How I got started programming
My name is Julius Ngwu, and I'm a Software Engineer currently working at One World Coders. I will like to share with you how I got started programming.
Back in the university, I studied Electronic engineering and like every other engineering courses, we solved a lot of equations and mathematics. I had crammed a lot of formulas and used them to drive and solved many problems but all were just in my book. You only see the solution when you open my book. Most times I kept asking myself when will all this knowledge be useful to mankind.
During my 200 level(2012), we were introduced to C language and it happened that part of the requirements to pass the course was a practical implementation of a working software app. I was asked to build a calculator that calculates the areas of different shapes. This was the first time I felt like an engineer because I applied what I already know theoretically into a reusable product. When the semester result came out, my result on this very course was very good. It was quite unfortunate that the introduction to C was the only programming course in our entire curriculum.
After our final exam in 2016, while we wait for graduation, I approached a classmate who had a basic knowledge of programming and had a laptop too. He told me how programming will enable me practice all the laws, formulas and principles I learned in engineering and how it solves real-life problems, I was impressed and decided to give it a try. He gave me some youtube videos on HTML and CSS. I started by redesigning already existing websites.
I was enjoying my static page designs until I saw an internship advert on software development. I took the assessment and got the offer. This is where I was introduced to what programming looks like. The company writes C# and I was expected to learn and start maintaining the applications. The more I try to understand what OOP is the more I get depressed. Every day I stood in front of the mirror asking myself if programming is my true calling. After 6 months I left the company in March 2017 to Server my country but this time I could write simple SQL queries, and I could also create a simple form collection app with .net MVC. While serving, I was working on an eCommerce site just to sharpen my coding skills. Two months towards the end of my youth service which was February 2018, I had the opportunity to go for a job fair where I demoed my eCommerce app to a recruiter who was impressed and offered me a position as a junior software engineer. The company being an advertising company, I did a lot of database querying, building simple form collection apps, MVPs and had the opportunity to participate in a six months internship with Microsft4Africa where I learned big-data. I resigned in January 2019 to join Andela. At Andela, I found out I was just writing a code that works all these while. Andela introduced me to real-world best practices. I left Andela in September 2019 because of the restructuring that took place but with a good understanding of NodeJS, ReactJS,SQL, most agile tools, LMS writing, Version Control, teamwork flow, etc.
I also left Andela with a Nanodegree scholarship in Udacity.
I studied Python Flask and got certified https://graduation.udacity.com/confirm/HLCEU472.
However, I must admit that some short contracts I got while doing my Nanodegree program also helped to strengthen my programming career.
Today, I just got onboarded into an apprenticeship program with One World Coders Rwanda(OWCR). Another great opportunity to learn. My able reader, with OWC I can assure you that in the next six months, I will be halfway to my goal. It has always been my dream to become a world-class developer and with the structure in place, in two years, I will be a famous software developer with unlimited stacks.
Thanks for your time.