From Studying Microbiology to Software Engineering; the Inside Story of Nabeelah’s Career Transition

Tech is the new oil, we hear. And now everyone is talking about how being a “Tech Sis” is the new golden job. In today’s Deen Queens spotlight, Nabeelah Yousuph, a full stack software Engineer, talks about her career transition journey as a lady in a male-dominated field, and also, as a Muslim. 

Why did you study Microbiology in school initially?

I studied Microbiology in UNILAG and I only did so because it was the course that my JAMB cut-off mark ‘got’ me. Like many young Nigerians that were in the science class in their secondary school, I thought I wanted to be a Doctor. Lmao. 

If you ask me any questions about Microbiology right now sha, I will most likely fail. I am now certain that I have no passion for the course. You know I was initially contemplating going back for Medicine, but when I gained admission into the University, I was certain I did not want Medicine anymore.

Why?

Because all I had to see was a microorganism under the microscope and I could not stand looking at them because of my trypophobia: the fear of small holes or bumps. If I was studying this and I could not handle it, how did I want to handle the sight of dead bodies maybe on a daily?

Needless to say, I was bored as hell in Microbiology. Perhaps, the only two things I enjoyed the most while studying that course in the University were the great people I met – who I have maintained solid relationships with to date – and yeah, biotechnology, a course I took in my final year. I always had a love for anything tech-related.

Would you say it was Biotechnology that fuelled your passion for Software Engineering then?

No, not really. I think my love for computers started when, as teens, my mother’s cousin dropped a laptop for my siblings and I. To me, it was an interesting new toy to play with. But before then, I always knew I wanted to be a working class lady since I was young. I was in love with the image of the working class ladies that was portrayed in the media; they seemed to be in control and I love to be in control. So, check-check it was for me, I thought.

So it was this laptop that sparked your interest in tech?

Well, not just that. I think it was my love for Mathematics back in secondary school too. I loved it so much that sometimes when my siblings needed help with some Mathematics assignments, I would stay up late to solve them even when the real assignment owners had gone to sleep. Lol. In fact, there was a time one of their teachers had to tell me to stop solving their assignments for them. I only tried to help, but I got carried away sometimes.

Beyond Mathematics, I think WAPA also played some part.

WAPA? What’s WAPA?

While I was waiting for admission into the University, after education in secondary school, I decided to enrol in a Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation programme, WAPA for short, on Desktop Publishing. We did everything computer related except for the coding part, and at the end of the six months program, I came out top of my class.

Thinking about it now though, it’s actually sad that poverty alleviation is associated with women’s affairs. In our days, we will change the narrative in sha Allah. We are certainly more than that.

I got admitted to study Microbiology in 2012, and during that time, I went for competitions. I remember entering into an online marketing campaign competition together with two of my friends and we came third in the whole of West Africa. It was one of the highlights of my Uni days.

You said you didn’t do anything involving coding or software engineering, so when exactly did this career path happen? 

NYSC. That was when it happened. I would say it was my year of self-discovery. And I cannot talk about my journey without mentioning the one person who inspired me. Miss Hassana (now Mrs.) as I called her then, was more of a big sister to me than a Boss.

It didn’t happen just like that. I was posted to a Ministry in Abuja for my PPA, and when I didn’t report on time, I submitted a request letter for a Digital Marketing company to the Secretariat. I didn’t want to work in a lab.

I left the company because the working conditions were not conducive at all and the workers were being mistreated by the Boss. After leaving, I started to cold call companies for a new PPA that were into digital marketing or doing work related to tech. What I did was I typed in the keyword ‘technology companies’ and most of the companies wanted me to go through an interview process (which I didn’t mind). I decided to go with  Miss Hassana’s company because she was actively searching for a corper.

At her company, she mostly created websites for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using WordPress or static websites with HTML and CSS. Later, I was given the reins to take over some of the designs and create websites for her clients. It was that one moment when I was doing a website for a charity that I looked at Miss Hassana and said, “I think I know what I want to do in life.”

It was during this service year that a friend sent me a link to join the Andela Learning Community (ALC). I joined, and when Miss Hassana heard about it, she was so excited for me. She really believed I had what it took to start out as a Tech Sis and eventually enter Andela as a Software Engineer. My response to her was, “I don’t think Andela is looking for people like me.” The statement was out of the lack of belief in my own abilities. She was angry with me for saying those words, really angry.

I started the ALC program and began learning everything about software engineering on the EDX platform for roughly 3 months. I stayed after office hours to use the office’s WiFi and she gave me access on the weekends too. Miss Hassana trusted me with the keys and supported me fully.

Tell us more.

Okay, so after NYSC, I was retained and my salary was multiplied by 5! I was proud of myself, but because my Dad didn’t support the idea of me staying in Abuja, I had to return to Lagos.

