When I graduated from the university in 2016, I had an idea of what I wanted to do in the next five years of my life. The plan was to serve my country (NYSC) (one year), go for a Master of Science in Microbiology abroad (two years). Then maybe a Ph.D. in a related field. Makes sense, abi? By the end of 2018, I had written my IELTS and GRE, passed in flying colors, and sent my application to four schools. 2019 came, and to my utmost dismay, they all rejected my application.
I applied to one more school and got accepted. But, I turned it down because I later found out that I would be part of their first set for that program. That probably sounds unreasonable, but the idea of being a test subject did not sit well with me, especially if I would be paying heavily for it. Later that same year, I decided to switch to Bioinformatics. It is a combination of two things - a degree I was afraid to let go of and a course I had initially wanted to study.
I researched and discovered that having at least basic knowledge of programming could help my application. So I started taking courses on Data Science and practicing on Rosalind. I also started my #100DaysOfCode on Twitter (it is where I am most active) to make my progress public. This way, I was able to show people that I was developing a new skill. So whenever internship opportunities came up, they would have me in mind. Towards the end of the year, I gathered the rest of my confidence and self-esteem and applied again. This time, one school accepted me while I was number 41 on the other school's waiting list (just reject me, don't give me false hope). The acceptance was a serious boost to my confidence, but I honestly did not think I was qualified.
Completely different issue, but I digress.
31st of December 2019, there was a giveaway of sorts happening on Twitter. #SantaBen4Devs was going to sponsor one person to join the next Dev Career cohort. I indicated my interest, and throughout the crossover service, it was the only thing on my mind. I kept boosting the tweet and checking if my retweets were increasing. Long story short, I got in. I also wrote the tests and attended the interview, and I passed (I'm adding this part so that you guys know that I am smart). At this point, my 2020 was looking glorious. I had a programming internship and a master's program in Bioinformatics waiting for me. Then Covid-19 happened.
I could not proceed with the master's program because even the school was confused about moving forward. It was understandable because the pandemic took everyone by surprise. The internship slated for March was also indefinitely postponed.
What changed?
Thankfully, August came, and my internship with Dev Career commenced. Life became a little colorful again. Towards the end of the program, I started worrying about how and when I would get a job. Earlier, I had applied for the Microsoft LEAP program and was not selected. I applied for a Quality Assurance Analyst role at Flutterwave, and I also was not selected. Was I sad? Yes. But was I discouraged? Also, Yes. But, I knew that I had to continue regardless. I knew I had to learn to be unperturbed by rejection if I wanted to get to my desired result. In this context, that was a software engineering job.
One thing that contributed to my growth was being present (and sometimes active) in a few tech communities. I joined the backend group at SheCodeAfrica and started building my first API. I attended a hackathon organized by MLH and finally understood how to use Git (do we ever fully understand how to use git tho?). I also joined another group where we shared our progress and just encouraged each other, and I made a wonderful friend there. She was the one who sent the link for my current job and encouraged me to apply.
Another thing I did was, I made it a point of duty to put myself and my work out there. That is, regardless of how imperfect I thought it was. I tried to answer questions on StackOverflow, and I also asked a lot of those. I partook in the #100DaysOfCode challenge twice and shared my updates for each day on Twitter. Whenever I had issues, I would also ask questions online, and people were always helpful. I also have to acknowledge my friends on Twitter who were always there to support me with words of encouragement. There is nothing like having a supportive community.
Photo by Park Troopers on Unsplash
I would say that joining Dev Career was the definitive point in my transition. It was a little hectic, but the result was worth every moment. I was on the backend team, and our mentor, Funmi Olaiya, came ready. She introduced me to everything I currently know about working in an agile environment as a software engineer. I also got my first paid internship by applying for a role sent to me by my boss, Hack Sultan, at Dev Career.
All of that may sound straightforward, but it was a depressing couple of months. Sometimes, I think I just got lucky, and I am overwhelmed by feelings of being an imposter. I was also worried when I wanted to start. I had read stories about people not getting their first tech job until two years after. I got my first paid internship after 17 months. If I had allowed that fear to prevent me from starting, this month would make it 21 months later with no skill or job. To overcome my imposter syndrome, I keep reminding myself that I didn't just wake up and get here, I put in the work. I spent several months learning on Youtube, edX, Coursera, Udemy, Freecodecamp, DataQuest, e.t.c. and it was not in vain.
For me, this is just the beginning. There is still so much more that I can achieve, and this article is my reminder. I hope this inspires someone to take action and do what needs to be done today.