Pursuing Growth in a Tech Career

How to make the most of it!

Name: Ian Munene

Github: iantheninja

Who Am I?

 60% of the estimated 200 million youth in Africa are unemployed with the number expected to double by 2045.

- Huffington Post &

Moringa School

• In Kenya, 85,600 jobs were created in the formal job market in 2016, enough to comfortably absorb the estimated 50,000 university graduates that enter the job market annually.
• Graduates reported difficulty finding jobs — taking an average of 5 years to find a job.
• Employers are reporting difficulty filling open roles.

- Moringa School study

Skills mismatch is the greatest contributor to unemployment in Kenya

What does this mean for you pursuing a tech career?

Project managers, application systems analysts and software developers were reported as the highest demanded professionals in the 2011-2013 survey on the IT sector in Kenya

There's a caveat to this statement!

What do I need to do to make the most of this opportunity?

Only thing you need to be a good software developer in 2020 is:

• Internet connection
• A laptop

1. Review how we learn

• Learning should have a huge problem-solving component
• Do not stick to tutorials
• Build things

• Take up challenges: it's the only way you know growth is happening
• Hone your craft

2. Build things!

• How many of your projects remain partially finished or shipped?
• How many deadlines do you miss?
• What does not completing the last 10% of a project entail? value == 0
  • feedback cycles
  • testing
  • implementation/coordination

3. Professionalism makes or breaks devs

• Learning to code/ being good at it requires discipline.
• You have to do it every single day.

4. Have structure: Be accountable to someone

Countless spaces you can work in:

• Fintech
• Agritech
• Health
• Consulting
• eCommerce
• etc

5. Understand your business dormain

• Google Developer Group
• Meetup Group

6. Join a Community/Network

QnA