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THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY BUILDING IN THE TECH CAREER PATH.:
After staying at home unemployed for two years, Dare was fed up. A graduate of Microbiology from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Those 24months were the most heart-rending months for Dare, It was not as if he wasn’t Intelligent or bright enough, but he could not just find jobs around his field of study, the ones he could eventually land, paid him peanuts and he was constantly overworked that he couldn’t even last past one month, hence Dare’s frustration.
Dare decided to get back on his feet and do some research about better fields that hired for demanding skills that were relevant in today’s world and that would also pay him well for his hard work and time.
Eventually, he stumbled upon careers in tech, after doing a bit of research he decided that he wanted to become a Software Engineer, finally something he can put his mind into that would yield actual results later, he thought.
Four months into his tech journey, Dare “QUIT”, he couldn’t take it anymore. After watching and going through multiple youtube videos as he couldn’t afford any Bootcamp, he concluded that the tech career path wasn’t for him, he decided to go back to job searching for the role of a lab scientist, which as usual was unfruitful.
Dare was at the blink of giving up again for the third time, until he met Lola, at a tech submit he somehow decided to attend. Lola an Andriod Developer working for Decagon, paved a way for Dare for his tech journey, what do you think the first thing she did was? Lola pointed Dare to a beginner-friendly course that would help him kickstart his career as a Software Engineer, this brings me to my first point;
GUIDANCE AND ASSISTANCE:
If there is anything a tech community would do for you is to give you guidance and assistance, yes I said it. One of the characteristics of people in tech is that they love to get people started in this career path, not just beginners but anyone who is stuck in this industry.
After Dare began his first course, Lola sent him a link to join her tech community ……
In a tech community, countless resources are being shared every day. Yes, you can learn alone, but learning in the comfort of a community makes you learn faster. You are just one person, you cannot have the materials for all the relevant things you need to learn, someone in your community might just share a learning resource that you would never have been able to lay your hands on if you weren’t among.
When you are stuck in a problem and you’re alone, how do you feel? Bad right? frustrated even, but how do you feel when you’re able to let out your problem and you find out that it's either someone else who has gone through a similar issue or another person has a solution for it.
A tech community will help you with this, if you ever get stuck, you can always reach out to your peers and be sure to get help from them. A tech community is always there to guide and assist you when the going gets rough, no man is an island, and a problem shared is a problem solved.
ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNERS:
In Lola’s tech community at the beginning of each week, they were paired with each other and rotated every other week. At the start of each week, you would have to send your tasks for the week to your partner, and at the end of the week, you would share a progress report with your partner and as well as everyone in the community, and trust me nobody wants to be called the lazy and unfocused one, every single one in the community kept each other on their toes.
What did this little exercise do? Not only does it make you learn faster, but it makes you a more disciplined person, you could also get to learn from your peers about the things they have learned during the week that you could also learn.
HEALTHY FEEDBACK Your journey in tech will require you to build projects which vary depending on your chosen field in tech. You are always going to need feedback, not just bland feedback but proper healthy feedback that will contribute to your growth.
Your community members get to see your projects, they see your capabilities, they see your growth. In life, it’s always good for a third eye to see what you have done because your two eyes can only see what you want to see, but your peers and professionals can see what you can’t see, thereby helping you grow in the right direction.
Just like people cannot see their flaws and good things they do sometimes until someone points them out to them. Everyone needs a third eye, and the tech community would be those eyes for you.
NETWORKING:
Everybody in the tech will tell you that networking will take you to places you never thought you will be, and I concur with that and it's not just limited to the tech industry alone.
The interview that led Dare to his first Tech job as a software developer with a foreign company in Dublin, he had that interview before anybody else could even apply for the job.
You might be wondering how did this happen? While Dare was so open about his learning and the skills he developed and the things he could do, he made a lot of new friends in the industry and even outside the industry, one of those friends who worked in that company recommended Dare to his Boss.
Because he was sure Dare would deliver, this simple action earned Dare an early interview spot and he didn’t just fall into a large pool of applicants, but the recruiters were able to focus properly on who they would potentially hire.
This just goes to show that, a community would help you to integrate with other people in the industry. Trust me when I say, for someone learning alone and in the dark, it would not be as easy to find resources to opportunities as compared someone in a community.
LONGLASTING RELATIONSHIPS:
Dare and Lola eventually got married… No, this is not a fairy tale, but it happened, and this is not me trying to say that everybody in tech builds connections to get married.
But strong solid beneficial friendships that last a lifetime just by joining a community, which in my opinion is a plus. After all, we all need friends who add value to our lives.
And yes, people in tech have a life outside of technology, communities often have recreative activities and meet-ups, which also foster these long-lasting relationships. If you ask me it's a win-win for everyone.
With all of these in mind, whether you are a beginner, intermediate level, or a professional in the field, you are more than qualified to join a tech community, As it is one of the most important parts of your journey in tech. Listed below are a few tech communities you can join today to upskill in your tech career:
A community doesn't have to be macro, you can also build a micro-community among your friends, and you will definitely reap the benefits. Thank you for reading. I hope I’ve been able to convince you today why Joining a community is important for your career in Tech.