Be good and be good at it

Frontend? Backend? Android development? Cloud engineering? When I decided I wanted a career in technology, I thought coding was the only path I could take. I was very confused and it took a long while before I knew what exactly I wanted. I made several mistakes that I could have saved myself from if I had a clear direction.
I came across FreeCodeCamp.org sometime in 2019 and I started using it almost immediately. I liked how straightforward and beginner-friendly the curriculum is. I enjoyed the magic feeling of writing in an editor and seeing it in my browser. That joy was short-lived when I met CSS😪. it was just too much for me. I soon realized that design and user interface were just not my thing.

I eventually found out what I loved when I started encountering errors with the system at work (after several iterations). I was denied access to several resources for reasons I didn’t know. What does administrative access even mean😐? As a curious person, I started googling the specific error messages I got, which led me to Microsoft docs.
I spent so much time learning about new things on Microsoft learn and I was impressed by how easy and defined the paths were. I wasn’t interested in certifications; I was just hungry for knowledge. I was learning about teams, power apps, azure, among other new things. Since my organization is a Microsoft shop, it felt familiar and it helped me become more efficient at work.
When lockdown started and I had to work from home, I promised myself then that I had to be better than before. I had more time and flexibility and I could pursue whatever path I wanted. It was a defining point of my career and the resolve was clear; to come out of lockdown a better person. I searched for several communities that I could be part of because I read on Twitter that it was essential to be part of one. The Microsoft Learn ambassadors in Nigeria (@mlsanigeria) have been exceptional and I am thankful to them.
2020 was very different, I knew exactly what I wanted and why I wanted it. curiosity is definitely a pushing force for me because the more I learn about a new thing, the more I realize that I know nothing about it. By the end of the year, I had achieved my goal of passing all Microsoft fundamental certificates, got a great offer, and I will be moving to a new city!

In 2021, I would be learning more about Azure, getting more Cloud certs and continue learning in public. I am glad that I know where I belong now despite feeling lost at a point. It doesn’t matter how long it took me, the plan is to be good at it and be known for it!