Global Courant 2023-05-24 15:06:52
My Pivot Journal is a Ventures Africa weekly series documenting people’s career transitions from one industry to another, especially to technology.
Favor Chibueze’s journey in the world of technology began long before she fully understood its incredible possibilities. Intrigued by coding after hearing a friend rave about his talented female colleague who was a coder, she decided to explore the tech space. After spending 100 days coding and a few internships, today she enjoys bringing designs to life with code and helping other tech talents build their careers. Here is Favor Chibueze’s pivot diary.
How it started
As a child I was always interested in computers. However, when choosing a career path, I initially leaned towards medical science. I actually liked medical science. mMy parents even suggested that I study computer science or a related field at university, but I remained adamant about studying microbiology or pharmacy. I eventually followed that path and pursued a degree in microbiology.
Prefer Chibuèze
Revelation
I first heard about technology from a friend when I was at 300 level. At the time, he was a programmer at hotels.ng, a Nigerian online hotel booking agency. He always talked about coding and programs. He would also talk about his colleague at the time, Sarah Chima, who was a great front-end developer. I was intrigued. For some reason I thought that was a job only men would venture into.
Transition
The transition for me didn’t really start until 2019. I waited for my school to release me so I could go for my year of service. I talked to another friend who also likes technology. He introduced me w3schools, a freemium educational website for learning to code online. I registered on the platform and also registered on free code camps, another platform that helps people learn to code for free through thousands of videos, articles, and interactive coding lessons. I wrote my first set of code that year. i joined the 100 days to code platform too. I would code for at least 1 hour every day. I did this for the next 100 days. Not long after that I heard about the Zuri internship. It seemed like a good match, especially given my non-technical background. With what little knowledge I had gathered, I knew this was a path I wanted to follow. I enjoyed bringing things to life through codes.
After a while I heard about the Zuri training. I joined them startNG program, sign up for the front-end development track. It was interesting to learn the basics and work with other people because I had been learning on my own for a while. I decided to take it further by applying for their HNG internship, which is a more comprehensive training. That was the challenging part. Initially, there were 10,000 applicants for the HNG internship. I tried, I got through the first 5 levels and then started collaborating with others. At that point it became quite challenging and I almost lost weight. I got encouragement from friends who told me I could do it. I just had to keep pushing. That’s what I did. I reminded myself of my goal to become an excellent front-end engineer. And by the end of the program, I was part of the 200 graduates. Being part of the 200 graduates out of the 10,000 who initially applied really boosted my confidence. I knew that if I could finish strong I was ready to pursue this professionally.
I decided to look for a place where I could get real-time projects and further training. Fortunately, tech companies usually turn to the HNG platform with vacancies for graduate interns. When I graduated from the HNG program, I got an email from them asking if I was interested. that’s how I got my first job. I like to think my tech journey is happier and faster than some other people. It took me about a year to transfer. I wrote my first line of code in 2019 and by 2020 I was already working a full-time role in front-end engineering.
How are you
I am a front-end engineer and am currently updating Eden life, a technology-enabled service that puts home chores on autopilot. My day job consists of working with program engineers and other engineers, developing various products. My typical day embraces a remote work setup and revolves around providing updates on my progress to the team and immersing myself in coding tasks. Every day offers new opportunities for growth and achievement.
When I first got into the tech industry, I had no idea it would become such a popular and in-demand industry. Honestly, all I wanted to do was pursue something I was really passionate about. But along the way I also discovered a genuine interest in community management. I am currently volunteering as a community manager Developer, and I can tell you, it’s incredibly satisfying. I love helping and supporting people to follow their own career path.
Career Hack
Keep learning and never underestimate the power in the community.
Have a community of people you can reach out to when you have a challenge, at the start of your journey, and even when you come into the position. It is important because at some point you will get tired and frustrated. And it’s important to have people who can help you when you get stuck, both personally and in your career.
