Beginners In Tech
I was scrolling through my Google Keep archives and stumbled upon a note I created during my freshman year at UCC(currently in my final year), titled “Beginners in Tech.” The note contained advice I had shared in our newly created class WhatsApp group. According to Google Keep, it was “Edited Apr 26, 2023.”
I wrote it to help fellow freshmen navigate the initial challenges and uncertainties they might face in the tech field. At the time, I had been working with Insurerity for less than a year. Looking back, I realized that the advice I gave was shaped by my early experiences and hard-learned lessons…I wanted to help others separate the signal from the noise of information overload.
Here’s the full note:
Good evening, here. I hope this finds you well.
One thing all successful ‘Tech people ‘ say is: ‘School won’t teach you hardcore programming/technology skills, but will teach you to appreciate the technology.’
The only person to do that is ‘yourself’. That said, there’s a lot to learn in the tech space. As beginners, we’re always bombarded with buzzwords like learn this, know that.
The only good thing you can do for yourself when learning tech skills is to ask yourself,
‘What do I want to do/ solve with technology?’,
‘Why do I want to learn this language/skill?’
‘Will this language/skill help me in the solution I am seeking?’
Once you’re able to figure these out, the answers to questions like what to learn, how to learn, and where to learn will eventually come out.
Most beginners follow buzzwords:
‘Oh, learn this skill, you’ll earn $4k’,
‘Oh, web3 is the future, let it now
‘learn Python, learn HTML, etc.’
I am not saying don’t listen to advice from people, but one thing that’s for sure is that ‘tech’ is hard, and programming and learning to code are hard. Getting your first paycheck/employment is hard. Yes, it’s meant to be hard to take impostors out. If it were easy, then the reward wouldn’t be great, as everyone can do it.
Also, it takes 7 years to become a doctor. So don’t expect to be an expert in programming after learning for 3 months or 1 year. Also, you won’t be employable after 3 months of learning; it takes years, and some people are lucky to be exceptions to this rule. But it happens rarely. Progress compounds, but it’s not linear. Keep pushing, the dots will connect one day. Everyone suffered to learn to code; you won’t be the first or the last.
So to strive and persevere through the struggles and frustrations, you should like what you are learning, and there should be a purpose to it. Once you pass the beginner stage, you’ll be free to learn what’s trending, but for now, stick to something that has meaning to you.
After you pass the beginner stage, you may realize it wasn’t what you wanted, but it’s a conversation for another time.
NB: visit this site to see roadmaps that’ll enhance your career as to what to learn to become competent in a specific tech domain
https://roadmap.sh/”