I'm Kofi Ramos. An aspiring web developer based in Accra, Ghana. I'm writing this during the world's Covid-19 crises. The title is called I switched. I switched from being a culinary cook to pursuing my long time dream of becoming a web developer.
Let me take you back a few years. I've always been interested in tech, as a young boy I got to play video games, i.e Mario, donkey Kong, ninja turtles. That's where my interest peaked when it comes to computers. Had one myself, donated by my dad's boss who got a new computer and was looking for a way to get rid of his old one. In case you're wondering, my dad is a good cook. His job was to cook and organize parties for expats hence my access to computer at a young age.
Fast forward, after high school. I decided not to go to university. I wasn't naturally gifted when it comes to intelligence nor was I really good with my hands or legs, but I could kick football or what the Americans call soccer. Life became tough as I didn't want to go to college because I knew my parents couldn't afford the bills, and also I believed in this mantra that you didn't need a college degree to be in tech. My parents tried and sacrificed a lot for me, they always got me a pc to play around with despite us having just enough to make us comfortable. That's when I started learning how to code.
I started with html/css. This was the time when online coding websites started gaining the recognition, think of code academy and the rest. After basic html and css, I picked up php and started building websites for few friends, and friends of friends. That wasn't enough to get me a paying job in tech in Ghana because the tech scene was still young. Stayed home for about 2 years and decided to look for other alternative for income.
My uncle who was also a chef, gave me a few months of training which ended up getting me my first every paying gig. I was going to become a cook/cleaner for a family of 2, occasionally 3 on summer holidays. I was there from 2014 till 2020 before lockdown in Ghana. While there I continued learning and building website for a few people. I picked up basic laravel, WordPress and node. I was grateful for having an income but I still held to my dream of switching.
I switched!! I switched when the lockdown for covid 19 was about to be imposed in April 2020. My guts told me this is the right time to switch if I ever wanted to pursue my dream. I won't lie! Its been tough and I keep second guessing myself. I took a month to study with an accountability partner. The support of family and friends keep me going. It's been 2 months since I switched. I'm currently interning at an agency. Imposter syndrome still in the corner, I'm not super talented or super gifted. I still struggle with basic stuff and this few weeks as an intern has exposed that, but I'm determined to improve myself and become a better developer.
I've decided to start blogging to keep up with my growth. I'm always on the lookout for help when it comes to coding. My interests are in laravel and I really want to get started with Javascript and vue Js. Thanks for reading and I'm always available to bounce ideas. My latest project is found at www.edwuma.work and currently interning at www.TeamAlfy.com.
Latest comments (66)
Great...š
I also love websites.
I've tried out a lot of beginner resources on JavaScript and by the far the best I've seen is Programming with P5.JS by the Coding Train, free on YouTube. Thanks for sharing your journey. Keep us posted on your progress!
I've tried out a lot of beginner resources on JavaScript and by far the best I've found is Programming with P5.JS by the Coding Train, available for free on YouTube. Keep us posted on your progress. Consistency is key for coding.
First of all, congratulations on switching to Web Development field and also congratulations on your first intern as a developer! yayyy
Video games were my reason to pursue developer path too, so I can relate your hype towards technologies.
Regarding your statement, "you didn't need a college degree to be in tech", as a student who studying IT major I would say yes tech welcome to every single person regardless their background! Those who pursue in tech have to work extra hard to learn any technologies they are interested in and make something that helps other people.
Laravel, Wordpress, Node, Javascript and VueJS are technologies that commonly used so if you are good at it, it makes you can land a job on more companies. Honing skill on that specific technologies will helps you in the future both for looking a new job or even making your own job!
Glad to hear that you started blogging, it will helps you a lot to understanding more the context you are trying to share with your audience. For example, you want to share how people without any experience
on Wordpress to use Wordpress. Before making the blog post, you will probably started to install wordpress, run and test it. If it's going well, you started to write every step you tried so that other people could try it too and ended up like you did. It will helps us a lot to understand more on things. So yeah, good luck on your blogging!
I am an IT student but really wanna to learn more about culinary cook but don't know should I switch or not because I love both technologies and food!
Thanks for sharing, Kofi!
Nice. Like it. Make it happen, you won't regret it. Welcome to the club and good luck with your new career!
Welcome to Dev! I look forward to reading your blog. Cheers!
Hi again Sebastian. I often use inversion and reversal of polarity as an analysis tool. It's quite rare to try this trick with a diagram and a bit hard to explain.
I would first have to replace "fear" with "anxiety" (dissonance).
Having done that I see a coherent result if growth is this smallest enclosed circle, followed by learning, dissonance and comfort.
Does that make sense?
Kofi, I am so proud of your progress and determination! I am in my fourth month in my coding journey and I must say, your success is quite a great inspiration! Goodluck
Thanks and I wish you all the best on your journey
It could be your first comment, if you're trying to be rude, vulgar and disrespectful.
You don't know anyone personally in this thread and non of us can be considered as a "kid" to you.
I hope you will think twice next time before writing an idiotic comment. I understand it's hard for you to write any valuable thing, but give it a try.
Yikes. I thought "Cut the kid some slack" was idiom. As an old hermit me thinks there be many linguistic land mines to avoid here.
Heck, I treat all minors as having equal value and rights and avoid "talking down" to them.
Lol... I could be in trouble here....... sport?
(Note that "sport" is also condescending.)
(OT: Am I auto-liking my own comments?)
It all depends when and with whom you are joking or sharing idioms or something else.
You are still wrong if your jokes and idioms are out of place.
If I don't know you personally, I'll never talk to you with "many linguistic land mines".
I am confused about that last paragraph but assume you meant you would err on the side of caution.
None-the-less I think you kind of did in a indirect sense.
Was that not a little "over the top" given the offense?
"I hope you will think twice next time before writing an idiotic comment. I understand it's hard for you to write any valuable thing, but give it a try."
Yikes. Frankly I find that to be a double standard.
Ahhh. As the OP you were greatly offened by being referred to as "kid" and possibly new.
That's reasonable I guess.
I like the way you're analyzing the situation, lol.
I literally can't help it Senik. I appologize for "brain picking" you.
I'm not sure if my interpretation of this image is accurate, but I think it signifies that - the one in the comfort zone and the one in the fear zone, as well as the ones in the learning and growth zones, are one and the same. It's just that when you move from the comfort zone to the other zones, you don't necessarily shed your personality and core character traits completely. Both are you, but the one in the fear zone is a better version of you from the comfort zone. Similarly, the one in the learning zone is a better version of you from the fear zone.
Maybe that's why the circles are not mutually exclusive. Since even when you improve, you are still the same person, just more refined and better than your previous self.
It's not a mathematical venn diagram. It's just an analogy that will break down under too much scrutiny like any model.
Its great to know a fellow Ghanaian jump into this interesting world of web development! Let's link up!
Iām a Ghanaian too. And I love programming. And I love food (especially Jollof). Keep up the good work brotha!!!
An inspiring life told/taught story. All the very best in your move and to grow further. You're one of those who made my day and boosted the energy.
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