Please note: I left Andela in 2019. The process has probably changed since. Refer to the Andela site for the most recent info.

Also, some links may no longer be active.

I work in Andela, a company mainly of programmers (software engineers) who mostly work remotely with engineering teams of companies in the US and Europe among other regions. There’s an office in New York (HQ), San Francisco, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.

It’s been 3 years now!

Andela always has job opportunities and I’m always asked how do I get in Andela. I always send my own summary via WhatsApp, LinkedIn, texts and emails.
Here’s a brief of the process from a summary of these writings :)

Job opportunities are published here: https://andela.com/careers/ (You can go ahead and quote me if I helped you know about a role you are keen on applying)

As mentioned earlier majority of the roles are in engineering. This is open to anyone with interest in that field, has made/ is ready to make effort to learn to programme and has the potential of always learning. Since this is my role I’ll focus on this. If you have considerable experience in the field, consider applying for the senior developer role by filling this form.

If someone is new to programming, there are many resources online. Andela has its own home study: andela.github.io/homestudy/ that is downloadable and learner-paced.

In Andela, applications for the fellowship do not require certification. The journey starts by filling in the form here: https://andela.com/fellowship/apply/.

What will follow is some tests: Psychometric and Technical Tests. For the technical,

Python is the language of choice in Kenya

so I would advocate learning that. Codecademy is a great resource. Its Python glossary is a personal go-to even now: https://www.codecademy.com/articles/glossary-python.

There’s a pass mark. You then proceed to the in-house interview at the Andela campus.

This is mostly to see if you’ll be a cultural fit. I heard that the after the oral interviews, learners are sent challenges they need to work on before the Bootcamp.

For one to get into the Bootcamp, he/she is required to have completed these challenges, normally they are 2 so one challenge per week, and they come to campus for assessments when they deliver certain outputs in the same challenges, in HTML, CSS, python-flask,…

You then proceed to Bootcamp, an intensive 2 weeks. If you have a day job and you’re advised to ask for leave and put in your all in this period. The first week will require you to be on the campus on Monday and Friday. The other days will be constant correspondence with Andelans facilitating this. The next week with be all-hands on board (all 5 days in-house)

Please note that each level has cuts and Andela does well by letting you know if you qualified to the next stage. Applicants have told me of times when Andela seemed silent but it’s usually a case of high expectations, which is expected. An applicant applies today and is refreshing mail every day for a week. It’s not clear how often you’ll be contacted but take into consideration that firstly, holidays are holidays (so expecting a response over the Christmas Holiday is pushing it :) ) and you are among hundreds if not thousands, therefore, responses must be done periodic and in batches.

All in all, you’ll learn a lot hopefully. All the best in the application and remember what Andela is about through-out this process. This video explains it:

The Andela Youtube channel will let you in on loads more.

Funny how Andela’s marketing team released an article on how to join Andela as a Software Developer while this one you’ve just read was in the draft. Well, this is a case of people coming up with the same idea independently. Actually, is there a word for it?

S/O:
- reviewer: Winnie Rotich (Fellow Andelan)
- Cohort mates in the pic: Joan Ngatia, Jee Gikera

Find more about the writer at https://md.engineer/
Stanley Ndagi is one of the featured developers here.

Joining Andela Kenya fellowship was originally published in TechKenyans on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Introduction

3 months ago, I had the privilege of attending DockerCon conference in San Francisco. The events that led to it were quite straightforward but if you ask him he would say it was an act of Providence for him to be selected under the DockerCon Diversity scholarship and most importantly attend it.

Foundation

I got wind of the scholarship through my inbox. I was working with BrightHive, Andela’s partner then and, being a data engineer using a paid billing-plan of DockerHub, I had subscribed to updates on Docker. So I applied and my application was accepted. The questions were simple:

• Why do you want to attend DockerCon?
• What do you hope to learn at DockerCon?
• Why do you think you should be selected to receive a scholarship to DockerCon?

Getting the scholarship was half the hurdle since the scholarship footed the Conference ticket bill that was $1400

I still needed to figure out how I would travel to and fro, and spend 4 nights in the most expensive city in the US.

