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In this episode of The Education Road, we sit down with Randall, whose education road is anything but traditional. After dropping out of UC Santa Cruz, Randall carved his own path through sheer curiosity, hustle, and a relentless drive to learn by doing.

He shares how tinkering with DOS systems and hacking as a kid sparked his lifelong passion for programming. Early on, Randall dove deep into telecom, building open source distros, scaling services to millions of users, and even creating one of the first API services for caller ID data.

Along the way, Randall reflects on the lessons of self-directed learning, the power of wearing many hats, and why becoming both a strong engineer and a good communicator is the ultimate career multiplier.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you need a degree to succeed in tech, how DevRel really works, or how to keep learning alive throughout your career, this conversation offers a refreshing, unfiltered look at building a career on your own terms.