Sometime last year, I got tired of the ‘regular’ in my life and decided I needed to up my skills. As much as I’ll love to say I wanted to learn how to code, I actually dreaded the very thought of coding. It sounded like an interesting task for ‘geeks’ but an uphill one for me. Don’t blame me, cos my first experience with it was terrible(earlier in my undergraduate level).
Anyway, back to last year, I told a very good friend of mine of my interest in coding and he recommended Lambda School to me. Incidentally, Lambda School’s application was to close the next day. With so much zeal, I applied and was hopeful. Like you know, I got the offer letter (yaay!) and was enrolled as a Lambda Student for the Full Stack Web Development Track.
Here are 6 solid things I’ve learnt so far ( 6 months) a Software Developer
Show up Each Day and stay committed: Lambda School has been one of the toughest thing I’ve had to do because of how fast paced the environment is and even though when we started back in August, I had little or no idea about the concepts being taught, I resolved to show up each day. Today, I can see how much I’ve learnt and this has taught me to stay committed to a cause despite initial challenges that may arise.
Be vulnerable enough to learn: This is by far one of the hardest things to do. I mean, it’s easier to struggle alone with no one knowing than to come out in the open to let people know you really have no idea what to do. I learnt so much from one of the teams during build week through pair programming. Imagine if I had acted as if I knew so much, no learning would have been done, would have struggled and probably still be struggling.
Collaboration: This is definitely not a cliche…trust me guys..lol. I have had to work in teams and build apps within a week (build week). Learnt so much about communicating my thought, ideas and most importantly listening to other team members. This is such a vital skill I’m glad I’ve honed and still grooming.
Learn things in bits: Truth is there’s never an end to learning and when you’re starting off your career as a developer, it is easy to get overwhelmed with the vast tech stacks out there. There’s no need to be. Learn things in bits, practice those bits and you’ll see everything will begin to make sense.
Know what you want: The first few months in Lambda were really tough and if I didn't really know I wanted to be a Full stack Developer, dropping out would have been an option. What I'm trying to say is your dream keeps you going in the midst of challenges.
Surround yourself with people that can help you: I honestly don’t know how I’ll have coped if I didn’t have the help I’ve gotten from friends, particularly Segun Adebayo. Reviewing my codes and putting me through every detail has been his job description for the past 6 months.
All in all, I’m glad for this experience in Lambda School and look forward to an exciting year. What’s one thing you’ve learnt as a software Developer?
Top comments (5)
Hello I read your blog. My name is Aaron and I too am interested in being a coder and attending Lambda School. Right now I'm doing a pre course for Flatiron Academy. Feel a little lost and it's I feel like I'm just by myself and I read that part in your blog where you felt the same way once. Sometimes I'm a little embarrassed to ask for help. I'm at a point where I really don't understand a certain aspects of codeine and I am just going down a rabbit hole. Can you help me please!
Hi Aaron,
I'm so glad you were able to relate with my blog. Starting off as a developer can be quite daunting but one thing that helped me was to learn concepts bit by bit.
For example, watch various youtube videos & read blogs on a particular concept before proceeding to the next topic. Also, there's no shame in asking for help at all, we've all been there :)
Hey thank you so much for your reply. I will take your advice and I'm going to take it a little slow and not quit. And also take it bit by bit as you say I guess I was just diving into it and thought that I can retain so much information all at once but I can't. But I do love the challenge and I think I will make a really great developer one day. Thanks again for your encouragement and I hope that one day I can still ask questions when I need be
One thing I've come to reckon with strongly as a developer is that collaboration is really key to building truly great stuff. I'm glad you're up there with it too!
It's 2021 and you've come really far!(Contributor to ChakraUI! yay!)...
Your journey has been inspiring!
This is amazing to read, Chizo :) And it's been a great journey!!!