In Andela, there are a number of programs created for the specific function of improving the experience of a world-class developer poised to be a global tech leader — Developer In Residence Program (DIR); Fellow Exchange Program (FEP). Through other programs like TeenCode and developer communities, developers hone community engagement, speaking skills and the character of giving back. Andela occasionally sponsors its developers to attend or speak at important Tech conferences all over the world. I applied to get sponsored to attend DockerCon and my request was granted.

So what is Docker anyway and DockerCon?

I have been doing Docker advocacy since early 2016. I picked it up as soon as I heard it packaged in these words “With Docker, you will forever forget the statement — ‘It was working on my machine, why is it broken on yours/ the server’

DockerCon (Docker Conference) promises to have Docker enthusiasts from all over the world in one place. The 2018 San Francisco edition had a staggering 6000 attendees and I was one of them representing Nairobi, Kenya — what we dub the Silicon Savannah.

Prep

A friend of mine always reminds me “preparation meets opportunity”. I didn’t do much here. At least in retrospect, I should have done more.

For one, I forgot my business cards (I know this sounds outdated but trust me these 3.5 x 2 inches cards are still relevant. I use CamCard to get contact info out of cards handed to me)

Secondly, DockerCon organizers had an app for the conference on the Android and Apple app stores. With the agenda within, you could plan out the talks you would attend since apart from the keynotes all the other breakout sessions were happening 5 or more concurrently. I was aware of this but did not realize how crazy it would be up until after the day 1 keynote. Thank God for Docker Pals, a program aimed at assisting new conference attendees to know how DockerCons are done. Otherwise, you would find all sessions booked and you would have to queue up on the waiting list section. Some of these guys eventually got in if the session was not maxed out or people walked out midway. Anyhow, you would not want to walk into a session after it has started or worse after someone has validated that it is either not interesting or too complex or simple for them. Blackbelt sessions were intense!

Agenda-wise, old-school worked out for me, check my printed agenda all circled out:

I, however, did my due diligence of going through the speaker profiles (I want to be one someday so this was useful). I planned to take advantage of opportunities as the cherry on the top for this DockerCon experience.

One was the Hallway Track designed to help you make new meaningful connections by sharing knowledge. Just like Google Calendar, you could schedule meetings with attendees who availed themselves. One could also host sessions open to anyone to share knowledge.

There was a section of the 2nd floor (as I recall) that read Quiet Please … Upon paying the examination fees you could sit for Docker Certification exam and hopefully have your name on the Hall of Fame. Hopefully, I’ll do that soon or while attending the next DockerCon.

There was teasing all over the place and so did I.

Stan_MD™ה on Twitter

All @Docker fans out there cc @the_codeartist, @_kar_is ...

Conference

The conference day one was on Wednesday, June 13. However, there was a Pre Conference day and Day Zero 🤓. Check out the agenda here.

Day Zero

This was the day for picking your tag, agenda and swag.

Stan_MD™ה on Twitter

Counting starts with Zero: This is Day 0. Great welcome to @DockerCon 2018 @MosconeCenter San Francisco A huge shout out to @Docker & @Andela 🔥 #TechKenyans

I arrived in the afternoon after a tour of Alcatraz (SF is touristy, by the way), picked these up and spent the rest of the afternoon in the Hands-on Lab section. The exercises here were great. I attempted to share the links to these exercises with other DockerCon enthusiasts back home but, as it turns out, they are normally released to the masses after the DockerCon. They would have to wait until then.

The general exhibition, that would run all through the conference was opened late afternoon. Here all sponsors had stations decked with swag and information pamphlets. Like clockwork, attendees ‘swagged’ themselves up over drinks and snacks. Thankfully this place would be open the entire time otherwise I think the rush would be insane. All the same, I figured it’s part of DockerCon culture plus it’s paid for besides

Stan_MD™ה on Twitter

Ecosystem Expo going on #DockerCon So many stands of the sponsors!

being a place where your details would be taken simply by scanning your badge, this was a haven of knowledge. All these companies had stations where you could ask anything about their product and get hiring opportunities. One booth, in particular, focussed on wowing us by having arcade race-car games at their station 😯 (Too bad I can’t remember. I confess that I am not a games guy. Yeah we exist 😅)

