelance engineers.

"When I was looking at all of those offers, in terms of salary, they were all fairly equal. But G2i stood out. I saw an opportunity to work with big-name clients and actually grow as an engineer."

And grow, he did. Joining G2i in 2017, Armands quickly adapted to the different work environments and high standards of G2i’s clients, honing his skills and expanding his technical repertoire.

"I think I'm a completely different person, in a good way. When I started off, I knew React Native, but I was working with a local Latvian company. I was the main developer, the feedback was myself. I was just building the app for them, and learning online and from myself, but working with G2i clients, I've seen so many different ways to build a service that's used by hundreds of thousands or even millions of users."

Armands' versatility and problem-solving abilities have made him an invaluable asset to G2i's clients. From creating a mini audio editor for Podsheets’ podcast hosting platform to tackling the challenge of a full Finnish-language app for an international client, this developer has consistently delivered exceptional results.

One of the highlights was his work on a project for WarnerMedia. The initial plan was to create a proof-of-concept app for the company's TV channels in three months, but Armands and his team managed to complete the task in just one month.

‍"The product manager from Warner Media said that in her 10+ years of career, she had never seen an IT project that actually finished early without any issues."

As Armands' skills and experience have grown, so too has his appreciation for work-life balance. Early on, he was driven to learn and excel, often working long hours to expand his knowledge. But over time, he's learned to strike a healthier balance, negotiating for paid time off and taking breaks when needed.

"At first when I was learning, I wanted to learn fast and a lot. So every opportunity I got to work over time, I worked even though I logged eight hours. I actually worked 14 just to learn the new things. But with time, I learned that work-life balance is a valuable thing. And yeah, in the past couple of years, I started to actually work only the eight hours I'm supposed to work."

Now, as Armands takes a well-deserved break to travel and recharge, he reflects on his journey with a sense of gratitude and excitement for the future. His story serves as an inspiration to developers of all levels, proving that with dedication and a willingness to step outside your comfort zone, remarkable success can be achieved.

"I intend to keep working as a freelancer; the only reason I think I worked with one company for a long time was because I changed projects three times during that time," Armands says, referring to his preference for diverse projects over permanent employment.

For aspiring developers looking to emulate Armands' success, his advice is simple:

"Do the things you're scared of. For me, it was native code. I saw that in the interviews I was struggling with that particular area, so in any opportunity I could, I asked to work on native code. Just work on those areas that you feel the weakest, and that will just make your life much easier once you learn that."

Armands' journey highlights perseverance and adaptability, and shows us the opportunities that can arise when one embraces the freelance lifestyle. His story, spanning 8 years of successful freelance work, serves as an inspiration to developers around the world - proof that with dedication and a willingness to step outside your comfort zone, freelance mastery can be achieved.