Interview with a DevCareer Alumnus: Khadijah, a Software Engineer at Healthtracka.
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From Public Health Education in school to fashion/runway model and now an Engineer.
We had a chat with some of the DevCareer alumni. We caught up on their Pre-DevCareer, Mid-DevCareer, and Post-DevCareer experiences. The interview was delivered via email and it is presented as obtained with only a few edits.
From Public Health Education in school to fashion/runway model and now an Engineer, here is Khadijah’s story but first of all, introduction.
Khadijah was part of Devcareer cohort 2 and works at Healthtracka as a software engineer.
Q: How did you hear about Devcareer vis-a-vis #Laptop4Developer
A: My friend sent the DevCareer tweet after I told her about my interest in tech and how I was saving up for a laptop. Fortunately, cohort 2 was about to begin.
Q: How was the registration and assessment process? What was your reaction when you got selected?
A: During the registration I didn’t have any prior programming experience, but the aptitude test was easy and the coding test was also okay because I had prepared ahead of time. The interview was the most difficult for me because it was my first professional interview, and I was very nervous. They bombarded me with questions, not technical in nature, but just to get to know me and why I wanted to be a developer.
Q: Have you been around your chosen tech field before you happened on #Laptop4Developer?
A: No, I wasn’t in tech; I was a fashion/runway model who studied health promotion in school.
Q: During the Bootcamp, how was the hub beneficial to your learning?
A: Okay, so covid happened during our cohort that made it difficult for some of us to go to the hub; in fact, we did not start cohort 2 at the specified time, and when we did start, not everyone was allowed to go to the hub; some of us were learning from home, but this was quite challenging for me because I had never worked remotely or attended online classes, especially in a field about which I knew nothing.
Q: The learning itself, how were the resources, mentors, were they of any help?
A: The mentors were great, Flamez was my mentor and I still message him to this day, especially when I have a problem with work or a bug, the resources were good, but I got lost at some point because transitioning from a non-coding background to one is extremely difficult.
I struggled with CSS, and I believe the entire experience was slow for me because it wasn’t a physical class, and most of the people in my cohort weren’t beginners, so it wasn’t easy to catch up.
Q: If you were to go over the program, what would you like to change? What can the #Laptop4Developer initiative do differently?
A: Well, DevCareer is already doing a lot; aside from giving out laptops, they also give out data stipends, which is encouraging; they are actually doing a great job. Kudos to them.
Q: At the end of the 3months, explain your transition experience?
A: After DevCareer was very difficult for me because so many people got their first job right after the program, but some of us did not; I dealt with imposter syndrome a lot, but I kept going because I know there is money in tech and I promised myself that I would join them in making this money. I took technical writing seriously, even though I still get lazy writing; I worked on myself, reached out to more people, put myself out there, and applied for more internship programs, including HNG, where I made it to the finals. It was not an easy road, but I’m glad I didn’t give up.
Q:How many months until you landed a job.?
A: I landed my first job 5 months after the program, despite having a bad experience with them, and I went back to being jobless, but I was fortunate to get side gigs and contract jobs through referrals until I got my current role a year later.
Q: Do you feel supported based on the resources you benefited during the bootcamp and afterward, would you say the bootcamp was significant to your growth?
A:I tell people that DevCareer was a huge blessing to me because, in addition to our normal track, we were exposed to technical writing, how to write our resumes, how to update your LinkedIn, and so many other side attractions that have come in handy for me. The laptop I’m currently using has been a great tool in my personal growth; I’ve never stopped learning because I got a laptop; if I hadn’t gotten the opportunity, I’d probably be irresponsible with my life because I couldn’t afford a good laptop before the program.
DevCareer runs a number of programs with the goal of supporting tech talents such as:
- #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 6000 tech enthusiasts.
- A DevCareerXProgate partnership that gives 5000 community members access to pro-plan on Progate to learn any course of choice, exclusive to community members.
