NoviceToTechie_E1
Novice-to-Techie_E1
I’m an ESL instructor who has a deep passion for working with teenagers. I have always found immense joy in making a positive impact during what is arguably one of the most challenging phases of a person’s life. I wholeheartedly dedicate myself to my students, both inside and outside the classroom. My second love is reading, and I find solace in anything related to fiction and fantasy; it’s my escape and my sanctuary.
In recent years, as I observed the evolving job market trends, I have been encouraging my students to develop their IT skills and even dared them to venture into the Tech space. During one of my passionate endeavors to inspire them, a student asked me a question that caught me off guard. The conversation went something like this: “Ms. Doreen, have you actually done all the things you’re encouraging us to do?” Well, as you can probably guess, I only possessed IT skills related to teaching. At that moment, I was merely trying to broaden their horizons to show them the opportunities that would arise if they combined tech skills with their academic pursuits. My response to the student that day was, “You know I’m a full-time teacher, and I’m too occupied to take on any new programs.” However, that question continued to linger in my thoughts as the days went by.
Within that same period, I stumbled upon a Facebook post by Jay Kwashie of JomacsIT https://jomacsit.com/. But let me backtrack a bit; I had been following Jay on Facebook for a while, and he consistently advocated for individuals from various professions to acquire practical tech skills. As an English Language teacher, I had never given his messages much thought. I frequently told myself that I neither had the time nor the inclination for all the tech-related topics he discussed.
On the 7th of April 2023, Jay advertised a one-month bootcamp on SQL (first time hearing of it) training designed for non-techies like myself. All professions were invited to give it a go. The selling point for me was the opportunity to assess whether I would even enjoy all the tech stuff I had been urging my students to explore for so long.
That was how my foray into the Tech world started. I was going to practise what I had been preaching all this while. Watch out for the next episode in my Novice-to-Techie journey. Just know that it has been a rollercoaster ride ever since.
