Global Courant
My Pivot Journal is a weekly series from Ventures Africa documenting people’s career transitions from one sector to another, especially into the technology sector.
Chiamaka Obitube’s desire to have a transferable skill that can take her anywhere in the world, without being limited to the constraints of a legal career, has led to her current role as a DevOps Engineer based in Paris, where she contributes. to the ever-evolving technology space. Here is her shooting diary.
How it started
In 2016, I graduated from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, where I studied law for five years and then went on to study law. After that I did my mandatory youth service and worked at a law firm for a year.
It all started when I came to Lagos for what was supposed to be a holiday. Coincidentally, it was around the time Mark Zuckerberg first visited Nigeria. The next day I met some friends who worked in the tech industry, and my curiosity was piqued.
My friend explained what coding was and what he did at Andela, a global job placement network for software developers. I started studying to join the Andela Fellowship program even though I knew very little about coding. I had registered for their boot camp, but had to postpone it because of my law school studies. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the law could limit my career options, especially if I ever wanted to work outside Nigeria.
Revelation
During law school I started attending tech meetings, I still had a lot to learn and I knew I needed to connect with the tech community. After completing my law studies, I returned to Lagos. A friend of mine was running a Facebook developer circle and asked me to join as a writer. I loved writing and had a blog, it was an opportunity to immerse myself in the tech space. I started publishing posts on Medium and writing about the events in the community. This allowed me to connect with more developers, which further fueled my interest.
During my youth ministry, I realized that I did not see myself working as a lawyer. So I started applying for different positions related to community management. My experience organizing meetings, giving talks and being part of the Facebook developer circle was a plus. That’s how I got my first role as a community manager at FindWorka, a startup that linked developers and designers to companies. My job was to bridge the gap between talent and opportunity.
Transition
In June, I saw an ad on Twitter for Microsoft Leap, a program created by Microsoft for people from non-technical backgrounds to transition into technology. I decided to take the step and apply. I believed that to succeed in the technology sector, I needed a hands-on role and not just community management.
The program lasted four months and offered the opportunity to work with Microsoft or its partners while learning more about Microsoft tools. The program focused on cloud services such as Azure, and it was during this period that I discovered my passion for DevOps.
The appeal of working behind the scenes, dealing with complex systems and continuous learning appealed to me. Leveraging my experience with Azure and Microsoft services, I decided to pursue certifications. I believed they could open doors for me in the industry. After passing my certification exam, I shared the news on Twitter, which led to numerous companies contacting me.
I secured my first DevOps role through social media. However, as I got started, I realized that this might not be the perfect match. Many Nigerian companies were more interested in the idea of DevOps than in actually implementing it. Despite the challenges, being the only DevOps engineer at the company has given me valuable experience.
How are you
After some time, I realized that I needed a more structured environment with established processes to improve my skills. So I kept looking for a job while I worked. To my surprise, Nomba, a company I had previously interviewed with, reached out again and offered me a DevOps position. I had a support team and a manager who guided me through DevOps best practices and troubleshooting.
Meanwhile, it wasn’t just certifications that helped me transition to DevOps; networks and social media played a central role. Building connections and putting myself out on platforms like Twitter opened doors for me.
Switching to tech from a non-technical background was definitely a challenge, especially due to my lack of prior technical knowledge. I had to invest extra time and effort in personal learning and development. Furthermore, there were few role models or colleagues in similar situations to whom one could turn for guidance.
Today I work as a DevOps engineer at an insurance tech company, focusing primarily on supporting machine learning engineers in deploying their models to production. My role includes implementing infrastructure, CI/CD pipelines, networking and everything needed to make machine learning models available to users. It is a role that constantly challenges me, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Career hack
It may be difficult, but keep at it. Strive to improve daily, and soon you will be great at what you do. Don’t let naysayers discourage you because they think it’s hard.
