My journey into tech isn't your typical story. It came to me, I fully embraced it and I'm grateful for it. In this article, I will highlight a bit of the moment leading up to my career in tech. Please enjoy!

Background

I am a graduate of chemical engineering from the prestigious Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. I have years of working experience in the banking industry as a customer service executive. I also had a brief moment working in the Oil and Gas industry but I knew something was missing. I struggled to find myself for so long and then one day I thought I had enough and quit. Yes, I did quit with no plan in sight but I knew I needed it in order for me to move ahead.

Getting On...

Few months on and I still had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I fell into a state of depression and it was like I had made the worst decision quitting the work-life I knew but deep down I knew I made the best choice. One fateful day, my partner reminded me how much I had always talked about the tech industry and how I was fascinated by it so he encouraged me to explore and see if it was what I wanted. That was my "aha" moment!

I read. I researched. I eventually settled for front-end development. I enrolled in an online course on Udemy. I learned HTML and CSS respectively and it was the best phase of my life. I then decided it was time to progress to Javascript and that was when all hell broke loose. I found it so difficult to understand and guess what? I quit! I thought no way this was for me! I was back being confused.

My win...

I randomly got a WhatsApp message from a friend in the industry about an all-female coding Bootcamp and I thought this was the universe telling me that I got this so I applied. I was so excited about it and had sleepless nights. This was me finally getting what I wanted or so I thought but my joy was cut short when I got an email saying I didn't make it 😢

A few hours after I got the email, I went on Twitter to while away time when I saw a tweet that said "Never give up. Always go after what you want and don't be afraid to ask for help because the worst answer you can get is a NO." The next thing my mind told me to do was send a message to the CEO of the company that organized the Bootcamp stating my case. I did exactly that and just left it without any expectation. Surprisingly, he responded a few days later inviting me to his office for a chat, and the rest they say is history.

I didn't get into the Bootcamp though but he offered me an internship position in the company as a Software Product Manager. It has been an interesting journey so far. I also found that I was interested in Product design so I learn that alongside my front-end development in my spare time. Overall, it has been an experience.

I like to say that TECH found me. I love it here and I am here to stay.

This was a long read and I hope you made it to the end. Here's just to encourage anyone that comes across this article not to give up and to find yourself no matter how long it takes.

Please feel free to reach out to me shaderasaq@gmail.com if you have any concerns, advice, or questions for me and I would be happy to get in touch.

See you at the top 🦋