Before I ventured into tech, I knew nothing about what I was getting into. My interest in tech was entirely born out of the covid pandemic, bear in mind that I quit and found my way back. Blame it on love, blame it on CSS.
Hi there, my name is Princess and this is my first blog post, I'm still new to writing and will try as much as possible to make my story relatable.
2020 was when I first wrote my first line of code. A friend of mine updated his WhatsApp status with an ad for an HTML introductory online class. I registered and joined the class for 4 weeks, trust me when I say it felt like being on an alien planet. I understood nothing for weeks but I was curious, so I did my research and started to self-study. At this point, I only knew very little about HTML.
Love at second sight? Second code?
With my self-study, came confusion. There was just too much conflicting information on the internet. There were a lot of suggestions, recommendations, and new words I had never heard before, the suggestions on Twitter about steps to start coding, believe me when I say I felt lost in information from all over social media.
What exactly is the right way to start? What are nodes.js, CSS, javascript, react, and Vue??? Ahhhhhh! Through all the confusion, I felt it wasn't for me at all. Fast forward to June 2021, I stumbled on a youtube video on HTML and CSS by 'Traversy Media. It felt so refreshing getting information from a professional, made for absolute beginners. A few weeks later, I wrote my second line of code with HTML and CSS. This time around, I understood some concepts and was thrilled at the magic of building beautiful designs with code! Just wow! Believe me, I fell in love there and then and got stuck. At this point, I didn't see it as a career path, it just felt like a newfound hobby.
Why is tech so broad?
I thought the confusion was over right? Well, I thought wrong. In January 2022, I figured I needed a study guide, like a curriculum, so I began searching for a boot camp. I had no direction, no plan, only a passion for coding, I just kept applying to all learning groups and courses. I got into 3: ALX School of software engineering, Alt school Africa with front-end development as a major, and Google's UX design course. Somebody say disaster...lol. Now, the problem was I had no idea there was a difference between Software engineering and software development until I started. I was a literal menace with no guide, no experience, no community, and no mentor.
Come to Think of it...
I started with the ALX Software engineering program and for the first month, it was fast-paced and interesting. I learned how to set up a work environment, and how to set up and use GitHub, Gitbash, Linux, Ubuntu, EMAC, and VI/VIM. The learning pace was fast, very fast. It was a peer learning process. We had new projects 4 times a week with a 24-hour deadline for a full score and a second chance deadline of 2 days for half the actual score. We were expected to dedicate 10 hours of study time daily. It was hard and came with its peculiar challenges(constant data consumption and power outage being the top two). We started low-level programming and algorithm with a focus on C programming. In the third week of the second month, It hit me! if you want to see my progress and projects at ALX, click here github.com/princesscherukei
In all honesty
The fast-paced learning just doubled from here. One time, there was no light for two weeks, and I was back on my projects and had to defer to the next cohort. I hadn't done anything in software development for 3 months! I had learned entirely new skills but not directly connected to the path I was interested in. Just about then, I got a notification on slack about a learning group for women(Our Time For Tech) and immediately knew I needed to be a part of the group for proper mentorship. I registered, took the test, and got in. Time for truth, I realized I had been going around in circles for months and finally created a study plan to help me stay rooted on the right path.
- GameFace
Still, on my learning curve in Tech and my short experience, I have learned some valuable lessons.
Always ask questions from people ahead of you in your chosen path, that way, you make informed decisions.
Spreading oneself in too many areas, courses, and fields can compromise your progress.
Learn skills relevant to your path, focus on them, and improve when necessary.
Don't get carried away by other people's progress.
Stick to a path, and be devoted to learning.
Have a study plan and stick to it.
I hope you enjoyed this. Thank you for reading.