Hey buddies, I’d love to take you on a quick stroll through my relatively new journey into tech. I’ve opted for the web development branch of it, frontend to be precise, and though I’m yet to get my feet on the ground nor get a paid gig, it’s been a quite interesting and bittersweet experience. On the one hand, I’ve found coding to be chronically addictive (anyone else feels this way?), regardless of how rigorous and challenging it tends to be. Most notably, that constant “Figure It Out or Get Stuck” challenge it often poses. On the other hand, the immense bursts of elation that comes after figuring out and fixing the problem, and that occasional chastising spank one gives himself in the head for not being so smart in essence (any programmer would be familiar with this lol) makes it immensely appealing, fulfilling, and also mentally rewarding. 😌

I have a college degree in computer science; that’s how I got introduced to programming. The course was scheduled for two years but I failed to register my courses for a semester until it was past the deadline so I had to spend an extra year as a consequence, I wrote the exams nevertheless but the results never came. While in school, I learnt to write some basic lines of codes in Qbasic, Vbasic, C, C++, and Java, theoretically (on paper) haha. In hindsight, I think this contributed significantly to why coding didn’t appeal to me at first, even though I’d always wanted to be a computer scientist or engineer.

At the end of the initial part of the course, I had somewhat lost interest but had to go for one year Industrial Training (IT); an essential requirement for me to be eligible to apply for the concluding part of the program. After IT, I applied for it but unfortunately, I didn’t gain admission and I left for the UAE seeking greener pastures the following year. Things didn’t go as planned over there so I decided to come back home.

During the later part of my sojourn, I reinitiated conversations with an high school crush and when I finally got back got to Naija, we had some serious discussions about life and what next. Her shrewdness and keen sense of reasoning was profoundly remarkable, and this intensified my interest in her. I expeditiously asked her out, even though I wasn’t ready (mostly financially) for such a serious commitment.. but Interestingly, one of the prerequisites to get a “yes” was that I had to get into tech haha. She reminded me that I studied computer science in college and that was all the enchantment I needed.

My laptop wasn’t functioning at this point but she was quite persuasive; I got pressed so hard I was left with no other choice than to get it fixed asap lol, I got it fixed eventually, and that was how my tech journey began in earnest. However, for some reason, I’ve always had an innate fascination for science and technology in general and I had envisioned getting into tech at some point - I thought that would come to fruition after I’d travelled to Europe as it would’ve been a more conducive and convenient environment but unfortunately my visa application got denied twice ☹️ - and I’ve now made up my mind to devote all my time to coding going forward. I never got the “yes” by the way 🥹, due to some other inhibiting factors. in retrospect, I think she was merely experimenting with me but if she hadn’t stoked my interest at that very point in time, and had I not taken that leap, I’d probably remain at the same spot.

Still early days, I started reading books and articles on tech and one person that I’ve come to idolize is the enigma, Elon Musk. I read his biography in a book titled “Elon Musk” by Ashlee Vance; an immensely intriguing and definitely one of the most inspiring books anyone could read. He literally brought to fruition, all the ideas techies initially thought to be mere fantasies and that in my view, makes him a god in the tech world. The book is also filled with so many impactful lessons worthy of imbibing and living by that left an indelible impression on me.

Eventually, I started learning to code sometime in the early part of 2021. I began with python initially, but I was merely playing around with it without any strategy in place. As fate would have it, I came across an article on twitter; it was about the guidelines on how to become a software engineer. It recommended starting with web development and also stating the plethora of career opportunities it provides. I began searching for materials on it when I came across one on YouTube titled “HTML & CSS Tutorial” by Dani Krossing. I’ll recommend this for anyone looking to get into frontend web development, especially those who tend to have better comprehension by watching videos rather than just reading like me. After I’d completed the course, I attempted the Responsive Web Design course on freeCodeCamp and I took it in my stride, completing it within a couple of hours.

Whilst I was learning - a continuous process by the way - I had my fair share of the inevitable moments of doubt & misery a newbie is confronted with while trying to discern the intricacies and complexity of tech, as is the case with most of the novel ventures of life. So there were days, weeks and even months I couldn’t summon enough motivation to double down especially during those times when other life hurdles presented themselves. In my case, one notable hurdle was during a period when I developed an eye strain, my eyes began to sore intensely due to over-exposure to blue light which was a result of the long hours of sitting and staring at the monitor screen(which was unknown to me at that time). This took a heavy toll on me as it became very difficult to have a decent sleep (this consequently caused fatigue). I also suffered from a very lousy on again and off again headaches and often had to take some recurring breaks to recuperate then continue coding afterwards until it became so unbearable that I had to get a photochromic anti-blue light glasses. By chance, I also got to realize that what school actually did was break down the knowledge and skills needed to become a programmer into snippets and I’d only get to figure out how they’re all linked together when I started doing real world stuff. For this reason, I’ll advice anyone who can afford it to seize the chance.

Still on twitter encounters, I reached out to a guy (@MrOkor) - my guardian angel 😇 - who explained the nitty-gritty of web development to me which played a key role in finding my niche. On top of that, he paid for a domain to host my portfolio website and kept checking up on me consistently to assess my progress, I’ll forever be indebted to him for his benevolence. Now I’m proficient in HTML, CSS, SASS, Bootstrap, Git & GitHub, got some basic knowledge of python and actively learning JavaScript. I’ve opted for frontend because I’m a staunch lover of aesthetics and a big critic at the same time. This is where I’ll drop my pen for now; I hope someone finds this article worthwhile and going forward, I’ll be writing more about the tech stuff I’ve learnt thus far and those I’ll be learning subsequently, coupled with the challenges that accompany them. ✌🏽❤️✨