How I got here pt.2: The Software Development Journey

Life wasn't pleasant to me after high school. Things changed. I had to now survive on my own. Although I was given food at home, it wasn't the kind of meal that will satisfy your hunger. That was telling me to get a job to start taking care of myself, but I had other plans. I started attending a graphic design school to be able to do something on my own. Mind you; I love computers. I created my first email at primary three, and I started using a desktop computer early because my big brother brought one home. Oh, I never mentioned my big brother.

I started working. I was a cafe attendant for few months at Dansoman, a suburb of Accra. It was great; I also loved the job because I got the time to study online and meet new people and connect. However, it was suitable for a while, and it started becoming tedious, so I wanted something different. So I quit and stayed home for some time. Then, I got another job, another cafe attendant job. I mentioned my previous cafe attendant job was tedious, so why get another one? This one was a bit different because my boss was a database manager, and I wanted to learn database management. He is one of the best database managers in the country, and I wanted to learn from him.

This new job was a blessing in disguise. Why? That is where I found my passion in what I do today. My boss scheduled time to teach me database management, it was good, and I loved it. I loved every bit of it. He taught me PostgreSQL, creating a database, querying a database, and creating a UI for the interface. I didn't advance my studies, but I learned a lot that I could use to start a career. I kept learning from my boss until one day, a colleague of his came into the picture. He had a couple of developer friends who came around. Most of them are in Tech, and they were all good.

One of his friends, a software developer, came around to work with my boss on a project, but unfortunately for him, my boss wasn't available, so he had to wait for my boss. That's where it all began. He was developing a website, a friendly interface, and I fell in love with what he was doing. I asked him kindly if he could teach me, but he said he was pretty occupied, so I can start watching a tutorial on youtube. I was somewhat lost because all I used youtube for was to watch music videos. I never knew I could also study on youtube. I started immediately, and I found the best channel on youtube to start learning HTML and CSS. It was great, and I started falling in love with it. I spent much time on youtube learning and understanding what I was learning. I slept less and studied more.

Day in day out, I spent much time practising and working on dummy projects. I did this for a year straight. I also forgot to mention I quit my job at some point to focus on website development. In 2014, I got my first project, a website project for a hotel. I worked on it within a week, and the client was happy with the work. He decided to recommend me to some of his close friends. Fast forward to 2016; I got my first job as a website developer at WopeDigital. I worked there for a year and after decided to leave and move on. I continued my studies, furthered into studying something different. I started with Javascript.

Learning Javascript wasn't easy; it took me a couple of years to grasp the concept of the language. After that, I started using HTML, CSS and Javascript to work on projects. In 2018, I got another web development job, and this one was way better than the first. I learnt a lot on the job. I made lots of errors, fix my errors and learn new things each time. I met some people who were good in the field, and I learnt new things from there. I started learning Javascript frameworks (React and Vue), used them for projects as well. I am always grateful about this company because they allowed me to make errors and fixed them without judging me. Everyone there was supportive; although we didn't have many developers, the available ones and the non-developers were great. We came to the office as a family. In 2019, I got another gig from a startup company where I work currently. I was to develop their website and a dashboard to be used by their clients.

Complete Farmer makes farming a lifestyle by providing cutting-edge technological farming protocols and innovations with a unique business model and logistics that revolutionise farming and create an end-to-end digital marketplace. Working on their project was huge for me because I could boast about working on their projects. After the projects, they liked the projects and wanted me to work with them. I enjoyed working at my previous company because I had the freedom to work on other projects and study. I was free to do many things, so why should I leave to join a startup? I decided to work with them part-time for a while to get used to them and join the company.

I finally decided to join the company full time in 2020. My old boss never liked the idea of me leaving the company, but it was about time I moved on to a different company to grow as a developer and a person. Moving to Complete Farmer was swift and easy because I knew everyone in the company, and I was already a worker. I began developing software used internally, and we improved upon all the software we developed over time. I am the Senior Frontend Developer at Complete Farmer and ensure that everything frontend is up to date and what a user will love to use. In addition, I oversee a couple of National Service Personnel who became software developers at the company. They're doing well, and they keep improving daily. I am proud to have impacted some knowledge and made sure to give back to society.

Being a software developer is a pleasant experience until you start facing burnout problems. But, then, burnout is not an enjoyable experience at all. It steals away your passion for the job, and it takes away your happiness. It takes away almost everything you enjoy doing. In part one, I mention work is my only hobby and my best friend, and I guess that's why burnout takes away my happiness. I am here now, with the family drama, life drama and work drama, looks like I have been depressed about a hundred times already this year. I become depressed almost every week. A lot happens, and no one cares to know or cares about you, the person. Everyone cares about what will benefit them. My work cares about my input, my family cares about money, and life cares about my movements.

It's been hell for me these couple of months. I have been struggling to leave this place, but the more I try, the more it worsens. I hope I can one day find the strength to escape this horrible place.

In the next part, I will discuss what happened in my love life and what's currently going on.