As a developer, it's always important for you to document and reflect on the journey that has brought you to where you are today. For me, 2022 was a year full of learning, growth, and overcoming new challenges as I find my way through the world of software development. In this article, I would be looking at my own experiences as a developer from 2022, examining the numerous challenges I faced, the lessons I learned, and the plethora of accomplishments I've achieved along the way. I hope that my experiences will provide inspiration and enlightenment as you continue your journey as a developer. So let's get into the full story to take a look at my journey as a developer in 2022 and see what we can gain from it.

Problems faced:

One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced was choosing a particular niche in the tech industry. I was confused about what I wanted to do. I watched a variety of YouTube videos, read articles, and attended several online and physical events centred on starting a journey in the tech industry. My problem then was that I was overwhelmed by what I saw other people doing. I also wanted to know all the technologies these people knew so I can be performing wonders as well, but I didn’t know where to start, so I felt disheartened.

I feel this is one of the major challenges newbies coming into tech would encounter. We all want to wake up and start building awesome things. To overcome this challenge, I decided I was going to follow the right route into web development (This is a big step if you want to grow in the tech space. TAKE YOUR TIME!!!). I researched what I needed to know, how to go about them, and the tools I needed to use.

Another challenge I faced as a tech newbie was inaccessibility to resources and tools. I knew the roadmap to front-end development, right? But I didn’t know how and where to get the right resources from. I was unable to afford to buy a course. Also, the laptop I started with had a faulty screen (only half the screen was showing). Nevertheless, I diligently continued my tech journey because I knew what I wanted and where I was going. I was further able to overcome this challenge by watching YouTube videos on the important things I needed to know in HTML and CSS. I checked the internet for some pdf files that I could use when I didn’t have data to watch YouTube videos. My favourite was “Learning Web Design by O’Reilly” ( You could check it out too).

Moreover, when I decided to learn JavaScript, I was unable to find an in-depth explanation on YouTube but luckily, I met someone on LinkedIn that was already learning JavaScript. I reached out to him and he gave me the Udemy course he used. I was happy about that.

Lessons learnt so far

The greatest lesson I’ve learned so far in this tech journey is to “Never underestimate the power of reaching out to people”. This is the only way that I’ve been able to connect with people that we are in the same field physically and online. I used to be a really shy person at the beginning of my tech journey. I got scared talking to people because I feel they won’t respond to me and that made me stay indoors and quiet my whole life. Tech made me realize that through reaching out, a lot of opportunities could be discovered. Talking to strangers, offering solutions about a particular concept, asking for knowledge, and engaging in discussions, are all ways of reaching out. I’m still working hard to improve myself, so I try as hard as possible now to attend tech events, workshops, seminars, outreaches, and campaigns.

Furthermore, there's a lot to be gained from joining tech communities. Being a member of a tech community allows you to meet other developers, designers, and product managers that you can work with to create and develop ground-breaking solutions to problems. Tech communities are great platforms to showcase what you do, what you can offer, and so on. I joined a couple of communities that I’m still an active member till now. This has helped me build strong relationships with other people in this tech space.

My acheivements

My greatest achievement is that I’m now able to build cool and amazing websites even though I’m still learning. The joy you get when other people see what you’re building cannot be quantified. With the little I know, I have been able to collaborate with other people, contribute to their projects, and be part of their success stories.

Plans

In all, my journey has been interesting and challenging. Values that have been helping me are: “consistency”, “determination” and “willingness to learn”. I look forward to making a meaningful contribution to technology, solving problems, and assisting newbies to get into the tech space. I’m grateful for where I am today because I can see the difference now. I’m no longer in the same position I was when I started. I look forward to continuing to grow, learn and achieve greater things in the future.