Started this year as a Frontend Dev, ending it as a Backend Dev
January
Built my portfolio site
Applied for a couple of jobs
February
Applied for a couple of jobs
I was losing interest in Frontend Development cause it didn't seem to be leading anywhere for me. Also, I'd later find out I prefer to write C than write JavaScript
So I decided to dabble into Data Science
March
Applied for and got into Data Science Nigeria’s AI Wednesday program to learn machine learning
Completed and got the certificate for it in April
After completing the AI Wednesday program, I learnt Data Science was a field I didn't want to go into.
At this point, Zuri was open for internship applications so I used it as an opportunity to try out another field
April
I delved into backend development this time, with Django.
Zuri began fully this month. My track started with Python (which was basically a refresher for me) before moving to Django
May
Learning Django at Zuri
First semester exams in school (I think)
June
At Zuri, we had completed the learning phase and now in the project phase
I was the team lead for my team.
Leading the team was quite tasking cause though I had some experience leading a team (this was not my first internship), it is a different ball game when you have beginner level knowledge of your stack.
I had not even done a “Hello World” with Django Rest Framework before then, but we were able to get some work done. Luckily, there was someone more experienced with the stack on our team who helped out a lot
July
Finished the project phase of the internship at Zuri
Couldn't complete the project. And though we had several endpoints ready from the backend team, when the only thing to show for it is a working Sign up, Log in and Homepage, the endpoints don't matter. Especially when you're the overall team lead
Also, dey change am for designers once in a while.
August
Was focusing on school after the four-month internship
Started learning cloud computing with GCP on Pluralsight
September
Second semester exams
Aced the first phase exam of the cloud computing program on course(s) I was taking
Learned a lot about the cloud and how GCP works
I was actually learning with someone else's account who got access to it through a GADS scholarship
Considering; how time consuming the course was, the certificate wouldn't be in my name(in a field that more certificate-first), I decided to discontinue learning. Thankful for the opportunity to have learnt what I did
October
Took a Coursera course on Django offered by the University of Michigan through AUTC
Applied (volunteered) for Tutor roles at ECX and GDSC UNILAG. Got both
Continued learning cloud computing, but this time through MTC-UNILAG on Microsoft Azure
November
Started teaching Django at GDSC
Attended the UnStack Conference
Attended DevFest Lagos
Met friends I had made online
Made new ones too
December
Still tutoring the Django track
Still learning cloud computing with Azure
Finally got a mentor 🥺, He doesn't know it yet. Lemme say Pseudo-mentor for now
The Good
- Ticked off 4/7 things on my todo list for 2021
- Connected with people a lot more this year. Both online and offline
- Developed some level of proficiency in a skill I feel at home with
- Got a mentor
- Didn't lose any friend, nor did any friend lose a loved one
The Bad
- Hopped around a lot from one tech stack to the other
- Didn't get a paid gig or job this year
- Was too comfortable doing things on my own without getting guidance from others. Led to a lot of time wastage. Not having a mentor didn't help either
Goals for 2022
- Get a paid job/gig. Then do like 15x before the year runs out
- Get better grades in school
- Purchase a Real Madrid jersey from the official store
- Network more. Build on top of existing relationships
Takeaways
- Get a mentor. Or at least have people you can ask for help and advice
- Pick a skill and learn it well. Don't be tech rabbit
- Network. Make friends. Except you're exceptionally brilliant, being introverted won't do you much good
- Write articles. I'm not an article person myself but writing articles about bugs you fix, or how you added a feature etc will help you later on. You don't wanna open multiple stackoverflow tabs to everytime to do something you've done before. Trust me on that
Thanks for reading and I wish you an outstanding 2022 🎊