Tech: A Whole New World
April 1st wasn’t just the beginning of a new month for me. It symbolized the beginning of a new phase of my life. Just one email was proof of that — my Altschool Africa Admission mail. As I continued to refresh my mail and stay on top of every information on the slack community group, I got filled with an apprehension you only get when you are about to enter the Dean’s office.
I am a final year medical student (would have been a doctor by now but ASUU has succeeded in delaying my for another few months). However, for a long time, I have desired to be in tech, even before I truly understood what great things went on in the community. In my JSS3, a friend had told me of a group that tutored teens on how to code. This was 2010. I had a lot of free time after my Junior West African Secondary School Certificate Examinations and I loved computers. I called my dad and told him about it but he was not having any of that.
Since then, I’ve always had it at the back of my mind — immediately I could afford the time and resources, I’ll learn how to code. Over the years, because of how demanding Medicine can get, I never pursued this. In fact, I believe I forgot this promise to myself entirely until 2020 when I began to read a lot more articles other than medical and health related articles.
‘30 top careers that will be relevant in the new decade’
I glanced through and saw Odogwu Medicine sitting proudly at No.3. But there was something that caught my attention. Most of the career paths on that list were tech related, either as technical roles or non-technical roles such as product management and research.
The world is becoming more technologically advanced and we are changing the way we live because of technology. I mean, remember how since 2020, we realized we didn’t need to go queue at traditional banks to enjoy banking services because of the rise of FinTechs. Learning has become more of an ‘out of classroom’ experience because learning management platforms and EdTech have made us realize that pandemic or no pandemic, the learning should never stop.
In Africa alone, we have a lot of problems innovative technology can solve. In 2020, I realized, as a young African female who wants to make an impact in her community and beyond, I have to become the woman for the future because what we must become today must be relevant in the future.
Tech is the future!
2020 came to an end and with school resuming, I decided to focus on finishing school and finishing strong. Meanwhile, I started talking about my interest in tech and meeting people who already had careers in tech or desired a career in tech. This was how I got to meet one of my biggest support. In October 2021, he sent me a signup link about AltSchool. Actually it was a tweet made by @AdewaleYusuf_, CEO Altschool Africa.
Since that click, I have been dogged on launching this dream into reality. All through applications to the Altschool Entrance exams and now, we are here, about to begin this journey into tech.
Did I mention my birthday is this Month too? 🥳
By my next birthday, I will be a Doctor, a BackEnd DevOps and a technical writer. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll add ‘disruptor’ to those string of meaningful words. Regardless, I am excited to begin this year long journey and I can’t wait for all the experiences I’ll gain along the way.
If you want to begin a career in tech and you don’t know which, check out this article by Timi Ajiboye
Take a quiz by thinkful.com to know your likely career in tech
See you soon 🚀
