There is a huge disconnect in the computer theories taught in the Nigerian University and the practical knowledge expected in the tech industry.

A student of computer science or computer engineering who aspires to be a software engineer has no choice but to learn beyond the four walls of school.

“A CS education is great for those who wish to pursue it as a purely academic exercise, but a person with solely a formal CS education is woefully under-prepared for employment as a software engineer.” – Alex, Software Developer at FusionBox.

Chisom Okoye, a fresh graduate of Computer Engineering, gradually prepared herself for the labour market while in her 3rd year in school.

Chisom got exposed to web technologies during her 6 months industrial training at Bluechip Integrated Solution Limited, a tech company in Lagos.

Before the internship, Chisom thought having straight-As in school was enough to make her employable. But it dawned on her that there was more.

“Ultimately, it’s up to students to find and participate in extracurricular programming activities. I highly suggest finding an apprenticeship. Whether it’s an internship at a development firm or involvement in an open source community.” – Alex.

Chisom’s tech journey
Passionate about software development, Chisom began to self-school and ask for guidance from her online developer friends.


Chisom has self-schooled on the following:

Web design with HTML5 and CSS3
CSS framework Bootstrap
CSS Grid system
Figma (Design tool )
JavaScript (ECMAScript 5)
AngularJS (JavaScript Framework)
Git Version Control System
Firebase (as a backend tool)
What next for Chisom Okoye?
Chisom currently needs a job and is job-hunting. But while on the job search, she is still learning.

Engaged in a #100DaysofCode challenge, she has completed mini-projects from her online lessons, and is making significant progress.

Here are the lessons Chisom is rounding off:

CS50 Course (for problem solving)
ES6
Webpack
JavaScript Design Pattern
NodeJS
mongoDB
ExpressJS
“There are no shortcuts to becoming a software developer, you have to put in the time, effort and as well study because nobody can do a better job of becoming you than you.” – Chisom on her learning experience.

Chisom can be reached on Github, Facebook or Twitter. Kindly share this article till it reaches her employer.

Source:http://techmeetupsng.com/computer-engineering-degree-and-the-labour-market/

lalasticlala
mynd44
dominique

Well, I think yes, because you studied different subjects and you know something, right? I personally had the same situation, but I also realised that writing is much better got me, than IT. Thus I decided to start my blog http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2018/08/16/proposal-doctoral-dissertation/. By the way, I had the essay written a few weeks ago about the importance of the degrees, so let me know, if you need one!

I wish I have such info during my early days of a self-taught programming career.
Good attitude from OP.
Computer Engineering has little practical opportunity in this part of the world. Only embedded systems has hope in Africa. Good for the OP to realize this on time.