"I got my job through Twitter 🎉"

I never thought that I'd be the one saying those words. I've always seen posts of people from tech twitter who have shared that they got a job on Twitter or that online presence helped them secure a job. Little did I know that I would be a witness to this too.

Welcome to all and thank you for taking your time to read about my journey of how I got into tech, the challenges I've faced, resources I've used, how I grew my Twitter account and how I landed my first tech job.

Background

I am South African by nationality and I'm 21 years old. I've always wanted to be a surgeon or pharmacist but unfortunately, I'm not gifted in maths 😂. Now that I couldn't pursue anything in Medicine, I opted for graphic design. Even with that, I chose not to pursue it since jobs are high in supply than in demand.

I then enrolled at a private institution to acquire a diploma in IT for 3 years. 2020 was my first year in college and I didn't like how things ran there. Lectures did not only give attention to 2nd and 3rd years, but were resigning and leaving the institution with a shortage of lecturers. Even after covid hit us in March, they did not have a good online structure for distance learning. Basically, we had to teach ourselves and I thought why should I pay for education when I can get it free online. 💁‍♀️

I discovered web development because of my cousin. She was starting her small hair care business. When thinking of having someone to do her website, she thought of me. I obviously had no idea where to even begin, I don't even know how to use WordPress. So I did some research on how to create websites and Brad Traversy's HTML crash course popped up in the recommendations and I immediately watched it.

I was hooked. I saw that creating a website was a combination of coding and designing, which is amazing since I wanted to be a graphic designer and that I've always have had an interest in computers, I thought it was just perfect. And that's how I dipped my toes into tech.

This is the website I built for her when I was starting out 😅

Challenges

Now that I've discovered web development, I decided that I want to quit college in 2021 and self teach. You can just imagine how hard it was to tell my parents about it. I didn't want to be the disappointment in the family because I'm the eldest child and the first to go to college. Irregardless, I sat them down and told them my decision.

I reasoned with the situation that was happening in college and how expensive it was to cover the costs to study there. Yes, I won a bursary but how was the rest of the costs going to be covered, my father is the sole breadwinner and his salary wasn't going to cover those costs, in fact, it's more than he earned.

They gladly understood and let me be, but extended family members when I told them of my decision, they had no faith in me. It was subtle but I felt the disappointment. Not only family was a challenge, but learning on its own was so hard.

I'd feel motivated for the week and I'd code almost everyday, read documentation and try to memorise everything, learn multiple things at once and all that got me so burnt out that I didn't code for 3 months straight!. If that's not enough, CSS and JavaScript were not kind to me! And I had no laptop, just my phone.

I literally would call myself stupid, dumb and regret leaving college in the first place. I'd compare myself with others who were in the #100daysOfCode and that honestly didn't help. I was and am inconsistent, which is my biggest weakness. I was dying inside of anxiety and depression. I never told. I chose to deal with it alone.

What helps me keep going is my motivation. See, I love 'De Sterrennacht' by Vincent Van Gogh, its my favourite painting of all time. Each time I look at it, it gives me a sense of calm and peace, just as the crux constellation I gaze upon every night does. I saved that painting as my wallpaper so that when I look at it, I am motivated and that I work hard enough to afford a plane ticket to go to the Museum of Modern Art in New York, so I can see the original painting, with my own two eyes. Weird? I'm okay with weird :)

Resources

I discovered freecodecamp first in late February and did the responsive web design course for about 3 months, I was using my phone at the time.

I started with Freecodecamp.org, then I used JavaScript.info to learn JS. W3schools.com has the best tutorials, examples and exercises to do. Scrimba is great for interactive learning and my favourite of all, I am still doing the frontend career path and it's great, also Codedamn is an amazing platform to learn from as well.

Additional resources available:

Online presence

I joined twitter in 2020 because I felt it seemed weird that a teenager didn't have any social media, and I also didn't want to feel left out. I didn't engage with anyone, just followed Marvel posts and all. In 2021, I participated in the #100daysofcode and that's when I became active. In January 2021, I only had 3 followers.

Today, I have over 25K followers, like what!!! I never planned this, it just happened. I today still ask myself, "Why do people follow me 🙆‍♀️?", I'm just crackpot and I don't feel like a content creator. My Twitter timeline is basically my diary.

I guess how I grew my Twitter account was just being myself. I don't steal/copy other people's tweets, I am genuinely interested in others and engage with those who follow me, I don't clickbait others nor am I overly obsessed about gaining followers. In fact, it gives me anxiety that so many people are interested in what I have to say.

I chose my niche, CSS and made it my own. I created CSS arts:

My blog is mainly CSS articles and people knew me as the funny "CSS girl".

Or not so long ago, the "As a developer questions girl".

My point is, I want to be identified by something when someone thinks of "Trecia Kat", just as motivational and inspirational comes to mind when I think of Danny Thompson. :)

First tech job

My intention was to self study then after a year, I apply for a full time job here in South Africa. In the meantime, I was trying to figure out ways to make money while learning how to code. Then this message popped up in my DM requests from Dan Hampton 😮:

This was in August 2021, I was only familiar with HTML and CSS and I didn't think I was good enough for this freelance gig. But it turned out great for me and that it was my first exposure to remote work. I was assigned projects to design/build UI components using Tailwind CSS and basic React and to compose end-user documentation for the application.

In January 2022, my contract came to an end and I worked on myself to learn and improve my JavaScript and React. Then I learned of developer advocacy and developer relations because of Pratim. I became interested in this position and was eager to learn more.

After that tweet, I had a few interviews but sadly, I didn't get any of them. Reasons being:

1. They've never hired in Africa, logistics issues

2. It's remote only for US and EU residents

3. Relocation is for seniors only.

At least I didn't get rejected, but it was sad that I didn't get the chance to work for the companies (and having a person I admire to work alongside with). In the midst of these interviews, I received a DM from Daniel Phiri, Developer Relations Lead of Strapi 🙃:

I was delighted to hear that but I was so unsure of myself or my skillset. I immediately told him that I have no degree and his response really comforted me. I decided to go ahead with the interview. It's a 6 round interview process:

1. Introductory call

2. Technical assessment (take home)

3. Technical debrief

4. Team meeting

5. Value assessment

6. Closing call.

I passed all rounds and I got the job! 🎆🎊✨

Final thoughts

I don't know if my journey was easy or difficult. The only challenges I've faced so far have just been a "me" problem. I'm tough on myself, I don't give myself a break when need be, I used to feel so guilty if I watched TV and did no coding at all. I feel like the more I learn, the more I forget what I've learned, the more I don't know anything!

Right now, I'm happy I have a job, even if it's only for 6 months. I'm glad that I've gotten recognised and hired by Strapi. The only challenge I face now is my imposter syndrome and being unable to stop thinking about how inferior I am compared to those who went to college, and the anxiety of "Will I perform well" or "Would I be able to accomplish whatever I am assigned" that constantly runs in my mind.

All I know is, there must be a reason why I was hired, irregardless of my anxieties and imposter syndrome. Rome was not built in one day.

I will do my utmost best to whatever assignment I'll be assigned to, one step at a time! 🙂