The Art of Software Development Craftmanship
I just donât think itâs possible or probable in todayâs world to distinguish yourself as an educational institution or success seeker at the level of information gathering or information distribution. I mean this is the information age, you can get a great book, a great essay, a great idea anywhere you know. None of us can do that better than the internet right? There is no great thought leader who can out think the internet like we have data. What the âpipeline programâ get right is it puts you in a context where youâre part of a community that says yeah yeah yeah yeah thats good - Youâve got access to ideas, youâve got access to information thats awesome but when are you going to show up, When are you going to face that blank page?, When are you going to face the possibilities within you? When are you going to face those fears of not gonna let you hide. You gotta show up - thatâs the hardest part and it sounds simple and it sounds very commonsensical but its the number 1 reason why we donât write that book? Its the number 1 reason why we donât ask that question. Its not because we donât know or we donât have the information. We donât have an environment and we donât have a support network that makes it feel like showing up is possible for me, not just possible for the success stories I see out there, but I can show up.
Excerpt from the altmba ad. at the very end of all akimbo podcast with little adaptation from me.
Introduction
The TalentQL pipeline program was launched 1st June, 2021 with an official press release on techpoint and an official blogpost. The idea of the program is to bridge the gap between senior and intermediate developers in the African eco-system. It is a specialised training program for Software Engineers in Africa.
Mentorâs Strategy
The program which is focused on training and upskilling mid-level software engineers across the continent to Senior Software Engineers. The training and upskilling use a mentor-mentee approach as pipeline engineers are assigned mentors who will help the mentee for 6 months. The success ratio will be that the developers become senior devs in their specialization and much more employable by foreign companies. Some might even benefit from relocation packages but the selling feature is that there is zero initial costs.
PS - I think itâs scaling the Hack Sultanâs dev career program.
The company noted that the devs will be allowed to pay after they have successfully gotten a new job that pays $2000 and above*. The payment is allowed to span around 2 years giving the developers less pressure in paying the cost back. There are lot of details that you can checkout from their FAQ section of the pipeline program.
How I Got Into The Program
The interesting thing is it seems to be the only interview I have passed in a while. I signed up for the frontend track of the program. Most of my previous engagement has been a backend role with less fronted experience but I was willing to start a frontend journey where I think I belong.
Interview Process
The screening process was in 3 parts:
- The problem solving interview - 6 hrs using the coderbtye platform.
- The project interview - Youâre given a project to solve within a period to build a project and host the code on GitHub and host the functioning project on a shareable link that can be submitted. The frontend project I was given is a color and shapes filter that has certain requirements including state management with either context or redux, typescript usage and writing tests. The task duration was a 7 days.
- The last part was more of a purpose alignment call with the program managers. I was interviewed by the pipeline managers Rachael Onoja and Chidi Okoye.
Fast forward and I got into the pipeline program and I am called a senior engineer in trainingđ. 16 people were selected for the 1st cohort from around 500 applications I think.
Fears and Doubt
Well I had fears and doubt about the program but in the end after the first week. I saw it as an opportunity to become mentored by great engineer who has go through some of my current challenges with the hope that he help me to level up my skill and become employable. I might fail and not pass the program as well thereby running into incurred debt.
Is it worth it?
I cannot say yet maybe when I finish the program, but I am sure It will benefit my career. I even wrote a short piece about meeting my mentor. I am excited about the journey. Its a win - win for all the parties involved I think. Pipeline participant will benefit from a possible upskilling and new job with relocation offers, remote opportunity or a top local company. TalentQL will benefit from the money the pipeline engineers will payback and much more build a reputation on the success stories of the pipeline engineers. The mentors will contribute to the stories and journey of the engineers and hence learning and improving mentoring skills and reputation.
Group and individual projects
We will be doing an individual project that we can show case on our resume and much more help learn delivering a quality project with the help of the mentors and managers. We also will be doing group project where we are paired into groups to build a full product that we will show case.
Other perks
An access to a learning platform to upskill areas of least competence. Exposure to a global hiring team, soft skill training and webinar experience with top professional from various areas of software engineering. It wonât be complete with swags and other benefits that cannot be mention now. Have a technical writer to review and train to become better technical writer.
Goals
To finish well and become hirable in the 4 month of the program. I have financial goals set as well. Getting hired above all is the most important of all the skill. Improving my technical writing skills.
Summary
I joined a pipeline program where I will be exposed to training opportunities using a mentor model with the hope to secure a better job opportunity. Considering the risks, fears, doubt and challenges, I am optimistic that if I put in my best and the right mental shift I will crush my goals and reach for more. I will make and meet new friends with whom I can continue on my journey to be better that I was yesterday. Its a hope rising on the horizon. I will keep you by audience posted on the experience. Wish me well.