Day One, Two and Three sessions

I know a great deal of Docker use-cases so someone in my shoes or more experienced could ask “what’s the point of going to DockerCon or any other conference besides just meeting new people and networking?”. I wanted to take home answers to two main questions:

1. What considerations do I make when using Docker in Production
2. What Docker security tools (not necessarily paid-for) can I leverage on

This knowledge would prove instrumental at the time, in my work at Andela and BrightHive and in my career progression into Data Engineering. I structured my agenda primarily on these two topics and left room for sessions on Docker basics (you never get too old for this), Diversity, Impact 💪🏽, Collaboration (#AllThingsOpenSource) and the all-time favourite IoT (Internet of Things); I am a tinker and enthusiast in IoT. A day one keynote is considered very important since it highlights any conference. I’ll focus on this one and mention key takeaways from the rest.

Day One Keynote

Day one’s keynote was MC’d by @francofinn. Here’s the video (correction in the description Scott Johnston is not Docker Product Manager). Docker CEO Steve Singh touched on Docker’s history since 5 years back; the underlying motivation of supporting communities around the technology; the commitment to solving global problems and driving software innovation and versatility of docker to the Developer, IT, Architect and Executives.

Docker Product Manager Gareth Rushgrove focussed on Docker Desktop, a GUI product to remove the command-line barrier to entry to the Docker ecosystem for a lot of people. I concur, and being a champion of breaking complexities into chewable bits, I have to give it up to Docker on this product and the updates released that day. Eventually, Kubernetes was released on the Docker Desktop.

Mason Eugene Fish and Lily Guo did an awesome demo on this tool. The depiction of a typical software engineer’s world played out: insane expectations and deadlines, coding overnight drinking Morning Dew and voila the application was up!

McKesson, a Fortune500 company (6th rank in 2018) closed this session by taking us through their journey on digitising their pharmaceutical supply chain and empower their developers using Docker.

• Did you know?

There’s a long-standing tradition in DockerCon of ‘sacrificing to the demo gods’ by opening fortune cookies before every talk.

Sessions

Day One and Two started out with the keynotes and break out sessions later. As mentioned earlier I attended sessions on these topics: Diversity, Impact, Collaboration and IoT.

The on-demand videos can be retrieved here. Most of the talks and panel discussions were relevant to me. The talks that made my day(s) were:

1. Transform category: Shaving My Head made me a Better Programmer by Alex Qin (GAKKO)
   - Video
   - Slides
   https://twitter.com/NdagiStanley/status/1007060334492901376
2. Transform category: Diversity != stock photos: Are you looking for candidates in all the wrong places? Chloe Condon (Sentry)
   - Video
   - Slides
3. Using Docker category: Creating Effective Docker Images by Abby Fuller (AWS)
   - Video
   - Slides
   Notes
   Minimal images — Docker image size matters
   Caching and layers in image creation
   Multi-stage builds
   Choice: Have your own base image vs choosing one from the community
4. Using Docker category: Don’t have a Meltdown! Practical Steps for Defending Your Apps Liz Rice (Aqua), Justin Cormack (Docker)
   This was among the repeat sessions for Day three as voted by DockerCon attendees.
   - Video
   - Slides
5. Black Belt category: A Vision of Persistence Justin Cormack (Docker), Luke Marsden (DotMesh)
   - Video
   - Slides
6. Docker Docker Docker category: Modernizing Traditional Applications with Docker Jeff Murr (MetLife), Brian Walker (Docker)
   - Slides
7. Innovation category: Docker and IoT: Controlling “Things” with Containers Darragh Grealish & Brian Christner (56K.Cloud)
   https://twitter.com/NdagiStanley/status/1007364109203984385
   Last but not least…
8. Community Theater category: 5 Years Later: Is Docker Still Delivering? Confessions of a Docker-Holic Thomas Shaw (Demonware)

If you are conversant with PWD (Play with Docker), you are aware that it was featured as a cool hack in the 2017 DockerCon. This year’s Cool Hacks category was anchored by ManoMarks and Christine Lovett from Docker. I did not attend this one: Automated Hardware Testing using docker for space (DART, NASA) by Christopher Heistand (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory), but from the blog post, slides and video I can simply describe it as bleeding edge.

