I've been in the tech ecosystem for almost two years now, and in all that time, I've had the opportunity to work on projects both paid and personal. I can confidently work on projects with React, CSS libraries, JavaScript and frontend technologies available.
However, my goal is to become a full-stack developer. Meaning I have to be conversant with the back-end side of the web ecosystem. I find myself getting increasingly overwhelmed by the number of thing that I have to cover in order to achieve that goal.
Throughout the time I've been in the tech space, I've been self-learning at my own pace which has gotten me quite far when I first started, but as time goes by in this field, I realize that things move fast and one needs to stay updated on various aspects. This is precisely why I've been really excited about the HNG Internship, it's perfect for helping me reach my goals. Here are some of them.
1. Completely learn a back-end language, preferably nodejs or php.
While making websites with Front-end technologies like React, CSS and JavaScript, I want to be able to create a backend service to fully support the application I'm building. are efficient most of the time, they can only get me to a certain point. If I do want to be a full-stack developer that can work on both the front-end and back-end if required, work on complex web applications with a team, I would need to master a backend language and that is one of my most important goals in partaking of this internship.
2. Become a pro at meeting deadlines and working in a fast-paced environment.
With the little experience I've had with deadlines, they can be quite frustrating and exhausting. HNG is known for the pressure and fast-paced strategy they use (probably the most notorious thing. I want to incorporate that into my work ethic. I believe that I can get a little more of that through this internship.
3. Be part of a developer community and form relationships with like-minded people.
Throughout my self-learning, I've been mostly alone. I would love to make friends with other developers. I'm a bit competitive and I believe working with other people will motivate me to improve myself even faster. It would also be nice to work on a couple of projects with other people.
4. Become a mentor
While I would love to be a good front end developer, teaching has always been my first love. I want to become good enough to be able to share my knowledge with other beginners, and I would love to be part of the training team at the Zuri training for the next internship.
5. Get a good Front-end Role
My final goal and what I look most forward to is getting a job where I can do what I love while getting paid for it. With my skills sharpened from the internship, and the projects I would build will provide me with enough experience to apply for full time front end jobs.
Relevant and Useful Resources.
These are some really useful and free resources I use religiously while I'm self-learning
Figma Tutorial: A lot of frontend developers are not aware of the importance of learning Figma as they think it's only for UI/UX designers. It is important to know the basics of UI design as learning this will improve your projects. A lot of simple design concepts like spacing, white space, font sizing, color combinations and many more are very useful to know as a front end developer because it helps your web applications look cleaner.
FreeCodeCamp Frontend Certification: This website is great because it follows a roadmap like structure so you'll now precisely what to learn in order not to feel overwhelmed. It starts with basic HTML, CSS and Javascript.
Frontend Mentor : Jump out of the tutorial hell by making projects. This is one of my favorite websites, it provides project ideas complete with all the resources you'd need to do it. A lot of the projects there are for beginners, and just completing one provides a great confidence boost in your skills.
JavaScript Documentation: I love this. It's straight to the point, easy to follow and very good for beginners. I would recommend this if you're new to starting javascript.
Git and Github tutorial: This course was developed by Gwen faraday who is a Software Developer and consultant. she has other amazing courses available in her channel as well.
Hackerrank: It's also important to know the basics of algorithims and data structures. I find this site challenging, But it's good practice for job interview questions and it also helps in exercising your brain.
Closing Remarks:
I'm really looking forward to learning more and advancing to the different stages of this internship. I hope I'll be able to get into the final stage. I'm grateful for the opportunity that I have been given by the Zuri team, HNG, and Ingressive4Good.
Bruno Ezemba
Software Engineer | Front-end Developer
HNG i8 Intern
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