I was broke and really angry about going back to Lagos, but I had to. When I got to Lagos, my Boss urged me to try the Andela bootcamp. I signed up and boy, did I study my ass off. When there was no ‘NEPA light’ I would use a rechargeable light to study through the night. Sorry to burst your bubbles, I failed the first trial. I was down, but not for long. 

I applied for the next bootcamp when it opened again. I remember I had this Lenovo laptop that I was using, that up till now, my former colleagues still talk about. It was so frustrating using that laptop, so much that my colleagues joked about keeping it in a museum because it tried, suffered and still got the job done. Lol. 

I can laugh about it now but it was not funny then. This laptop almost cost me my seat at the second bootcamp because it crashed on the day of my pitch. Thankfully, I got into Andela the second time around, and on the first day of April of 2019, I had a tag that read, “Nabeelah Yousuph, Software Engineer.” You can imagine my joy.

Awww. Alhamdulillah, that was quite a journey.

Yes, Alhamdulillah it was, but that is not all. Six months later, my colleagues and almost the whole company with people from different parts of Africa got laid off from Andela due to restructuring. I was one of those who got laid off.

Phew! I’m so sorry about that.

Thank you. I was really down about the whole thing then. Getting into Andela was such a big deal for me and gave me the opportunity to meet so many great friends up till date. Since I  was still in the nine-month coding bootcamp program in Andela, and Andela had a partnership with Lambda to train upcoming cohorts, I got a three-month offer to work with Lambda as a Team Lead, a teaching assistant or something of some sorts.

After my three months contract with Lambda ended, I applied to Bloomberg. I was really excited about joining, and when it came to prayers and studying, I put in my all. I woke up at night to do both, and was even having dreams about studying at some point because I was doing so much of it. 

Wawu!

I was so positive about Bloomberg. I reached the final stage and was almost certain that I would get in. Then, I got a rejection mail. It made me really down. My cookies crumbled.

The Bloomberg thing was just at the start of the COVID pandemic, so after that I began freelancing on Upwork with a particular client who thinks I’m a guy till now. I got some money from that which was just enough to cater for some of my expenses. I was also working with Readeo on a contract too at the time. 

Then it happened. About a few weeks later, a company from Spain reached out to me.

A company from Spain reached out to you? Give us the story!

Yes! They saw my GitHub profile and were really impressed. Before then, I had gone for an interview here in Nigeria but they wanted to pay me less than the money stated as the salary on their job posting. I said no, even though I was already asked to come on board.

So yes, when the company from Spain, Factorial, reached out to me, I was happy to go through the process. To cut the chase, I got in, and I am currently working here.

Amazing! And how is Factorial?

Working at Factorial is great. I love the team members and I work remotely. I mentioned that, right? It is a diverse environment and it is really healthy.

Being a hijab-wearing Muslim woman in the tech space, what would you say were some of the challenges you faced? 

None that I know of right now.

Oh wait. The only thing I have faced is that I am sometimes undermined in society because I am a woman in tech. There was a time I applied to a Nigerian owned company in the UK and the CEO was telling me about how it is good that I’ll be working from home and having time to take care of my “kids”. When I told someone, she said, “Oh my God, I’m so sorry you had to go through that!”

People assume it’s easier for me because I work from home, meanwhile, it is not. Someone going to the office and working remotely does the same work on the computer.

Another instance was when I introduced myself to a guy as a Software Engineer and automatically he assumed I was a frontend Engineer. But I am a Full Stack Engineer so I told him. He was in awe, because somehow, in his words “it is strange to see a female doing the ‘tough work’ in tech”.

Hmmm. Stereotypes?

Yes. That’s the word.

Okay. So Nabeelah, a Muslim woman, or any woman, wants to get into tech, what’s your advice for her?

• Read a lot. A lot of people assume tech is easy work from doing HTML and CSS, but it is a lot more than that. You have to pace yourself, and promote yourself shamelessly. 
• Find tech communities online, especially female ones; it is really helpful for penetrating the world of tech. 
• People out there are ready to help you if you just ask. Ask lots of questions.
• Have a mentor. Treat coding as a fun challenge. Google is your best friend as a software developer.
• I optimised my GitHub profile in a way to foster interactions with people from all over the world, so doing that is highly recommended. 
• Don’t just keep watching tutorials. Getting your hands dirty by practising the codes and creating little projects is important. FreeCodeCamp is highly recommended; it is a one-stop shop for everything. 

Don’t keep focusing on getting better before you put your work out there, just keep putting your work out there continuously, the growth occurs with the variety of projects you do. Men market themselves a lot, women don’t really do that, and I believe we should.

Thank you, Nabeelah. Apart from coding, what else do you enjoy doing?

Travelling. Fantasy-genre novels. Exploring new restaurants and cafes. Attending open mics/spoken words, and lastly, good movies. Was a pleasure sharing with you.

‘Deen Queens’ explores stories of Muslim women breaking barriers in different fields of life. It tells the inside story of their successes, challenges, growth and inspiration to be the person they are today. It is published exclusively on KloutBox every Wednesday.

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