Level: Beginner
When I first got into software engineering, I thought studying history was a waste of time. I’ve since learned that understanding how people got where they are—and what they learned along the way—is one of the fastest ways to level up.
In that spirit of standing on the shoulders of those who came before us, this talk shares lessons from 10 Postgres major contributors about how they became effective Postgres hackers. But the talk isn’t just for contributors. Whether you’re an app developer, DBA, data engineer, someone who’s thinking about becoming a contributor, or just someone who uses Postgres every day, you’ll find takeaways here.
This is an updated version of an illustrated talk I gave at PGConf.dev 2025. You’ll hear how these contributors first got involved, where they turned to build their database knowledge, how they learned through code, and—maybe most importantly—the invisible curriculum they had to navigate along the way. This version includes a few new stories, deeper dives, and more time to explore the not-often-discussed skills, habits, and mindset shifts that helped them grow.
Even if you never plan to contribute to Postgres, these hacker stories pull back the curtain on how a handful of PG contributors got their start—and what they picked up along the way. Whether you’re early in your career or deep into it, these stories give us all something to think about.