- Alex Patin
- WordPressing since 2010
- WP Level: Developer, WordCamp Nashville 2013 speaker
- Website: Alex Patin http://alexpatin.com
If you want another example of how WordPress can enable you to be master of your own destiny, look no further than Alex Patin. Alex has been working with WordPress since version 2.9-ish, in 2010. He started as a user, and has been developing full-time for two years and is now a freelancer full-time.
He was introduced to WordPress after a friend convinced him it was better than Joomla, another open source publishing platform.
“I do a lot more development than design now. Back when I first started I had limited coding skills. Finding WordPress and great open source themes was a way to put my work up on the Internet immediately. I instantly thought, ‘Yes, this is awesome.’”
Learning WordPress itself that pushed Alex to beef up his development skills. “I wouldn’t be working in web development right now if it wasn’t for WordPress. I’m a person who’s very passionate about learning new things and developing new skills, and the fact that WordPress exists is why I’m able to do what I do. It’s involved in everything I do.”
While the WordPress platform pushes Alex to keep learning and growing, the community that surrounds it is what has made the work a stable, successful and fulfilling career choice. If he gets too busy, he refers projects on to friends.
“I knew that when I left my last job, I would still be able to feed myself, because I got work from my friends because they’re too busy. I’m to the point now that I pass on work to other people. The people in the WordPress community just pay it forward.”
WordCamps are a big part of Alex’s involvement, starting with WordCamp Birmingham in 2012. He was a speaker on the WordPress Themes panel in Nashville 2013 and has been part of the design team for this year’s camp in Music City.
“I learned so much there and had a great weekend.. Since then, I’ve been going to as many different WordCamps as I can. There is so much to be learned from other people, and I like to experience what other people are doing with WordPress in different places.”