From Private School Teacher to Software Engineer: My Journey During the Pandemic
I began my software engineering journey during the pandemic when there was nothing for private school teachers. Schools closed, and a lot of teachers were left with nothing to fend for themselves.
I can remember vividly that it started in 2019 when I was about to give up on my life.
As a graduate of Industrial Chemistry from the University of Ilorin, I couldn’t land a job for several years. I applied to many jobs within and outside Lagos, but I never got invited to an interview.
At the time, I wondered whether my lack of a job was because I was unqualified for the roles I applied to or because I was not applying to the appropriate organization. I also considered that the companies I applied to were looking for a particular skill that I did not have.
I taught Chemistry, Mathematics and Computer Studies while applying to these jobs. Still, all I got were meagre salaries for the nine-plus hours I dedicated daily to teaching. I went to several homes and offered teaching services. I spent so many hours teaching young people in private homes, and all I had for transportation was a rickety bicycle I rode for hours.
The funny thing was that I was happy teaching. However, the responsibilities that rested on my shoulders kept on bugging me with the question, “can you do this for the rest of your life and be fulfilled?”
Frankly, I couldn’t just find new opportunities for myself. All that I heard often was that one could only get a job in Nigeria through “connection,” even without the right qualifications. Despite hearing this, I had no one to connect with, someone or a platform that could direct me to channel my energy towards computer studies and mathematics to increase my chances of getting a better income.
After so many attempts to get a better job, I noticed that I explained computer programming better than any other topic in computer studies. Before even dreaming of becoming a software engineer, I knew about computer programming, its types, and how high-level programming languages compiled/translated to computer language, which is a discussion for another day.
I started learning Java programming language after a while. Admittedly, I learned without much direction because the person that introduced me to the programming world just gave me some videos, tutorials, and materials to learn from. I was lost in the dark with respect to the language, to the extent that I dropped it at some point and focused on teaching.
In summary, I began my software engineering journey during the pandemic when there was nothing for private school teachers. Schools closed, and a lot of teachers were left with nothing to fend for themselves. That was when I knew that I had to focus more on another career.
I found myself picking up the JavaScript programming language once again. This time, I fell so much in love with it due to its flexibility, its syntax, and the way it is structured. I dug deep into ways to learn more about the language, besides online videos and articles, of course, and then was when I came across the Udacity frontend nanodegree program. I didn’t think twice before I enrolled on the program and got the certificate.
After this degree, it felt as if I was finally on a path that could make me a software engineer. The path wasn’t clear enough, but at least I now knew more about the JavaScript language. And it wasn’t long before I started engaging communities online that discussed the language or software engineering as a whole.
Soon, I came across a program organized by Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) and USADF powered by LoftyInc Allied Partners Limited to empower youths in Lagos. I registered reluctantly because I had already concluded in my mind that everything in Lagos was by connection.
I was wrong. Surprisingly, I was among the students selected to participate in the program. The day I got selected, I made up my mind that I would do everything in my power to be empowered enough to land a better source of income for myself. I also promised myself that I was going to let go of the assumption that I needed connections to upskill or land a job.
The program sped by very fast. And every hour, I put in everything I had to the extent that I was among the best graduates. It was at this point that everything changed.
Graduates of the program were referred to another program called the Fellowship at The Bulb Africa. This program was different. It presented so much potential for me to become a software engineer right from the first day I was integrated into it as a member of a cohort.
I can still remember the first task I worked on. It involved building a stopwatch with Javascript. And frankly, I thought I had done greatly until other members of the cohort presented their project. I knew at this point that there was so much I needed to learn. I even developed imposter syndrome, wondering if I was good enough to be in such a competitive program.
Learning continued nonetheless for me. I switched to another language (C#) after a few weeks. With the help of the program facilitators, it wasn’t long before I forgot there were days that I doubted I could ever write a line of code correctly.
Mr David Adele and Mr David Igbigbi, the facilitators of the fellowship program at The Bulb Africa, taught programming languages as if they had written them. And Mr Habeeb Olakitan, who taught us essential soft skills for software engineers, gave me the confidence that I needed to plunge into the tech industry and find my own financial freedom.
There were Mr Wande Adams, the Managing Director of The Bulb Africa, and Mr Tosin Osunkoya, the Chairman, who inspired me to look forward to a better version of myself. I remember Mr Tosin Osunkoya once told the entire cohort that we should make use of the word “Kung Fu,” meaning “practice every day.”
That word kept me through the entire fellowship program at The Bulb Africa. It drove me to perfect the essential skills to land a high-paying job in The Bulb Africa as a software engineer.
It is 2021 now, and a lot of people have forgotten about the pandemic. I haven’t.
Just one day, I was struggling as a private school teacher. Then, the following day, I was left with nothing. Perhaps it was due to chance or my own diligence; all I knew was that I began to learn on my own until I found the direction I needed to become a software engineer.
The truth I have discovered is this — no one can achieve or become anything on their own. We all need directions or a platform like The Bulb Africa to learn the skills required to build the career of our dreams.
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