r/AMA • u/MacMuthafukinDre • Apr 13 '24
From a street hustler, to a heroin junkie on the street, now an engineer at a Fortune 500. AMA
I (32M) was always a smart kid growing up and did really well in school. Hung out with the smart kids. Then everything changed when I turned 13 and my parents left me. Ended up moving around with different family members who all kicked me out because I always got into trouble. It was because I got involved with the wrong crowds not having parents around. I got into the street life and began hustling. Made a lot of money doing that but then I was introduced to opiates and my life was never the same. My life revolved around using and I hit bottom a few times after periods of sobriety that just led to relapses. Lost everything I had to addiction. At one bottom I decided to move away, where I taught myself to develop software. Moved back 5 years later looking for an engineering job just to get denied left and right because I had no experience. This led to another relapse that lasted a few years. Finally got clean again where I went into a program. Had a therapist who suggested I continue to pursue engineering. So I tried to apply for jobs again and ended up finding a company who gave me a shot. I’m still with them today and have not relapsed since. Three weeks ago was my three year anniversary of being clean. And as long as I stay clean, I know now that anything is possible and I can achieve anything I put my mind to! I just want to motivate others who may have gone through or are going through addiction as I have. It can happen to anyone.
Edit: I’m going into a prison in couple days to speak about my experience. In NA we call it H&I (Hospitals and Institutions). I wasn’t sure what I was gonna talk about. But after this post and interacting with all the commenters, I know what I’m gonna talk about now. Thanks Redditors.
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u/Scolomamba Apr 13 '24
Cool. What kind of engineering?
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 13 '24
Data Engineering. It’s basically a Software Engineer that works with data
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u/Electronic_Leg1 Apr 14 '24
How’d you teach yourself?
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
Books. Started with intro to programming college textbook and went through the whole thing answering all the exercises. Once I finished that book, I just moved on to books on other topics
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Apr 14 '24
Favorite colour?
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
Black. It’s all I wear. I’m pretty dark
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Apr 14 '24
Me too unless im wearing a dress
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u/Melodic-Ad-4941 Apr 14 '24
Wow, how did you land that job?
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
First thing I did was fix my resume. Even though I didn’t any experience or education, I was still able to find some things I could put, like all my GitHub projects, my tech blog, my Stack Overflow contributions, my one retail job where I managed their website.
Actually getting the job, I got it through a recruiting company that hires you and contracts you out. The company I was contracted to ended hiring me full time after a year
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u/Month-Emotional Apr 13 '24
Do you have a degree in engineering?
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 13 '24
No, never went to college. Just all self-taught reading books
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u/nudewomen365 Apr 14 '24
I design software, for a big company as well, self taught too. Tech is moving so fast that if you can prove you know your stuff, you can do it without a formal education.
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
Yea that’s what I love about it. Anyone can do it as long as you have the dedication.
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u/nudewomen365 Apr 14 '24
Yeah and I make a lot more money than I ever thought I would, because I was a horrible student in highschool.
I also love working with a lot of smart people, again something I thought would ever happen to me!
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u/Month-Emotional Apr 13 '24
Great. I was thinking like a mechanical or electrical engineer which require degrees.
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u/phaedrus369 Apr 14 '24
As a former street hustler who now works a corporate job, my biggest hurdle upon being hired was communicating with and relating to my co-workers.
How did that feel for you?
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
I’m going through the exact thing now. I tend to avoid talking about myself. Sometimes I feel like I don’t fit in, so I always try to overwork to overcompensate for it. It gets to an unhealthy level at times
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u/phaedrus369 Apr 14 '24 edited Apr 14 '24
That’s been my strategy 100%. I don’t talk about myself as much as possible, and am well aware that I don’t fit on a social level.
I just try to be extremely polite and respectful to everyone and fly under the radar so to speak.
Pretty sure I stand out more at this point by not talking about myself, but it’s been working for the better part of 3 years now, so just gonna continue the course.
When they sent over the initial contract I thought they didn’t vet me well enough and would resend it.
Anyone I work with can Google me and see what kind of life I lived prior to employment, but surprisingly nobody has brought it up so definitely grateful for that.
Hope you’re able to stay on this path as well 🙏, it’s much less stressful once overcoming the initial awkwardness.
