Member-only story
About Me — Dr. Derek Austin 🥳
How I went from web developer, to physical therapist, and then back to frontend UI/UX software engineer.
My Journey from Web Dev to PT to Web Dev (Again)
You may be curious as to why a physical therapist and massage therapist is also a lead UI/UX frontend software engineer and web performance expert.
I started building websites professionally back in 2001, and I even built a PHP app for LiveJournal that earned a few hundred dollars in popups (that I now regret; sorry about that!). When I got to college, I taught web development to professors and became the webmaster for the VCU School of World Studies, designing sites using Macromedia Dreamweaver.
Back then, I built WordPress and Drupal sites while writing my Master’s thesis in C++ and Ruby, but my clients kept coming back to me to help their businesses reach more customers through SEO. That led me to start a local SEO agency that I ran throughout earning my Doctor of Physical Therapy degree (also from VCU). Eventually, though, I stopped freelancing in favor of full-time clinical work and launching a successful Airbnb in my home.
Yes, I spent the last decade balancing part-time work as a professional web developer with a world-class career…
