From a background in Tourism to software engineering, you must be wondering what inspired me to decide to make the switch to tech. In the past, I began using Microsoft. Office and accessing web resources and apps by being self-taught. I have been curious about the workings of the Internet and websites, keen on learning new knowledge and technologies and had a consistent interest in technology.
In 2020 after the covid hiatus that severely crippled the tourism industry in Kenya, I found myself at a crossroads where I had to rethink my career and reflect intensely on what lies ahead for me in the long term. My subtle curiosity for software engineering developed since then as I researched the Future of work as we advance. In April 2022, I came across a Twitter post on an opportunity to join a cohort-based mentorship group learning front-end development together. Due to my passion for creating and an ongoing interest in technology, I decided to commit myself to start learning front-end development from scratch and creating websites for myself and others - how cool would that be 😊😊😊. Research has also shown that there is an acute shortage of engineers globally. With the number of tech startups rapidly increasing in Africa, skills like software development are a great opportunity to present African talent and products and services to the world. The future looks bright from where I am seated. I threw my application in the hat awaiting a favorable outcome…I got in.. Yay!
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I began without prior knowledge of programming but jumped in on my first challenge for the application with the assistance of YouTube tutorial videos on areas I got stuck. I surprisingly enjoyed the exercise and am curious about how much more I can learn this skill. So far, I have enjoyed a crash course on HTML and CSS, grown accustomed to the asynchronous mode of learning, communicating on Slack, and looking forward to learning much more. Importantly, the community promises to be a great resource for learning, assistance with challenges, encouragement for fighting imposter syndrome in skill development as well as accountability. I am happy with the growth from learning so far, structuring my time for daily coding practice, and look forward to learning how to learn, delving deeper and deeper into coding, and building my portfolio and employability globally.
Overall, from my current standpoint, I would encourage new students to purpose to make their study time intentional. Studying and coding every day even if it’s just for 15 to 30 mins compounds and does make a difference. It also helps if you schedule a consistent time each day for study, say 6 am and create a system to reward yourself after achieving a set goal to keep motivated. Thank you for reading and welcome to my learning and creating journey…I am curious to learn how was your start to coding? Feel free to share in the comments section below.