Party

Day One was climaxed by the DockerCon AfterParty. That was amazing!

Stan_MD™ה on Twitter

DockerSelfie at the @DockerCon AfterParty

Conclusion

At the start, I mentioned how my journey with Docker started. Well, I don’t have the answer to this question:

I have been doing advocacy for Docker in my own small way: speaking at tech meetups in Kenya and Nigeria (I was working from the Andela Nigeria office then). I have also had the privilege of helping a friend Joseph Muli write a course book on Docker.

Joseph Muli on Twitter

For the love of #containers and spreading the knowledge, here's a course on #Docker I wrote late last year, finally published 🤗 DM me for a free copy (very limited) HUGE S/O to @NdagiStanley and @arnold_okoth https://t.co/tITLm6w8qr

The author is also an Andela developer and here’s the book.

The experience at DockerCon and a sneak preview of the Silicon Valley tech space allowed me to get more knowledgeable, meet new people and leverage their experience and very important have fun. I did have a lot to share with the team at BrightHive and I am working on a talk at Andela to off-load this knowledge and share together with other Docker enthusiasts. Look out for that one

The community has a huge impact on driving innovation. This I confirmed at DockerCon. Plus I picked up what a Global tech conference has to offer: swag, huge screens for live coding 😬, great food, drinks, amenities for caring parents, first aid, platforms for networking, great wifi, wonderful furniture and loads of space…

As most cultures dictate, I did not return empty-handed. Well, mostly I distributed swag. My mac got it’s fair share of stickers so did loads in my circle 😁.

That’s a wrap! Let me hear your thoughts in the comments. Passionate about technology? We can engage on Twitter.

Do you need to hire top developers? Talk to Andela to help you scale.
Are you looking to accelerate your career as a developer? Andela is currently hiring senior developers. Apply now.

DockerCon 2018 Recap was originally published in The Andela Way on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

If you are using Mpesa then Mledger is an app that you definitely need. It packs a punch: Mpesa transactions history, reports, Mpesa cost calculator etc.

Recently I was using the SGR (Standard Gauge Railway) or as others out it: Madaraka Express. I had paid by MPesa (Thanks SGR folks for this convenience)

Aside:
The SGR booking process is simple:

• Call any of these numbers: 0709907000, 0728603581/2. They are usually busy so try again and again until you get through.
• Ask about the seat availability for your trip, give your name, ID number and Phone number. They’ll tell you the amount and,
• From then on it’s automated: you get a message with the Lipa na Mpesa details. You pay, receive a confirmatory message with ticket details and that’s it; you are done.
• Now you’ll just have to go to the SGR terminal/ station an hour before time (for check in), print your ticket at the Ticket ATM and you are well on your way.

I formatted my phone just the night before traveling.

I was oblivious of the fact that I will need the ticket message and ay, you know I had that mindset that definitely the SGR system has my records.

Guess what, were it not for the app, where I retrieved my records, I would not have had the ride. Long story short, the system is “semi-automated” and MLedger saved the day. In other words saying,

So that’s just one use-case, what about the Cost Calculator that allows you to know the tariffs for sending and withdrawing currency and the claimed Bank USSD code search — I can’t get to this feature for some reason.

Well, there you have it.

techkenyans is the home of TechKenyans.

SAFARICOM’S MLEDGER APP, A LIFE SAVER was originally published in TechKenyans on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Yes, because you’ll basically be able to build anything on the web. I prefer the use of build rather than create since build immediately alludes to the mental model of stacking up.

Talking of stacking, JS ….

Continue reading more at the Hashnode article here.

It’s been two months since I landed at Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos. I applied to be in Nigeria for 90 days. I was greeted by this image on a screen at the airport:

It made me a smile. Yes, I was determined to make this my home for the 3 months.

