I See the Future I Deserve with Tech: Sodiq Muiliyu’s Story
I was scared when I started the program at Semicolon. Somehow, I’ve always seen myself as someone who is average. During our onboarding, when we were told all that we would be taught, I called my father in fright, but he persuaded me to continue.
That persuasion began to wane when we started design thinking. The course made me realize that I was not thinking as I ought to, and learning to change how I think was the hardest lesson I had to learn from the program.
Now, after hearing all of this, you might wonder what drove me to tech in the first place. My original plan was to leave the country — to “japa,” as they say — for a Master’s degree on a scholarship. Before university, I had enrolled in a computer school and worked in a hardware shop, so when my academic plans didn’t work out, tech seemed like a natural alternative.
In my third month in the program, I had to do something I had never done before — lead! I had to learn to manage the entire class and direct even those older than me. This pushed me to develop patience and helped me anticipate the opinions of people even before they were mentioned.
Learning always starts with your mindset. There are lots of concepts in programming, so I taught myself that “if I don’t understand it now, I’ll understand it later.” The classes were fast-paced, and most times, I slept only three to four hours a night. The process involved learning, unlearning, relearning, researching, and consulting with other people.
The program was life-changing for me. I thought I was just going to learn coding skills, but I learned so much more — skills like managing my time and thoughts, leadership, industrial design, data analytics, business management, and coexisting in a thriving community.
The community was like an extended family. It felt like I had known everyone for more than a year. And as a family, people always lent a helping hand to each other, fostering ubuntu. I achieved a lot from the program, and one thing I will never forget was the day I was awarded the “Impact Personality” award — my first-ever award.
During my ninth month, I began my three-month internship before working with the DevOps team at Semicolon Labs. Thanks to the training, I now work as a software engineer at KenKeputa, a software solutions company.
For the future, I’m looking into embedded systems — particularly code that will work on hardware as well. I believe this is the future that Africa and the world need, and I’m eager to be part of making that future a reality.
If Sodiq can discover the future he deserves, so can you. Visit apply.semicolon.africa to begin your journey.