Photo by Choong Deng Xiang on Unsplash
David's Journey - Dev Retro 2022
My 2022 Journey as a Self-Taught Developer
Introduction
Hi there, I'm David Marko, from South Sudan, a self-taught developer. I started my journey in tech about 8yrs ago at the age of 20. The process of software development and system architecture has always intrigued me and I am proud to have passionately explored it as a career path for the last few years. I love building digital solutions for the numerous problems we face in Africa in all sectors from finance, to enterprise, to security, to health and medicine and so much more. I also find a lot of joy in consistently improving my skills through hands-on projects, online courses, and podcasts.
My 2022
2022 has been a great year in tech for me as I was able to network and connect with so many others in the field. My first 6yrs of working in the field were mostly in private enterprises and government institutions which didn’t provide the luxury of networking with peers as one would expect. For the first time in my career, I also started contributing and taking part in Open Source projects which have been such a delight and a great learning experience.
Projects
I was able to participate in a few projects in the last half of 2022.
Hadada
I joined a great company with very experienced developers and we remotely worked together on building great solutions for the fintech space in West Africa. I started as a Backend Engineer and ended the year as a Lead Backend Engineer, responsible for various architecture. The opportunity also improved my skills in API management, Machine Learning, Data Science, and Analytics.
Official Website: https://hadada.co
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hadada-financial/
Kuuza
What started as a side project for an idea has grown to be such a complex learning experience for development and product management. I started building a social commerce platform for retail and small businesses to manage sales and social media in the same place. I learned so much from running tests and integrations with various other platforms and I look forward to having a beta version ready in the first quarter of 2023. Feel free to join the waiting list:
Official Website: https://getkuuza.com
PyKla and OSCA
I joined and participated in the Python Kampala (PyKla) and OSCA (Open Source Community Africa - Kampala Chapter) where I met amazing developers locally. I also got the chance to host an online talk where I presented a talk on using Python in Finance and Fintech industry. The local developer community was so supportive and actively filled with enthusiastic new developers whom we got to mentor, share resources, and work with.
Official Website: https://www.meetup.com/pykampala/, https://oscafrica.org/
Presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1zqZrw1RPUj-E1M6jI7YVc5a_WKApPkDhXhvfhHKHAqg/edit?usp=sharing
Eversend
Eversend is one of my favorite fintech platforms in East Africa. I was excited about their announcement of a business API platform. I got to build my first python library using their API docs. This was a great experience and I look forward to maintaining and improving the Library for other developers to use.
Official Website: https://eversend.co/business
Python Library: https://pypi.org/project/eversend-api/
Code Challenges
For the first time in my career, I started participating in code challenges in order to apply for developer jobs. This was a prerequisite for every interview I was called for until it turned into a hobby I love and actively do. I have completed hundreds of code challenges that have made me a better programmer and taught me better problem-solving techniques for industry experts. Recommended Platforms for Code Challenges
Podcasts
Audio podcasts have been my greatest source of knowledge, inspiration, and motivation throughout the year. I would love to shout out to some of my favorites.
Good Morning Africa
Afrobility (https://afrobility.com)
What the Tech Africa
The Flip
Hidden Brain
All-in with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Techpoint Africa Podcast
Mwango Capital Podcast
TED Talks
Explain Like Am Five (ELI5) and so much more
2023 and beyond
The last half of 2022 has been an amazing journey and I look forward to doing so much more in 2023 including the following
Home Office Upgrades
Relocating
Launch a SaaS Startup
Mentor students and junior engineers
Contribute more to Open Source projects
Publish a few dozen articles of things I find interesting
Read at least 10 books
Thank you for taking the time to read my article. I wish you a great and prosperous 2023 ahead.
You can reach me through the following platforms.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-marko-b9896b228/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/0xdvvid
Instagram: https://instagram.com/0xdvvid
Website: https://davidmarko.me