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🔊: Applications for Co.Lab’s Winter 2021 cohort are open!  You can join us as a Product Manager, UX/UI Designer or Software Developer.

It is a difficult decision to leave something that you are familiar with. The choice is hard when that thing gives you stability, even harder when what you’re going for is unpredictable, and arguably the hardest when you’re deliberating whether or not to make a full career change. Before you hand in that notice, there might be a few points to note from the experiences of now-developers Femi Oluwatola and Marcela Gomez. That’s not the only common factor between them; they are both Co.Labbies!

So, Femi and Marcela, before you got into software development, what kind of work did you do?

Femi: I worked as a banker.

Marcela: I worked as a physical therapist.

What motivated you to quit your job and switch to a career in dev?

Femi: During my time as a banker, I worked with two of the biggest banks in Nigeria. Still, at some point, I felt like I wasn’t putting in my best and that I was underutilized. Before and during banking, I loved to build things. It’s always been a part of me. Before my switch, I knew basic HTML and CSS and I helped friends and family to build websites for their businesses.  Then it hit me one day: This is what you love to do. So, in 2019,  I decided to quit my job and go into software full time.

I applied to Lambda School. It was their Africa Pilot Program. I feel lucky to have been one of the 53 Africans accepted from the hundreds of applications. Among us, there were people from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Cote d’ivoire and South Africa. With Lambda School, I got involved with different tech stacks and upon the completion of the course, I got a role with Lambda School as Section Lead for Europe and Africa. I was responsible for three teams in both continents working on projects from ideation stage to deployment.

Marcela: I took some tests online to figure out my work style and I tested very high in learning which meant I stay engaged in work when I’m learning. From the test, I learned that I need to continue learning and maintain some curiosity. I’d spent 16 years working as a physical therapist and the novelty of learning and curiosity had worn away. Everyday, I would go and sit at the same desk for eight hours and say the same thing to patients over and over again because the injuries were similar. For patient care, I kept on recommending the same exercises with only a few modifications. The repetition was not feeding my sense of curiosity. I was ready for something exciting.

I kept hearing my friends who are software engineers talk about how they are constantly learning. I thought of trying coding online and I made a clock. I got excited seeing that coding was a logical process so I mulled it over and over and I signed up for some prerequisites. Going forward, I found it really fed into my love of science and passion for learning and was amazed at how it could be applied in  various areas. Seeing how it could be useful in so many different things, I felt I could still help people and impact their lives but with a different skill set.

So, I went back to school for 3 years and got a Bachelor’s in Computer Science from the University of Washington. I graduated last June.

There must have been mixed reactions from friends and family. How did you respond to their concerns?

Femi: My parents were not on board at all. They did not understand why I had a job in one of Nigeria’s biggest banks and yet, I wanted to move to an entirely different industry. They advised that passion wasn’t enough and I had to consider other factors. It was hard because I had no one to guide me. I asked myself if coding was something I really loved to do and if I would be happy without earning from it for a few months.  After answering those two questions in the affirmative, I went for it. Before my leap though, I prepared a safety net for myself by saving up more than a year’s worth of rent.

Marcela: One of my colleagues at my day job actually said that she could see me doing it. My parents were less than enthusiastic about the idea. They didn’t like it one bit. I expressed that I only wanted to receive positive words of encouragement so anything different from that should not be communicated to me. I didn’t want to hear any doubt. Eventually, when they saw me doing it, they told me they were very proud of me. I realise now that it was their fear and not mine.

You both were in Co.Lab’s December 2020 Cohort. What got you interested in the program?

Femi: The idea of building products that could actually be utilized by real end-users. Co.Lab didn’t promise just an “interest rehearsal.” It offered something real. For me, that was a huge attraction. I worked on an application for teachers. It was tested by real teachers who provided us with feedback on how to make it better. We grew their thoughts into ideas and implemented them. Many of the teachers even offered to test it out during their online teaching sessions. It was truly gratifying. Another factor that got me interested in Co.Lab was that I had never worked in an organised setting. All the projects I had been involved in were either individual projects or projects with people. Now, the projects I had done with others had developers working as product managers, designers and developers all at the same time. It was all muddled and there were no distinct roles so this always hindered the experience of true collaboration. Co.Lab offered me the experience I sought. I wanted to push myself and put all I’d learned into practice too. The final thing for me, I believe, was the opportunity to network.

Marcela: I had a job lined up for me after graduation but I lost it due to the pandemic. I decided to use this time to keep myself engaged to ensure my mind was occupied and creative. I’m in a couple of  female coders Facebook groups. In one of those, someone posted about Co.Lab. I got interested and filled out the form and sent an email making enquiries. Sefunmi, the co-founder, responded to my questions and after he described the whole experience, it became clear to me that Co.Lab was a worthwhile undertaking.