I often receive questions about how to start a career in IT, and my fellow countrymen â Nigerians â are usually the first to ask. There is no universal answer to most of these questions, but I believe that outlining a general approach to entering IT could be helpful.
Is it necessary to know how to code?
Most of the questions I get from those wanting to break into IT in Nigeria are about learning programming. I think the reason lies in two main factors:
- I am a developer myself, so it makes sense that people seek my advice on related issues.
- Working with code is currently the most attractive career opportunity in IT, at least here. Many believe that there are no other options available. The fact that programmers and their managers have the highest salary levels in the industry worldwide only adds fuel to the fire.
From my perspective, it is important to understand that you donât have to focus solely on coding and strive to become, as the common saying goes, a 'techie.' I believe that anyone can learn programming and pursue it professionally with enough effort, but perhaps itâs just not necessary for you.
There are many other career paths in IT worth considering. Below, I will share my thoughts on some of them and discuss how promising they are from the perspective of someone living in Nigeria.
This is not an exhaustive list of alternative professions that do not directly involve coding. However, I will also discuss my experiences as a programmer â if you came here for that, feel free to scroll down to the section 'But what about programming?'.
Non-programmer job options
Design
Design is a rather broad concept in IT, but when people ask me questions about design, they usually refer to UI or UX. These two aspects encompass a wide range of phenomena â they include everything related to the visual, tactile, and even auditory sensations that arise when interacting with a product.
In large organizations, especially those with a well-developed technology ecosystem, UI and UX tasks are divided among narrow specialists. Some designersâwho usually started as generalistsâonly handle icons, while others are dedicated to animation. Such a level of specialization is uncommon in Nigeriaâthe industry has not yet reached the maturity necessary for its widespread adoption. Here, you are more likely to find generalists who can tackle any tasks related to UI and UX.
In fact, itâs not uncommon for designers to also handle frontend development. However, the situation is starting to change. More companies are becoming successful enough to hire specialists, allowing entire teams to work on product design. Given all of this, simply mastering the profession of design and stopping there is a perfectly viable career strategy in the Nigerian market.
Project Management
Project managers are needed in virtually every field, so you might try using the experience and knowledge gained in another industry to succeed in IT. Of course, you need to consider that some of it may be outdated, not to mention that a manager must understand the technical details of the project they are overseeing. But if you believe you excel at managing people, fostering dialogue, and devising effective work schemes, consider this option.
Marketing and business development
Business development is also a rather vague concept. In tech companies, employees focus on ensuring that the project shows some growthâbe it an increase in subscribers, orders, ad views, or any other metrics that reflect the core value the product offers. This process involves diverse skills: product promotion, design, data collection, both verbal and written communication, project management, and so on.
User Support
This role rarely attracts the attention of people looking to build a career in IT. I attribute this to the fact that, generally speaking, individuals working in support roles outside the tech sector earn very little. This situation is a side effect of the reality that Nigerian organizations do not place much value on customer support and do not invest in it â the maxim 'you'll manage somehow' is deeply ingrained in our culture.».
However, recently I have noticed a shift in the attitude towards support and investment in it â at least this change is observable in the tech ecosystem. Young companies have realized that while Nigerians might 'manage somehow,' it is better and more profitable for businesses to provide customers with as much assistance as possible. But even setting this trend aside, in the next section, I will mention another reason to consider a career in tech support and related fields.
Expanding beyond the Nigerian market
The huge advantage that the Internet provides us is that it erases borders between countries, at least regarding work and collaboration. The fact that skills in all the mentioned areas (and many not mentioned) can be exported while working remotely means that we are not limited to the demand for designers, digital workers, and managers solely within Nigeria.
There are several ways to tap into the international market:
- Freelancing remotely. There are platforms that have been created for this specific purpose â , , and others. I personally freelanced on Gigster for over two years. Many other specialists from Nigeria worked there â not just developers, but also project managers and designers.
- Full-time remote work. Startups are scattered around the world, and their founders are seeking talent without geographical restrictions. This is clearly evidenced by job sites like .
- Leaving the country. In my opinion, this is the hardest path, at least in our country. Traveling abroad is not an easy task for us, considering how much needs to be done and paid for obtaining a visa and residence permits, especially if the country is not in Africa. But there is one advantage: one doesnât actually have to strive to go beyond Africa. In South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, and other countries, there are plenty of companies interested in hiring. However, it must be acknowledged that outside the continent, both demand and salaries are higher.
