My Journey Through Tech
The man who does not know where he has been does not know where he is going
— Anonymous
It’s no news that tech is the new gold. In this article, I explain my journey through tech, the big wins and the hurdles so far. Why? you may ask. It’s simple. This might be the inspiration you’ve been looking for. Who knows?
This article does not serve as a blueprint for anyone as our journey may differ. That being said, let me walk you through time.
Table of Contents
- 2018: The search for purpose
- 2019: The becoming
- 2020: The present
- Summary
2018: The search for purpose
Every great story has a beginning. Here’s how mine began. If you’re Nigerian, you probably remember the ASUU strike of 2018. For most teenagers, it was the summer vacation they needed. For me, it was just another proof of Nigeria’s evolving, yet unevolved educational system. I knew I had to do something, I just didn’t know what it was. Here’s a little spoiler: School has offered me literally nothing but better social skills. With that in mind, I was determined to make an impact with or without school. Every passing day felt darker than its predecessor. At last, I spoke to a friend about how I felt. He told me about a place called CcHUB where he downloaded movies for free. If you’re African, you know how we feel about data especially when it’s free! I wanted in, so I looked up CcHUB. I was fascinated by their website because it had change, technology and africa in the same sentence. I went ahead to read an article they had just published. After reading the article, all I could remember was software development and Andela. Later that day, I looked up both words. That was my Eureka moment! I had found a purpose and a place to help me achieve my purpose.
2019: The becoming
Like every new software developer, choosing a programming language was a pain in the ass. After much googling, I settled for python. Lucky enough, Andela provides a home study curriculum that teaches both python and Javascript. Taking the home study curriculum was a daunting experience because I was introduced to foreign concepts. The home study curriculum took me about 6 months. After completing the curriculum, I was ready to conquer the world ( or so i thought ). I setup my account on freelancing sites and eventually got my first gig. Sounds great right? Did I forget to mention that I flopped and eventually lost my first client? At that point, I knew i still had a lot to learn. I started searching for other developers; there had to be others like me, there had to be a community, I thought. Finding the Google developers community was quite easy. I just wasn’t looking in the right places. I learnt ( still learning ) a lot , met peers and horned my soft skills.
2020 : The Present
2020 has been a very interesting year! From learning technical writing, to participating in a hackathon, to opening my very own dev blog. The journey hasn’t been all rosy but it was worth my while. 2020 has brought a lot of change. If there’s one thing i’m super excited about, it’s the new opportunity 2020 brought; GENESYS LEARNABLE 20. A new opportunity to become world class.
Summary
I hope my story has been able to inspire you. The journey isin’t going to easy, but I promise it’ll be worth your while
