Into the Hive

Hi there, I'm Kosiso—a recent CS grad and aspiring professional software engineer. Notice how I sneaked in "professional" there😅. It definitely makes a whole lot of difference. I'll explain soon.

I'm currently a corp member—by that I mean that I'm currently undergoing the 1-year compulsory and usual fatherland service like some countries do, except it's paramilitary, not military, service.

I'm Nigerian by nationality, and by origin I'm from Anambra state—one of the few Igbo-speaking states in the country. I wasn't actually born in the state or any other Igbo-speaking state. I was born and bred in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

So, like I said, I'm an aspiring professional software engineer. What do I mean? Now I've always dreamt of the big, shiny job roles in big tech companies, like most CS grads do. But in recent years, with all the negative news flying around about layoffs and the strict interview processes in place to purge out inexperienced and "high-risk" candidates, those big shiny dreams and goals are fast turning to fantasies. Especially for those fresh into the space.

The level of knowledge and experience expected of an entry-level professional has greatly increased from what it used to be. Basically, to qualify as a suitable entry-level hire, your knowledge needs to be up to the mid-level standards of times past. 😅

All this info has been really daunting for me. Because, on one hand, I have a voice in my head urging me on to keep sending in job applications and never give up. Whilst on the other hand, I have yet another voice making me see all my flaws and incompetencies—all the gaps of knowledge I have to fill up before starting the job hunt. I've always thought that I must not always be fully ready for any task or situation to carry on with that situation. But then again, does it apply to everything in life? I guess this is one of those few things experience will have to teach me.

All these opposing schools of thought have pretty much kept me stagnated in making decisions and committing to said decisions. At this point, the one thing that provides comfort and strength for me to live on has been my faith in God. Now, I am definitely not looking to turn this article into a sermon, but that's pretty much what my life has been all about lately.

There's been this level of comfort and boldness to living life that I derive from the words and promises in the Bible. It's always refreshing, and I always look forward to reading more of them. I mean, sure... just because I read the Bible doesn't make me the most qualified job applicant amongst a sea of other applicants 😅, but it does give me that extra push I need to be optimistic and shoot shots. And if there's something a lot of people at this stage in my life suffer, it's that problem of indecision due to the uncertainty of their futures.

Like I said, I would not want to make this intro sound preachy, but I'm at a point in my life where I've got to be as realistic as I can. Thanks for sticking to the end. I'm looking forward to being a part of the community. My most special thanks goes to @somuchgrace for introducing me to the platform. Thanks again.

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