I choose remote work for two reasons:
- It is practically the ideal option for both the employer and the employee. The employee generally thinks like this: "I studied online for two years in everything related to tech support, and they offer me 25,000 naira." On the other hand, the employer, who is thousands of kilometers away, values his skills and is inclined to hire him for financial reasons â itâs likely to be cheaper than hiring people from his own region. It sounds bad, but in reality, itâs not that scary. Absolute values do not always depict how salary levels affect a person's quality of life. One must consider the cost of living in the relevant regions. It might be more advantageous to be a developer making 40,000 dollars remotely in Ibadan than to earn 100,000 dollars living in San Francisco.
- If you earn money in another currency and spend it in Nigeria, you contribute to the local economy.
What about programming?
Here the question arises most acutely: "What exactly should one study?" The phrase "writing code" covers so much that itâs easy to get lost and feel overwhelmed with information. There are many programming languages and tools that can be used in a variety of ways. Beginners, especially self-taught ones, usually feel bombarded from all sides.
âMaster JavaScript, but don't confuse it with Java, although Java is also good if you want to work on the server side for Android. However, JavaScript is suitable for server-side as well, but it was originally designed for browsers. You'll also need HTML, CSS, Python, Bootstrap (though is Bootstrap really that useful⊠or not?), React, Vue, Rails, PHP, Mongo, Redis, Embedded C, Machine Learning, Solidity, and so on.â
Good news: such confusion can be avoided. Last year I wrote , where I explain the most basic concepts (what's the difference between backend and frontend, and client-side vs server-side) that are often heard among programmers â at least among those working in web development or mobile applications.
Here are a couple of tips:
1. Think about what product you would like to create. Understanding what exactly you should master will be easier if you try to envision the end result. Perhaps you want to learn how to create an expense tracking app for Android. Maybe you've long thought about how cool it would be to write the code for your personal blog instead of using ready-made solutions from WordPress or Medium. Or perhaps you're dissatisfied with how online banking looks and functions at the moment.
It doesn't matter that someone else may have already achieved what you've set as your goal. It doesn't matter that no one but you will use it. It doesn't matter that the idea seems stupid or unrealistic in your eyes. This is just to provide you with a starting point. Now you can go to Google and search for âhow to write code for a blog.â
Another way to find a starting point is to think about who exactly you would like to become. âI want to work in machine learning.â âI want to be an iOS developer.â This will also give you phrases that you can search: âmachine learning courses.â
2. Incremental learning. The first steps from a starting point also leave a sense of complete confusion. The reason is that creating a blog from scratch, for example, requires knowledge of a number of languages and tools. But at the very beginning, you shouldn't be worried about that.
Let's continue with the example from the first point. So, I typed into Google âhow to write code for a blogâ and came across a thousand-word article that included terms like HTML/CSS, JavaScript, SQL, and so on. I start by taking the first term that I don't understand and begin searching for information with queries like âwhat is HTML&CSSâ, âlearn HTML&CSSâ.
3. Focused learning. Stay focused. Set aside everything unnecessary for now and start with the very basics. Familiarize yourself with the concept of HTML&CSS (or whatever it was for you) as thoroughly as you can, until you feel you've grasped it. Learning the basics can be challenging because you donât understand how everything applies in practice. Donât stop. Over time, everything becomes clearer.
Once you finish with the first unclear term, you can move on to the next oneâand so on infinitely. This process never ends.
Learning to Learn
So, you've decided to try your hand in the IT field. Now, you need to figure out how to overcome some obstacles:
- Finding time for learning and resources with material
- Dealing with the Nigerian factor, meaning all our shortcomings that make any action fifty times more difficult
- Gathering the funds that we plan to spend on all of this
I'll be honest: I don't have comprehensive answers for every point. The question of resources is particularly pointed because⊠well, we are in Nigeria. If you want to reach a global level, your conditions are significantly worse than your competitors. Most locals don't even have access to a computer, reliable electricity, and stable internet. Personally, I didn't have all three when I started my career, and my situation was still far from the worst.
Most of the resources I'll list next will pertain to programming topicsâthis is where I'm most knowledgeable. But similar platforms can easily be found through Google for other fields we've discussed.
