I had a chat with a friend a while back and the conversation steered towards technology. As the conversation went on, he opened up about his interest in tech and his confusion on how to get started. After putting him through, I decided to write this to help others out there who are facing the same problem. I could not get it done soon enough but its here now. So if you are planning on getting started in tech, these 5 basic steps are for you.
Step 1: Introduction
Find someone in tech to give you a better understanding of how it works. Share your interests and what you love about technology and ask for the track they think you would fit in. Make research on that track and ask them to connect you to someone experienced in that track to get a deeper understanding of it (online materials can only go so far) and also mentor you.
Step 2: Gather Resources
Ask your mentor for resources (video tutorials, PDFs and even links to online resources) to help you get started and also search online for resources. Ask for help when you hit a snag. Trust me, you are going to hit many.
Step 3: Set Milestones
Set milestones for your progress (e.g. watching 2 topics of a video tutorials in a day) and try to go beyond your milestones. Motivate yourself.
Step 4: Join a Community
Join a local or online community for tech or a community for techies in your track and attend tech events and meet-ups that are in line with your interests. My biggest motivation comes from this step.
Step 5: Practice while you learn
The best way to learn is through practice so as you learn, set personal projects and work on them while learning.
Conclusion
Getting started with tech comes with a lot of challenges. Try to solve it yourself and ask for help when you can’t find a solution. Find what works for you (learning at night, using video tutorials, using PDFs et all) and stick to it. You don’t need to learn it all at once. even experienced techies are still learning . A techie never stops learning. You can get some online resources at Udemy, Udacity, Code Academy, Dummies by Wiley.
Reach out to me on twitter or Instagram should you need any more help or advice. Peace.