So how has it been? My first day at the office was coincidentally the first day of Cohort-24 Lagos meaning I wasn’t the only newbie around. I still remember that moment when I introduced myself and the reaction I received when I said I was Kenyan. I was made to feel as if I wasn’t a stranger at all. For starters there are a number of developers that I had worked with in the same simulations team. Others, I had simply DM’ed out of nowhere (well, at least there must have been something that started us off). And there were a few of whom we had met either in the US or in Nairobi. These were wonderful reunions. One remark I made that stuck from that initial meeting was: “I didn’t imagine you this tall”. Don’t try guessing my height though, some of us know the surprise of seeing someone taller or shorter than you’d imagined before meeting them.

There have been those ‘Whoooaaaaa’’ moments in ET (Epic Towers- Andela Nigeria premises) and Amity (Andela Nigeria housing). (ET, the Andela Nigeria office is a great workspace, by the way. Its launch happened recently check out the space here.) People coding while lying prostrate on the carpeted floor, a team doing pushups every afternoon to keep the blood flowing (we know how afternoons can be like, especially with the Lagosian heat). Talking of this heat; the heatwave that greeted me as I stepped out of the plane reaffirmed that I was in a different place altogether. I have so far been accustomed to the heat. However, my first week and sporadically even right now the AC can be too chilling for me. The body is in constant thermal change: step out into the heat and the sun; step into the office: chilling. Thank God I came with a hoodie against the advice of my colleague Thomas who preceded me in the Exchange Programme. It came in handy.

“Food glorious food …”

that’s a line from one of the musical numbers in the famous Oliver Twist film. In my opinion, if you base your experience on simply comparing the food in a new country with yours rather than immerse yourself in the culture, you’re on the wrong path. But on food matters, the comparison is inevitable. Picture this, day one at JM I had a simple meal of rice and egg sauce and my lips were hot from the pepper. Water didn’t help much. Sharing this experience with some Nigerians added insult to injury. They claim that wasn’t even peppery by Nigerian standards. You mean to tell me food that ‘burnt’ my lips for some hours is not anywhere on the scale? I’d love to try what’s on the top of this crazy scale. Some context here; food in Kenya is mildly spiced and most time it lacks spice altogether. I had heard of the peppery food that is akin to Nigerian culture. Even before coming over, I thought of ‘training’ my taste buds but I shrugged this thought off and I paid for it. In retrospect, I don’t think it would have helped. I have since tried nkwobi, moimoi, shawama, eba; the soups: gbegiri, ewedu and pepper soups. Pepper soup is considered close to the top of the scale.

On meeting people, “Be careful out here” is a warning I have received several times especially when “One chance” is mentioned. I believe Nigerians are great people. I have had strangers being helpful to me be it on the streets of Abuja or in the Keke Napep in Lagos. This is not what the same Nigerians tell you of their own. I have learnt to take this as them being protective.

My colleagues have been super! I have received invitations to events

, centers, being a guest in homes, a visitor in churches

, hanging out at VI and other islands

, watching movies in cinemas

, swimming at the beach

the list is endless. So far I have been to three states: Lagos, Abuja and Ogun states. At JM, Rack city records et al have jammed once or twice and it’s always a pleasure during those Sunday afternoons. There’s just been one day that I was completely indoors and that was during Easter when many had gone to have time with family and I did enjoy my own company.

I have had my share of interactions with non-Andelans in multiple meetups

(Pydata, DBootcamp, ForLoop Abuja).

PydataLagos on Twitter

Thanks for gracing us with ur presence and ur contributions...#pydatalagos @NdagiStanley @Andela @Andela_Nigeria @BluechipTechNG @TopeAjao https://t.co/jMhezMvBjZ

ForLoop Abuja on Twitter

@NdagiStanley of @Andela_Nigeria, with a hands on session showing us how docker works.

By the way, I don’t know if it’s just me but the two times I have met Kenyans here in Lagos, I have been overly excited. I guess it’s the feeling of having a ‘brother/ sister’ around or may be it the sentimental feeling of having a piece of home.

I consider myself a global citizen and as much as Kenya is my country of birth I have learnt to call Lagos a second home. This is what I tell peeps that I call back in Kenya.

That’s it for now. Lemme grab a danfo to ET before I get late to work.

Originally published at Hu-man.

Here’s the before:

and after:

Originally published at Hu-man.

