The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. ~ Steve Jobs
As a reminder, this twitter space was hosted and co-hosted by Ivy Barley [@ivybarley] and Emmanuella Ametsi [@ella_ametsi] respectively on Thursday, December 9, 2021 at 7PM GMT. The space panelled Jamila Farouk Jawula [@JamilaFarouk_J] to make a strong case of a successful paradigm shift and migration of a young aspiring woman with non-tech background into mainstream technology.
These weekly spaces held on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7PM GMT and 11AM Pacific Time, are targeted at having virtual interviews with players within the tech industry in order to share experiences, insightful resources and opportunities which exist in the tech world.
The surprise of the day was the intention to give away, two laptops computers to winners who will be randomly selected from participants and announce on Thursday, December 16, 2021.
The Story of Jamila Farouk Jawula
Jamila is a young woman who grew up with the usual aspiration to be as many things as she can be professionally. Coming from a family of accountants, her safest default profession in terms of a career choice was certainly accountancy.
Her dream to become a Chartered Accountant, debiting and crediting transactions of monetary nature as well as auditing the books of records to profess professional opinions and advice led her into studying Business at the Senior High School level and subsequently, a Bachelor’s Degree program in Accounting at the University of Professional Studies, Accra. Is the succession plan of the family almost on track?
Certainly not because in one of her usual introspections, she asked herself if indeed she was ready and willing to practice accounting for the remaining part of her working life due to her dwindling interest in second and third year of university. Instead of looking for what will keep her busy, she rather sought to find out what will keep her boredom and that for her, is the accounting profession.
Though her love fetus for technology had started forming with passion for coding due to her learning “intercourse” from Datacamp and Developers in Vogue, she steadily held on to successfully complete her degree program in accounting.
With her strength in numbers and analysis, she opted to focus on data sciences within the tech industry. Her first hands-on work after a boot camp was to voluntarily develop a website for a non-governmental organization. Fast forward and presently, she is working with Zipline, as a Data Analyst with analytical engineering responsibilities.
Without any prioritization or order of importance, beneath are my takeaways from the hour interaction with Jamila on #SpacesWithIvy on how to break into tech by someone with a non-tech background which I would like to share with you.
– Complete the academic stage wherever you are before developing strong conviction to make a switch into the tech space. In Jamila’s case, she successfully completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting.
– Use your acquired techy knowledge to embark on a voluntary project. In Jamila’s case, she built a free website for a non-governmental organization.
– Knowing your strengths and weaknesses, be specific with which aspect of tech you want to expertise in. In Jamila’s case, she relied on her strength in numbers and analysis to focus on data science.
– Though it is technological industry, there are equally other potentials like marketing and blogging (writing) which do not need advanced technical understanding. Fundamental or intermediate knowledge in coding is sufficient to get any newbie started to easily transition with time.
– Connection with like-minded persons or communities within the tech space through local hubs and meetups (both online and offline) can facilitate your learning and sharing of opportunities within the sector.
– Never feel inadequate in your progress. Once you are confident of acquiring the knowledge, be bold to take up any opportunity which comes your way. The worst that can happen is a rejection and that should encourage you to rebound better and stronger.
– Because it is a paradigm shift into tech, you should try little of everything. Learn from more than a single source on the same topic in order to affirm your understanding in a particular subject matter. In Jamila’s case, she could not point out to a specific book or course rather, she learnt anything which came her way.
– Have a mentor/coach who has been in the tech industry before your migration. Experiences are not always in printed black and whites. Form synergies with your mentor/coach in a mutually beneficial relationship that is, both of you give and take opportunities and share knowledge with each other. In Jamila’s case, Ivy was and is very instrumental in her journey.
– Keep an eye on the naysayers and stick to your conviction or gut feelings to overcome any imposter syndrome. Never let go your first opportunity within the tech space be it any role in volunteerism or facilitation.
– Make your presence known by creating content and sharing on social media or any available platform. This enhances your visibility and consideration for any future opportunity.
– Build soft skills such as interpersonal, communication, presentation, teamwork, public speaking, critical thinking and people management. These skills in addition to your passion and knowledge will contribute to the pace of your progression within the tech space.
– Certification is adequate but not sufficient within the tech space. Equip yourself with practical knowledge and prove yourself with verifiable achievements or projects and your certificates will be add-ons.
– Prioritize your health or self-care as you tediously and successfully work your way up the ladder so as to enjoy the fruits of your hard work.
In conclusion, Jamila has proven that anyone with non-tech background can successfully migrate and do exceptionally well in the tech space through determination and hard work. At a time when women are being encouraged into non-trades of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) that is, professions such as engineering known to be male dominated, Jamila’s story is one which has to be celebrated by the Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) community.
The next #SpacesWithIvy comes off on Tuesday, December 14, 2021 at 7PM GMT on the topic “The Beginner’s Guide to Open Source” so please make a date.
Long Live Sustainable Development Goals 4,5 and 8,
Long Live Women In TVET and STEM,
Long Live Ghana.
Common Sense Opinion 