min. readI’m Porfirio Pérez, from Luque, Paraguay. I’ve always been that person who gets excited about anything with a computer inside it. I love understanding how things work, what’s behind the screen, and why a system behaves the way it does. This is my software developer journey at Abstra, defined by curiosity, persistence, and meaningful projects.
Outside of tech, I’m also a reader, romantic and fantasy novels are my thing, I can go from code to a story universe in the same day. I love series and movies too, and years ago I was deep in the video game era. These days, my two biggest hobbies are building apps and learning to dance. Over the last two years I’ve been all in on Caribbean styles, salsa, both caleña and cuban, and bachata. It might sound like two different worlds, but for me it’s the same energy, practice, timing, and that feeling of progress when something finally clicks.
Where it got serious, the classroom and the real world
I studied at the Universidad Nacional de Asunción, in the Polytechnic faculty. I graduated in Computer Science with an emphasis in Systems Analysis in 2019, and later completed a second emphasis in Computer Programming in 2022.
But my relationship with tech started way before any diploma.
As a kid, I was constantly opening up my computers, taking parts out, putting them back, installing programs, uninstalling them, trying again. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t, but I learned by touching, breaking, fixing, and repeating. I didn’t just want to use technology, I wanted to understand it from the inside.
That curiosity never went away, it just grew up with me.
My first tech job happened fast
My first real step into tech came while I was still studying. A professor was building a new team for a project at the company he worked for, and he was looking for people with no experience, just potential.
He told me about it, I said yes, and three days later I was already working.
No long preparation, no perfect timing, just an opportunity that arrived early and forced me to learn fast.
What keeps me hooked
One of the most interesting parts of development is how endless it is. There are so many things you can build, so many ways to solve a problem, and every client brings a new idea that starts as a concept and ends up becoming real through code.
That process still feels special to me.
I’ve also been lucky to work on different projects instead of staying on one forever. I like that. It keeps you sharp. It keeps you curious. There’s always something new to improve, some new challenge, some new idea that makes you stretch.
How AI showed up in my story
AI wasn’t something I chased at first, it showed up through a client need. A client wanted to apply AI inside their system, and I got assigned the task of researching what they wanted and how it could work.
That assignment opened a new door.
What I liked was not just the topic itself, but the mindset behind it, learning something new, understanding the logic, and connecting it back to a real system.
Tech has always been part of my life
Even before university, I studied electronics in school. I was always around components, circuits, devices, the physical side of tech. But I realized electronics wasn’t the branch I wanted to stay in long term.
My dad suggested I try Computer Science. If I didn’t like it, I could always go back and study math, which was my original plan. I wanted to be a math teacher.
Funny enough, I never fully left that dream. I ended up teaching classmates at university, and later helping new teammates at work. I got to share knowledge, guide people, and use math all the time. So in a way, I still teach, just through a different language.
The people who shaped me
My early university professors were important, and so were my classmates, especially the ones who had patience with me when I was starting. I don’t think one single person defines you, it’s the combination of experiences, conversations, and lessons that builds you over time.
Advice for someone starting in tech
Don’t quit after the first failure. You will fail, that’s part of it. Explore different areas until you find the one that fits you.
Tech is huge. There’s space for everyone.
And if you can, keep learning and experimenting, because the person you become in this field is built through repetition, not perfection.
Life at Abstra
My experience at Abstra has been very good. I’ve been here since January 2020, six years and counting. What I enjoy most is the way we work, the relationship with my leaders, and the variety of projects I’ve had the chance to touch.
I like that I never feel stuck doing the same thing. There’s always something new to build or improve, and I keep learning constantly. That’s what makes it feel alive.
Conclusion
My path has been shaped by curiosity, by trying, by switching directions when something didn’t feel right, and by staying open to learning. From taking computers apart as a kid, to building systems, to exploring AI, everything connects.
For me, tech is movement. Like dance, you start with steps that feel awkward, you practice, you repeat, and one day it flows. And if there’s something new to learn, I know I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.