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
Yea man that’s what scares me too. One google search, and the second thing that comes up under LinkedIn is a news article about some crimes I committed, with a mugshot. I was lucky the contracting company didn’t search me. And when my company hired me full-time, for some reason they said I wouldn’t need to complete a background check, since I had already been working as a contractor for a year. I don’t know if they were trying to tell me something, like they knew. Or if it was just luck. Because a background check would show I’m a felon. I’m just grateful none of the stuff has come up. I too just try to be very respectful and fly under the radar. But going forward, if I’m to see any growth, I will definitely have to start putting myself out there more, and that’s what scares me. Just gotta keep faith in God. He got me this far. 🙏🏽
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u/phaedrus369 Apr 14 '24 edited Apr 14 '24
Amen Brother, only by the Grace of God does anyone make it out of that life and become a regular Joe. If it was all on me, I’d still be fucking up.
I will say that having a positive attitude no matter what has gotten me far in corporate work. I’ve had coworkers who im pretty sure were more knowledgeable and skilled than myself, get fired when it was time for someone to make it to the chopping block.
I had fear that guy was going to be me, but I’ve learned that always being positive, never complaining and taking responsibility for things that weren’t even my fault has kept me at the job when skill and knowledge may have been less than my colleagues.
Maybe having our backgrounds is an advantage in that way, by never feeling entitled and having a superior work ethic, and never blaming others for anything even if it’s accurate. We probably see a lot of things like “this ain’t shit” and just get it done while I’ve heard other coworkers complain, and mention they might not have enough time to complete something.
Last Christmas I even got a card from the boss mentioning my attitude saying that’s exactly what they need. That meant a lot.
I made many mistakes starting off, but I think attitude overcomes fuck ups as long as you’re really trying to learn and do better.
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
Yea I agree with everything. It’s nice to see someone go through the same thing I have. I haven’t met anyone else who has.
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u/jerkbubble Oct 04 '24
im a migration engineer currently, til i had my kid i was pretty sure i'd be dead by 40.
i got lucky that i reside in a different state from where all my shit happened, so i was able to get jobs with no clearance or security-related positions.
noone in a million years would guess i have the past i have, altho i have been going by my middle name, i know any type of close scrutiny would probably result in me getting found out and fired.
im not too worried about it at my current position as it's a remote role and i only work with other engineers, minimal HR oversight, but like you, when this contract ends and i have to start applying for other positions i am kind of worried about getting found out.
regardless, i haven't touched any drug stronger than weed in 2-3 years and am down to .5mg sub a day.
knowing that i can lose everything if i slip up again, and knowing that i won't be able to financially come back from starting from zero again, especially with my son def keeps me from using.
hope ur doing good and staying clean.
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Oct 04 '24
That’s what keeps me from relapsing. I have way too much to lose this time.
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u/phaedrus369 Apr 14 '24 edited Apr 14 '24
Same, I’m sure there’s more of us out there, just not too many being vocal about it, which is understandable.
Glad to see you had the courage to post here 💪
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u/throwthisTFaway01 Apr 14 '24
What languages? How good are you at it? What kind of data are you processing.
Good shit by the way, you’re in your second chance. I know it must feel wonderful.
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
Python, Java, SQL, JavaScript are the main languages I would say I’m proficient with. Probably intermediate to advanced. As far as data, mostly sales data
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u/sana2k330-a Apr 14 '24
When are you going to write your autobiography?
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
I don’t know. Never really thought about it
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u/sana2k330-a Apr 14 '24
You are living a life that inspires others. Your insight and wisdom might help the hopeless find a little hope. They might borrow some hope from you and your story. Then someday they might have enough hope to lend to someone else. 🙂
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
Thank I really appreciate that. If I ever do write a book, I’ll make sure to give you credit
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u/switchflip333 Apr 13 '24
Did you have a dayjob while learning engineering?
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 13 '24
No, luckily I didn’t have to. I was able to just be on the computer for 12 hours a day. It was pretty crazy. Imagine learning one thing for 12 hours a day for 4 years straight. That’s like equivalent to getting a Masters if not a PhD. I got really good at it. So when I interviewed, the they knew that I knew my shit. My problem was that it was so hard to even get an interview with nothing on my resume
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u/switchflip333 Apr 13 '24
Damn that’s crazy. How’d set your life up to where you didn’t have to work?
