HNG8: A New Chapter of a Long Story
The eighth iteration of the HNG Internship program has just commenced. Beginning on the 13th of August, 2021, the internship offers youths looking to make a career for themselves in the tech industry a chance to do just that.
The HNG internship program is a 3-month remote internship program designed to identify and develop talented software developers. Although it is open to everyone, interns are regularly assigned tasks, and those who do not make the grade are quickly culled from the bunch, while the rest advance.
Fast paced and highly technical, the internship promises to expose budding developers to the rigors of life in the tech world. And this time, I am poised to make the most of it.
Programming: My journey so far and expectations
Despite always being fascinated by the tech world, my introduction into the tech space was ages in the making. My journey began with Java back in 2016, but soon lost steam as I battled to balance the learning with a budding freelance career and the fears and heightened expectations of life after school.
Then in 2019, I rekindled this desire to get into the tech world. This time, I went for the easy to understand and highly versatile Python programming language. Its simple everyday syntax, and a more purpose driven agenda on my end led to a much more successful period of learning.
However, it wasn’t until early this year that I began looking closely at python for web development, taking advantage of the Zuri Internship program to kick-start my journey. I ended the program amongst the finalists, leading my team to deliver a project that served as both a listing and a booking service for co-working spaces.
The HNG program is a crucial next step in this journey. As a part of the eighth batch of HNG interns, I look forward to the following:
- Gaining more hands-on experience of using the Django/Django-Rest-Framework stack in everyday situations
- Improving my network of friends in different levels of the local technology ecosystem
- And, ultimately, connecting with reputable professionals to aid my career advancement goals
Helpful Materials for Beginners
The beauty of the internet is that it hosts a ton of free resources to help anyone through any learning journey. YouTube, in particular, is a treasure trove of knowledge for any looking to dive into the world of information technology.
Through my journey so far, I’ve found a lot of these and taken full advantage of some of these. While I simply cannot exhaust all of the freely available resources on the internet, some which I’ve found most helpful are:
- Figma — The Figma 2021 Crash Course by Example | DesignCourse
- HTML — Responsive Web Design | FreeCodeCamp
- Python — Python Beginner Tutorials | Corey Schafer
- Git — Git and GitHub Crash Course for Beginners | Traversy Media
Ready to Explore?
Having come this far, I am beyond excited to make the final jump from working on personal projects to actually working in a fun, fast-paced environment, while helping to bring exciting solutions to life. I’m fully aware this is going to be a long journey, but it also promises a lot of excitement. So… let’s begin!