The internet is everything to you
If you already have consistent access to the internet or can easily afford it, that's great. If not, make the most of your time when you get online. It's not an ideal situationâmainly because it prevents you from finding immediate answers to questions that ariseâbut you can still practice coding mostly offline, after downloading the necessary programs and learning materials.
Whenever I had the chance to get online (for example, at the office where I did my internship or on that bench by the postgraduate hostel at the University of Lagos where I could catch Wi-Fi), I did the following:
- I downloaded all the necessary files for installing and configuring programs.
- I downloaded books, PDF documents, video tutorials, which I then studied offline.
- I saved web pages. If you come across a tutorial that you wonât be able to view on the go, save the entire webpage to your computer. Resources like provide a full set of materials.
Mobile data traffic has become one of my major expenses. Learning to manage it wisely, especially if you plan to share Wi-Fi with your computer, is a skill you need to develop. Fortunately, in recent years, data prices have decreased.
But won't I have to pay for books, tutorials, and courses?
Actually, no. There are plenty of free resources on the internet. offers a free plan. On all courses except nano-levels are free. A lot of the paid content has been uploaded to YouTube. On and there are also many free materials available. And that's just a few of the thousands of resources accessible online.
One cannot deny: paid content is often of higher quality. I may no longer approve of it in a timely manner now, but in my earlier days, I pirated books and videos that I couldn't afford.
And finally, the most powerful tool at your disposal is Google. I've only barely scratched the surface of the iceberg of resources that can be found there. Just search for what you needâand chances are it will be there.
Code and designâonly on a computer.
If you already have it, that's great. If not, you'll need to take care of acquiring one. But thereâs good news: at first, you won't need anything too fancy, especially if you're planning to engage in web development. These specifications will suit you just fine:
- Processor at 1.6 GHz
- RAM at 4 GB
- Hard drive with a capacity of 120 GB
Something like this can be purchased for around 70,000 kyat, even cheaper if you buy second-hand. And no, you don't need a MacBook.
About six years ago, I was studying WordPress development, and I had to borrow an HP laptop from a friend almost daily. I memorized exactly which days and hours he had classes at university and when he went to bedâ I could only use the computer during those times.
Of course, these recommendations don't apply to everyoneâsome can't afford to spend 70,000 kyat at once, and others don't have friends with laptops willing to lend them. But it's fundamentally important to find some way to access a computer.
If you donât plan to work with design or code, then a smartphone is a great alternative for studying necessary topics. But, of course, a computer is more convenient.
If you only have access to a computer occasionally, you can use mobile applications in the meantime, which are very convenient for learning on the go. Many of them allow you to study even in offline mode.
- , â great options for learning code on mobile
- Google released a nice app , which helps you develop digital marketing skills
- â an app that allows you to watch videos from Khan Academy in offline mode.
I'm sure that if you look a little closer, this list can be expanded.
Where to find help
You donât have to overcome all challenges alone. Here are a few resources where you can get support for your learning:
- : The Andela platform trains world-class specialists and even pays them. The program lasts four years, during which you will not only learn but also create real products for tech companies worldwide, gaining very valuable experience.
- : Lambda School prepares skilled developers in nine months, who quickly find jobs, and you won't be charged a dime until you land a position. Lambda is now ; the school collaborates with Paystack, (where I work), Cowrywise, CredPal, and other local companies. The first cohort is already closed, but I'm sure we will announce a new one next year.
- . The famous frontend developer and co-founder of my company BuyCoins, pays for one woman's nano-degree course on Udacity every year. This is especially enticing because their program does not only cover programming: it includes digital skills and other business disciplines. Applications are not currently being accepted, but preparations for the second iteration are underway.
- : a free program where women learn programming under the guidance of mentors. Here, you can not only learn to work with code but also to create and manage startups with the support of experienced founders.
Other tips
- Set aside time for learning and practice every day.
- Actively seek out what you need. Itâs definitely somewhere on the internet. So, keep looking.
- If the electricity goes out frequently, hone your skills in managing phone and computer batteries to the max. I still plug in chargers at the first opportunity â Iâve become so accustomed to paranoid thoughts that when I get home, there might be no power.
- Once you reach a level where you can confidently master any concepts and topics, try to find contract work â it will push you to fully understand them. At this stage, it doesn't matter much how much you get paid; consider any amount as a nice bonus.
- Get out there. Let people know youâre serious. This can be achieved in various ways â create a personal website, engage in conversations with other developers, join social media groups, and write blog posts.
- Donât give up.
Source: habr.com
