I just submitted by application for Andela’s Fellowship (Kenyan Cohort X). This fellowship is open to anyone from Africa that is interested in coding.
I actually came to learn about Andela at the beginning of the year. I can’t remember how I exactly ended on their Facebook page but I was sure fascinated by what they do. In a nutshell, the organization is sort off growing a Silicon Valley in Lagos and Nairobi. The company trains software developers and then matches them up with US companies to work for them remotely.
When I first came across a call for applications by the organization, the call was only open to women. So, naturally, I couldn’t apply for it. And then yesterday, I came across a Fellowship call on my Facebook timeline. I have just applied for it.
Oh My, the Damn CV
It’s been long since I formally applied for a job which required me to provide a CV. Needless to say, the last time I updated my CV was in 2012, and that was for a content marketing position. Today, I’ve spent about 4 hours trying to find a good software developer CV that I could emulate.
The application process was simple and comprised of a couple of questions about myself. Apart from that, I submitted my CV and cover letter, although they are not mandatory.
From the instructions, I am supposed to be sent an Aptitude test in 2 days that will gauge my logical reasoning skills. I look forward to the test, although I am not sure what it will contain.
Why Apply for Andela?
I’ve always wanted to learn how to code. I’ve even tried learning Ruby on Rails on my own during my own spare time. The only problem with this is that I failed miserably. You know, work and life get in the way. Andela has a way out of my problem.
First: If you are learning to code on the side and have to do a main job to cater for your family, you probably would agree that you pay more attention to the work that pays the bills. That is what applies to me. I have not been able to fully concentrate on honing my coding skills because I got bills to pay.
Andela takes out the hassle of having to hustle to pay bills. This is because the organization actually pays you handsomely while you study. With the bills taken care of, what excuse do you have not to learn how to code?
Second: The long nights of coding and trying to figure out bugs in your code can be frustrating. Heck, I spent about 60 hours just trying to figure out what was wrong with my code when I was learning RoR. Andela provides world-classes senior developers to teach and mentor students. This means you always have someone who can guide you when you are stuck with code. How I wish I had this!
Anyway, these are may two main reasons why I want to learn how to code with Andela. I have submitted my application and will be waiting for their Aptitude test in 2 days. I hope I get accepted into the fellowship.
Follow me in this journey to Andela.