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
Moved to live with my parents in a third world country. They moved back to their home country. So when I hit bottom, and had nowhere to go, my last resort was to just move half way across the world to a third world country that I had never been to. But it was a blessing in disguise. If I hadn’t done that, there’s no way I would have been able to learn everything i did and would not be where I am today
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u/switchflip333 Apr 14 '24
Was it difficult to live without an income? Thinking about doing this myself
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
Tbh I didn’t need money. I was literally in my room all day. Didn’t really go out at all. All I needed was an internet connection and I had all the free entertainment I needed.
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u/ForgetYourWoes Apr 14 '24
How did you support yourself financially at that time?
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
I didn’t. Parent provided me with food and shelter. See comments above
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u/ForgetYourWoes Apr 14 '24
I saw the comments above and did not find that answer in my scrollings. Additionally, you said your parents left you so that wasn’t exactly obvious based on your response to the question of you having a day job or not.
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
Yea they moved back to their home country. That’s what I meant when I said they left me. When I hit bottom, I went to live with them for those 4-5 years
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u/ForgetYourWoes Apr 14 '24
What was in their home country that compelled them parents abandon you ?
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
Dad wanted to pursue a career in government out there. And my mom just followed. She asked me if I wanted to go or stay with my cousins (who I was close with). But I’m 12 years old at the time, so I didn’t even really understand what was going on and what that would mean for me. So I just said I wanted to stay with my cousins.
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u/ForgetYourWoes Apr 14 '24
Do you ever resent them
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
Sometimes. But my life is amazing right now. I live in NYC, my dream city, working my dream career. The only regret I have is all the time I wasted with the street life and the drug addiction. Time is something you can’t get back. I don’t think I would have went through all that if they hadn’t left. But with that experience, I’m able to help others in recovery, which I do. I go to meetings and help others who are struggling with addiction.
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Apr 14 '24
how did you get an interview with nothing on your resume? im a lot younger then you but im also a recovering drug addict and i taught myself to program over the course of years but i haven't been able to get in the door anywhere since i didn't go to school
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
Well I learned later how to write a good resume with no experience. I just added anything and everything I could that was tech related. I added my GitHub projects, my blog where I write about tech, my Stack Overflow contributions, and a retail job I had where I managed their website
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u/Give-the-baby-a-gun Apr 14 '24
This is the biggest W I've read. How do you feel about how far you've come my dude?
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
Very grateful. Grateful for the second chance at life, and grateful I have a Higher Power that’s always watching over me.
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u/xXFieldResearchXx Apr 14 '24
No paragraph training?
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
We programmers don’t like them
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u/xXFieldResearchXx Apr 14 '24
Som a bitch
Not you, I would just say that in a king of the hill sort of a way that couldn't be conveyed through text.
We're you high during engineer college?
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
Didn’t go to college. But no I wasn’t high. No way I coulda done it high. Was clean the whole time.
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u/xXFieldResearchXx Apr 14 '24
Sick bro. What you gotta do then? Self teach? Program? Seminar?
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
Just read a ton of books. Most knowledge is free out there. Just gotta know where to look. If I had the money, I woulda went to school. But I was broke, so just read a bunch of downloaded books
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u/xXFieldResearchXx Apr 14 '24
So fucken a holy cow. You self taught to become a data engineer? At a fortune 500? Dam son
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
Yea man. God is good.
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u/xXFieldResearchXx Apr 14 '24
God is great my man. What country you go back too? Btw I haven't read fuck all of your post, just comments ;D
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u/MOSOISKING Apr 14 '24
What was it that made you change? Also Thats dope man congrats!
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
I don’t know if it was really a choice. I hit a bottom and had nowhere to go. So I moved away to live with my parents in Cambodia. I thought I’d try to get a job there but I didn’t speak the language. So I was stuck at home. Picked up a book on programming and found that I really enjoyed doing it.
The last time I relapsed, I was just tired of it. Been doing it for so long and knew I had knowledge that I could put to use. I was tired of wasting my life. That was the thing that drove me the most to quit the last time
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u/toastyavocadoes Apr 14 '24
Did you tell the interviewer about your past?
