Community Spotlight: Alhazan Mubarak aka Poly4
COVID19 hit at a time no one expected and the Government responded by imposing a lockdown to curb the spread of the virus. The period was characterized by endless free time and restricted movement that caused people to look everywhere for a new hobby. Alhazan Mubarak (Poly4) the subject of today’s spotlight is a Frontend Developer whose quest to engage himself during the lockdown drove him to tech. He shared with me the first website he built on a mobile phone and his hack for time management. I enjoy sitting with DevCareer community members and this one is no exception.
The essence of the monthly series we introduced is to cheer our members on, catch up to know the individual behind the slack handle and most importantly applaud their consistency. For our debut, I spoke to Alicia here, a frontend developer on a mission to challenge the norm.
Hello Mubarak, describe your introduction to Tech.
I dabbled into programming at the time the Nigerian Government adopted lockdown to control the spread of COVID19. I saw a friend of mine who was coding using HTML and CSS and I decided to join him. We didn’t see it as a likely career path but rather as an escape, an avenue for two young guys to be perceived as tech-savvy by the neighbors. We wanted to be regarded as the cool kids using code to build amazing things so I learned HTML and CSS for four months with the help of my friend. Now that I think about it, that was too long a time for foundation courses but that was what my friend/tutor knew. Learning at that point was mostly consuming tutorials on my phone which means there was only so much I could do when it comes to practice. I was able to afford a laptop by the end of the lockdown but before then, I did what I could to keep learning, however, restricted. I downloaded a script editor on my phone and built a website using HTML and CSS. My programming sprint came to a pause when school reopened until a year and a half ago when circumstances reconnected me with programming.
What happened?
Something happened that necessitated me to get a job speedily. Without entertaining any thought of inadequacy, I went on LinkedIn armed with my foundational programming skills acquired during the lockdown to tailor my job search to roles with HTML and CSS as requirements. The job search only revealed my learning gap instead of bringing me closer to a job. I was convinced while browsing those job listings that I needed to double down. Luckily, it was at this time I met someone in school who gave me an orientation and helped me discover what I needed to become better at frontend development. This person would later become my mentor but before then, we met in the course of my job hunting and I explained my progress to him. He gave me paid courses on Frontend Masters from where I learned Typescript, NextJs, SEO, Data Structure and Algorithm, and JavaScript. I also benefitted from JavaScript Mastery, a YouTube channel to tidy my JavaScript knowledge.
In addition to the paid courses, I joined a Developers Student Group in my school where we converge on weekends to account individually for our learning progress. We engaged in peer learning and reviewed each other’s work. In summary, I was able to maneuver my beginner stage with the combination of paid platform courtesy of my Mentor and DSG in my school.
So, did you get the job?
No, I didn’t get the job but the experience unlocked a new beginning. Thankfully, today, I am a Frontend Developer.
How did your studentship impact your career in tech?
Nigerian lecturers are the same everywhere. Let me share an account of a typical day studying Computer Engineering at Federal University of Technology Akure. A lecturer came to “teach” data structure and algorithm one day, after he proudly announced to the class that data structures and algorithm was how Google became successful, he dismissed the class and that was the end of the course.
How long have you been in DevCareer community?
I joined the DevCareer community first in 2020 during the application for cohort 2 of #Laptops4Developers. As expected, the community received an influx of new members thus finding my way around was a bit of a task so I abandoned the community. I rejoined when I stumbled on the link on Twitter. I was determined this time around to be active through interaction having unlocked the secret of maximizing a tech community from my experience at HNGi. At the point of signing up to DevCareer workspace, I was greeted by an introduction and rules binding the community so I knew what I was getting into. Shout out to Favour, the community manager on her organizational skill. The community feels like an open source project where everyone is allowed to contribute regardless of employment status or learning stage. I started welcoming new members and I heightened my effort during the Progate scholarship answering questions posed by new and existing members. This was easy because I have been in the community for quite some time. When the technical channels were created I joined frontend development where I coordinate peer review sessions on Sundays.
What are some learning points between the time you built a website on your phone and now that you work as a Frontend Developer?
The time I spent learning how to code up to internship and now working as a frontend developer has taught me the essence of time management. There were times I couldn’t get more than 3hours of sleep. Right now, I get more done in the space of 6–7hrs than those times when I don’t sleep at all. I match my time management to my productivity. I portion my time and assign a task to each one. I focus on one task at a time without interruption from another. There are times during my morning beat between 9am-12pm, when I achieve all my daily tasks leaving me enough time to do other things. I recommend identifying the available tasks, mapping each task to a time frame, and focusing on one task at a time without distraction for anyone trying to hack time management/productivity. Each day, I allocate my time between work, learning DevOps, personal development, Islamic school and other things, these might seem like alot but my hack has proven effective always. I wrap up each day at 12am after completing a daily development session between 9pm-12am.
What stands out for you in DevCareer.
When I joined DevCareer community, I was freelancing yet I felt involved. The community is free of workspace hijacking and I love that. The reflective session, one of the community rituals is my favorite thing. It felt weird the first time I participated but I got a hang of it. There is no doubt how easy it is to get lost in the day-to-day activity so I cranked the ritual up a notch outside the community. I dedicated a notion page where I log daily entries. The reflective activity provides an avenue to account for each day of the week, it also serves as a check and balance system to reassess oneself amidst all the things competing for one’s attention. When you journal weekly, you can keep track of work-life progress.
I have joined a lot of communities but DevCareer has been the best. DevCareer gives everyone the opportunity to contribute to the growth of the community. There’s no gatekeeping or any kind of boss structure in the community, contribute and develop at your own pace.
What are you reading/watching on Netflix?
Right now, I am learning DevOps on KodeKloud. The book I am currently reading is — Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depends on it by Christopher Voss and Tahl Raz. I also completed a book titled Deep Work by Cal Newport recently. The book helped boost my productivity and I recommend it to anyone working in tech.
Discover Alhazan Mubarak on Linkedin, check his work on Github, and say hello on Twitter.
Thank you Poly4 for your time, we are happy to have you in our community!
The Community Spotlight is a monthly series for members DevCareer community. Nominate someone you would like to read about in the comment session here. Leggo!
DevCareer is a non-profit organization that provides relevant support to aspiring tech talents through the following programs:
- #Laptops4Developers: A yearly 3-month long program to support aspiring developers and designers on their journey to become word-class with laptops, courses, and mentorships.
- A DevCareer community on Slack. Use this link to join over 13000 tech enthusiasts where bonds are formed, knowledge exchanged and stories shared.
- A DevCareerXProgate scholarship that gives 5000 community members access to pro-plan on Progate to learn any course of choice, exclusive to community members. Application is open all through the year use this link to apply.
