Amina Adewusi — Associate Software Engineer
Amina attended her first codebar as a student back in October 2018 when she decided to make the transition to be a developer. She is now a Associate Software Engineer at the Guardian. She is also a public speaker, having given talks at ffconf, Brighton Ruby, Hamburg Ruby and FullStack London.
You can find Amina on the internet at:
1) What did you want to be growing up?
It changed a lot! I remember wanting to be a photographic journalist, a scientist, an aid worker and a musician. Also before I started teaching myself to code, I was an economist for an investment bank, a private equity funds investor and worked on UK Government aid projects!
2) When did your interest in tech start?
I started getting interested in tech after I became a mother and realised I wanted to work from home or do more flexible work.
3) How did you make the transition to being a developer?
I taught myself how to code using codebar and open source projects.
4) What was your first development job?
My first developer job is on the Guardian’s Digital Fellowship scheme. It’s a fantastic programme for entry level developers. I will rotate into two different teams during the fellowship year before joining a team to stay in permanently. I’m currently working on the Guardian’s Android App.
5) What is your favourite thing about being a developer?
I like learning everyday. I really enjoy pairing with my colleagues. I like my team, having fun with them and laughing. I also like that they let me work on conference talks during work hours and consider this part of my job.
6) What is the coolest project you have worked on and why?
I really enjoyed the open source work I did for the Ruby for Good community with one of my mentors from there.
7) How did you get involved with codebar?
Someone recommended I attend codebar. I still remember the first one I went to. I nearly cried, because I couldnt complete the installation steps. I actually left early because of this! During this experience I learnt that it is better to come to codebar with questions and problems that you have gotten stuck on. From then on, I organised myself in this way and made sure I had a number of questions for my mentor. After a while, I found a mentor that I regularly paired with. I was able to make great strides with my coding in this way. I am so grateful to codebar and everyone who volunteers as well as all the companies who sponsor. It’s such a warm and welcoming environment. I’m not sure how I would have learnt how to code without codebar.
8) What are your plans for the future?
The Guardian is a really special place. The people here are wonderful. I want to continue growing my career here and also continue speaking at conferences.
9) What advice would you give to aspiring developers?
I would say don’t give up. It’s really tough to get a job as someone who is self taught. I would say, keep trying. Even if it takes a couple of years, you will get there eventually. I wrote an article with my advice here: https://medium.com/swlh/diary-of-a-self-taught-engineer-a51d83dfcfc7
