Denis’ Open Source Path: From Dead-End Jobs to Staff Plus Engineer

I’m Denis Rodrigues. I live in Brazil with my wife Priscila and our son Rafael. Today, I work as a Staff Plus Engineer at Banco Itaú, the largest bank in Latin America. My work involves complex systems, emerging technologies, and mentoring younger engineers. On paper, it sounds like a dream job. And it is. But not long ago, this future felt completely out of my reach.

Breaking Through: How Open Source Became My Launchpad

Before all this, I spent years in low-paying jobs, unsure of how to move forward. I didn’t come from privilege, and I didn’t have connections. What I did have was curiosity, and a growing sense that maybe (just maybe…) something more was possible if I committed to learning and didn’t give up.

The real shift came thanks to a challenge from my mother-in-law: Enroll in the university. Priscila, who was then my girlfriend, supported me fully. I enrolled at the Institute of Mathematics and Statistics at USP. It was a leap into the unknown, but I found a community that encouraged me and teachers who believed in my potential.

The Lightbulb Moment: C Programming As The Turning Point

Me with Jon „maddog“ Hall.

When I encountered C programming, something clicked. While many saw it as just another class, I saw a new world. I went deep (really deep!!!) into every concept, every structure, every line of logic. I studied through the night, filled notebooks, and soaked up knowledge from legends like Dennis Ritchie, Linus Torvalds, Edsger Dijkstra, and Alan Turing.

That passion soon led me to open source. The more I learned, the more I saw the deeper values behind the code: sharing, freedom, access. I organized events for which I reached out to global names, and to my surprise, they responded. That’s how I learned about Open Beach, an event hosted by Douglas Conrad and the OpenS team. Jon „maddog“ Hall would be there.

I couldn’t afford the trip, so I took out a loan. It was risky, but Priscila stood by me. At Open Beach, I met people who shared knowledge freely, with humility and generosity. And then I met maddog himself…

He listened to my ideas. He encouraged me. That one conversation shifted something inside me. If someone like him thought I had something to say, maybe the world would listen too.

Returning home, I knew I had to keep going. It took years: grad school, certifications, job rejections. But eventually I landed a Linux sysadmin role. From there, the doors began to open.

Years of Effort, One Breakthrough at a Time

Today, I have stability, a platform, and a mission. I lead. I mentor. I speak. I build. And I will never forget where I came from. Open source changed my life. Now, I’m doing everything I can to pass that change on to others.

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