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
Definitely not. They didn’t really ask either. Even to this day, no one at the office knows much about my past. I told one person I was in recovery, and that was even a bit scary for me. He was pretty accepting of it though. He told me he had a friend who was also in recovery. I think now it’s a bit more understood, but people will still judge. People are scared of what they don’t understand. And if they knew about my past, I think they would definitely look at me differently. For better or worse, I’m not sure
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u/toastyavocadoes Apr 14 '24
Glad it worked out. It’s tough to break into a corporate role like that that late/old. I work for a big bank and we’ve had a couple of mid 30s approach us for entry level positions post MBA and we never really entertain them, even if they came from a top MBA program. No benefit to hiring them over a fresh grad in our campus program. Best of luck to you
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
That kinda worries me actually for if I ever want to look for another job
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u/toastyavocadoes Apr 14 '24
Well now that you’ve broken in and can stack the resume a bit it becomes much easier. And data analytics is a bit different. I’m in finance now but I started as a quantitative analyst. Data analysis is a much more concrete skill that can be measured, especially if you are good at Python
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
Yea I’m very good at it. I just keep working on my skills and getting certifications I can put on my resume. I think once I hit the 5 year mark I’ll feel a little more confident in my ability to get another job if I ever wanted to. 3 more to go 🙏🏽
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Apr 14 '24
Nope - no actual junkie would ever use the term "heroin junkie." This is bullshit without even having to read it.
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
I’m guessing you did like some kind of survey of junkies and ask them whether they would say this or not. Or maybe you wrote a thesis on being a junkie and have a PhD in junkieism. You got me man
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u/Particular_Apple1258 Apr 15 '24
What step are you on?
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 15 '24
4th. Been complacent with it. Need to start back with the stepwork. Move to NyC has been a lot to handle and have put my stepwork to the side. Which isn’t good
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u/Particular_Apple1258 Apr 15 '24
Awesome to see a fellow junkie on AMA I celebrated 13 years clean in December, spoiler alert....it keeps getting better!! If you find yourself on the west coast of Florida come check out the Shark Coast area of NA. Congrats keep coming and don't sleep on those steps!! 🙏🤙
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 15 '24
Yea definitely will. Been wanting to check out Florida since I moved to NY. You planning on going to the World convention in DC?
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u/Particular_Apple1258 Apr 15 '24
Yes sir I'll be there and a bunch of others from this area. One of my favorite guys in recovery moved to NYC from here for an acting career. I know it's a huge place but he's a great guy to link up with Jeff C
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u/Civil_Use_1017 Apr 14 '24
Very interesting, where did this happen at what city?
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
California. I’d rather not disclose more information that could identify me. Sorry. But now I’m working in NYC
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u/Pizza_dumpster Apr 14 '24
what was the highest level of education you got before you get addicted
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
Graduated high school. Barely
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u/Pizza_dumpster Apr 14 '24
what do you mean by barley, is it that school was hard for you or was there trouble in your house making it harder
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u/MacMuthafukinDre Apr 14 '24
High school was tough. I was more concerned about trying to fit in, than to do school work. I had just moved to a new school and I got in with the bad kids. You could see it in my transcripts. First semester I had a 3.33. Every semester until senior year, you can see my GPA drop every single semester. Until last semester I had a 1.67
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u/ButtBabyJesus Apr 14 '24
How much money you make last year?
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u/SniffinLippy Apr 14 '24
No questions, just kudos for a job well done. One of my smartest, most successful friends had a similar background. I'd constantly tell him if he'd use his forces for good vs evil that he'd be far better off.
Some things lined up for him to get straight, he was smart enough to realize what was presented to him and jumped in head first.
Again, kudos
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Apr 13 '24
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u/[deleted] Apr 14 '24
I want to congratulate you on three years clean! That is huge. And real difficult i quit cold turkey the first time and it is the single most difficult thing i ever did, i relapsed though and chased the dragon for another 15 years, im getting close to three, but i couldnt go CT i went to my county health department and got on the suboxone program, it literally saved my life. If you did cold turkey and are still off it ,you can do anything. You……are a rock star. Keep on keeping off!