Junior developer stories
I started learning how to program in February and it’s been a wonderful journey so far..from asking Tobi the dumbest questions (I still do,at times) to figuring it out myself et al. I didn’t think I could improve this fast but,here I am…I’m not 100% but #wemove.
It all started with a dm to Tobi on twitter..asking him for advice..and that was it;The beginning of this great journey. (It wasn’t documented but you would hear about me,soonest).
I started off on W3Schools where I learnt HTML;somewhere along that line I wondered how anybody could have all the HTML elements(Kendrick Lamar’s “Element” comes to mind) in his/her head but in his words “you will get there” so simple yet motivating and eventually I got to know most of the HTML elements off hand. CSS was a bit challenging at first but overtime I got to understand that it’s not as complex as it looks..it only requires you taking it one at a time.At the end I saw the usefulness of CSS and it’s power/beauty.
After CSS,I tried to create a portfolio website for myself(not so bad,right?)welp,during that process I discovered that learning is one thing..being creative with it was another thing(tears fam) entirely. I found myself cloning (would you say copying? well whatever) a website I felt was cool (Tobi caught me,but wait..how?)..it wasn’t totally a bad idea because I saw it as a task..and the fact that Tobi saw the resemblance meant I did something right(shey?)
*slow clap*
*standing ovation*
Lol,away from Tobi for now..I remember tweeting “Who would teach me how to use github?” after thinking about backing up my little project..then I got a mention(so people still see my tweets? I wasn’t sure) referring me to another follower…I was reluctant at first but then I asked eventually and
*drumroll*
That was how I met Ollaollu (yes “LL” twice) who rescued me from my island of ignorance and showed me how to “git it over with” (sleek,Right? no? bad belle) and referred me to another online school Viking(It’s lith)..where I got proper orientation for this life I’m choosing..tools I’ll need (git bash,Ruby ,Node et al).Who would have thought that I’ll meet somebody so useful off twitter? Not me.
Ollaollu introduced me to a fellow developer ..Thislekan(via slack)..who I’ve been learning one or two things from,we’ve been sharing ideas (at times you sense that clash of ego,but..yeah)and someday I hope to meet these guys and talk about things that don’t concern “how to make my image position absolutely” or whether my website is responsive or not.
What I’ve learnt so far?
- “Git this joke over with”- My favorite part of learning how to git..brilliant way to master it;committing adding and pushing- the most used commands .
- You feel you’re not getting it? breathe,you think you don’t know what you’re doing? breathe, “ughhh,where did I go wrong?” just breathe honestly..take a deep breathe and drink water for a bit..then come back and take a look at it again. Remember to always breathe.
- Hey Big man,you think you’re bad ass because after going through a particular course once you think you get the hang of it? I doubt that…why don’t you go over the course outline once more? there’s still a bit of information I think you missed the other time,right there. Always revise.
- Okay this might not be advisable to do but,trial and error works for me most times and I can recollect a number of things I learnt from trial and error.My point? Know what works for you.
- You’re new,ignorant ..probably won’t know what you’re doing for the first few hours but you’d catch up…and soon enough you’d begin to wonder..where do I want to specialize in? Front End or Back End _?.This is my advice,_try to ask and learn from developers..you’d see things from different angles being in the middle..there and then,you’d know which angle you prefer.
- **Seriously,Google is your friend-**If there’s something you’re not getting..ask google,or stackoverflow..There’s a 90% chance that somebody has been in your shoes before so the answer is definitely on stack or somewhere on google,you just need to know how to bend google to its knees.
- Always on your laptop(Are you sure you’re not doing yahoo yahoo?)-Seriously are you sure about being a developer if random people have not asked you that question as a Nigerian?I doubt that.My point here is,make your laptop your best friend.work work work work(in Rihanna’s voice),give yourself random challenges and try your best to do it.
Finally,I’ll like to give a shout out(subconsciously completes it “to my mummy and daddy wishing them ….”) to Tobi and Ollaollu for being with me throughout this journey.
“I hope what I’ve been saying makes sense sha?”.
Good day.