Why I Chose Tech
Tags: techjourney, programming, technicalwriting, mypath
Published: 2023-08-19 13:11:05

In **2015**, I graduated from high school, next thing was to apply and hope to get into university. I wrote the first [JAMB](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Admissions_and_Matriculation_Board) and applied for admission, then there was still [POST UTME](https://mystudentkit.com/blog/difference-between-jamb-and-post-utme/), went for the test, but didn’t meet up the cut-off mark.

**2016**, I took another JAMB, this time for a different school, I got the admission but had to defer to the next year (postpone the admission).

**2017**, while waiting to begin college, I registered as an apprentice to learn computer hardware repairs. Growing up, my Dad had introduced me to computers and I got interested at an early age. 

Started learning PC repairs in February, and I loved it! By June/July I had gotten the hang of it and kept on with it throughout the year.

January **2018**, I began university to study Chemical engineering.

> 🚶 Backstory: I'd wanted to study Computer engineering, but I yielded to peer pressure, as it seemed *Chemical engineering was a big course*, now I know better.

In my first semester, 100L - I'd already thought of switching to another department - Computer Science, but didn’t. Told myself, I'll try and continue with the course I was studying.

At this time, I became known for repairing laptops, installing software, and formatting... so it became my side hustle. 😎

Later that year, I got interested in coding and tried to learn HTML with [Sololearn](https://www.sololearn.com/). Although my first time researching about programming was in 2016, my Mom had told me there was this stuff some guys were talking about in her office - [Python](https://www.python.org/)

So I kept on with Sololearn but wasn’t serious with it, tried it once in a while.

**2019**, 200L in university - I continued with Chemical engineering and my side hustle. I practised coding maybe once in 5 months or so.

**2020** - During the lockdown period, began learning Python on my phone, didn’t have a PC then. Heard about Go later in the year, got interested and also started learning.
I still was not consistent with it.

**2021**, resumed school and paused coding. Around December, I started an internship at an LPG plant, still chemical engineering related.

> If you've observed the patterns along the years, I was not entirely focused on one thing, going back and forth. Deep down, I knew I did not want to continue with Chemical engineering, it wasn’t making sense to me. But I was afraid, to make that bold step and *quit*. Yes, we all hear, don't give up, but sometimes, there are things you need to *quit*, so you go all in on another.

**2022**, the internship continued till Q3. It was a great experience, I learnt important lessons from it.

Amid the IT, I made out some time to learn Go, then I began writing about what I was learning. Read my first article [here](https://dev.to/envitab/a-new-era-web-2-and-web-3-differences-19hf), and the second [here.](https://dev.to/envitab/documenting-my-learning-journey-6ef)

Before then, I knew about Technical writing and even recommended it to a friend. But I had not started it at that time.

Q4 2022, I talked with myself, and did some reflection on the patterns throughout the years, being inconsistent, not focused on one thing, and wasn't active in tech communities. I believed I was interested in tech, I saw it as something I would commit to, as a career path. 

During this time, I was at a low point, if things had to change for good, my actions needed to change in the right direction. For me, that direction was just taking one step at a time.

I began researching extensively, I needed something I could start doing. I tried applying for remote internships and got many rejection emails. I did Data labelling and writing tasks on some platforms.

**2023**, the rebirth. In January, I switched from chemical engineering and went all in on what I wanted to do - Tech.

To answer the question from the title of this article, I chose Tech because it's a path I resonate with. Yes, that's it, simple!

I like music, the process of creating beats and rhythms. I play drums and later on, will go into music production, maybe as a hobby.

At the moment, I got into Tech 6 years ago, although the first year was majorly hardware tech.
However, it's been 9 months of being consistent, and taking one step at a time. I'm grateful for the progress I've made, got to meet amazing people. 

And also contributing to great projects like [BuildHubb](https://twitter.com/BuildHubb?s=20) and [Depths.](https://www.depths.so/) 

One of the highlights so far was speaking at a tech event on **Technical Writing**. ✨ See some [jpegs.](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7088830803895304192/)

As I mentioned in this [article](https://dev.to/envitab/ekeminis-tech-journey-10an), I'm focused on Go backend development and Technical writing.

This is my story, it's a journey, taking one step at a time, consistently.

There’s this quote by [Robert Frost](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken#mainContent) that I like:

> Two roads diverged in the woods, and I, I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference.

My advice to myself in 2018 would be:

> *Ekemini, you know what you want, be focused, and consistent with it. Even though it's not all laid out, one step at a time, you'll find your way.*

Cheers! 🥂 Thanks for reading till the end.


![thank you](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/nmg9ct75hu6sz1i8glgq.gif)


I will be updating this article.


Connect with me on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekemini-samuel-45062a1b4/) and [Twitter.](https://twitter.com/realEkemini)