The clock is ticking. Today complete with an early morning exercise, was a day of thinking through my presentation of the project tomorrow. From the experience of the former food-for-thought on Friday last week; I had to work at it. Technical knowledge of what I am doing is equally important and so emphasized on. Engaging with the audience as I recently learnt is vital because people buy what they help create. Therefore because we shall be dealing with clients from diverse backgrounds one cannot not COMMUNICATE.

Godson and Nandaa were available to help. I have found out that working on a project individually is more challenging as you handle every aspect of the project while as an individual you would

The appreciation that I don’t know everything is important because it allows cooperation within the team. Ganga, here; Evans, there, I being consulted as well. Everyone is committed to doing their best and I must add that I am being challenged, but I am up to the task.

Godson and Nandaa were around in case we needed any help of course. Over lunch I spoke with Koech who had done the same project before. The comparing notes was key for the afternoon work. I improved a lot on what I had.

The power-cuts despite the generator running proved problematic for some of us whose batteries weren’t okay. Otherwise the day ended smoothly.

Godson today confirmed the lower-than-usual energy in the class generally. Best guess is that we regrettably didn’t have Warm-up that morning. This situation eventually ebbed.

We received the projects that climax the boot-camp today. Obviously ultimately we shall be working on projects for clients in our fellowship at Andela. Otherwise the training both soft skills and technical are geared to make us engineers, world-class developers who will deliver. Every detail was outlined for our individual projects. In conclusion, we were to have the MVP: Minimum Viable Product. Also added was the 7C’s — Courtesy, Correctness, Clarity, Consideration, Conciseness, Completeness and Concreteness are to be considered in our work at Andela. Incorporating the lessons we learn here is beneficial to life all-round, so I have committed myself to work at them until they are at heart.

Tomorrow, we have a national holiday, Mashujaa Day, to commemorate the fighters of Kenya’s independence into a sovereign state. Andela has offered office hours for anyone interested. Lets code away the holiday :)

That was the title on the whiteboard today. I believe it alludes to the fact that some of us will be receiving news of not proceeding with the boot-camp’s week two. Anyhow, our warm-up today was very interesting. Firstly it was at Kindaruma, the future of Andela Kenya, at least in Dr. Rosenberg’s words. The place is spacious. I was privileged to share some games, which I believe we all enjoyed and learnt from. The space provided us room to shout all we wanted. Surely, this is the future.

Our final food-for-thought for the week went well. Notable improvement from most of us. I learnt that one should always be prepared before any speech no matter how conversant you are with the topic. At least Joshua Mwaniki (Josh) had told us that the evening before. In fact it can have diverse consequences like losing a client let alone getting fired, he had added. Now whilst sharing, little did we know, there would be brown-bag, where we would pick some more tips, during lunch. I let you in on this one, later on.

Coding today was undertaken by both Nandaa and Godson. I’m getting the hang of it every passing day. The Andelabs continue to be instrumental. Attention to detail is emphasized through and through. I’m realizing that the important thing to do here at Andela is to improve my thought-process on how to face a problem and get its solution. Surprisingly, I reckon, it is something only the individual themselves can accomplish.

So earlier I said I’ll let you in on brown-bag session. This is where Andela fellows and staff every Friday share what they are passionate about. It doesn’t have to be tech. In fact today’s was on: Dairy Farming by Koech. In case you are wondering why the name- brown bag, then, it is because after the session, the speaker is presented with a brown-bag containing strips of paper with the names of all staff and fellows. From these, the next one will be called out. The gavel fell on Nyambura for the coming week’s brown-bag.

The day closed with my having a personal refresher on the week’s lessons but concentration for most of us quickly ebbed when anxiety set in during the elimination period, where several of us were called out to be told their fate. I am excited to inform you that nine of us plus myself proceed to the final week of boot-camp: the last qualifier to become an Andela fellow. Projects, tests and everyone’s eyes monitoring from left and right await us. Probably even more strict this time. However, I choose to view it as joy, learning and positive pressure to squeeze the best out of me await. I’m excited at the thought of it. Lets await.

I’ll be traveling to the coast, some obligation I am happy to attend to, then join the guys, I now know as friends, if not family on Monday. Do enjoy your weekend. Cheers.