A Yearlong Odyssey: #365DaysOfSoftwareEngineering (2025)

Another year has gone by. And yes, as previously, I am writing this with a tapestry of emotions. After version 1, it has been from one experience to the next, and continuous learning.

Everything you are about to read is not AI generated, and it is not scripted. You might or might not feel a wave of emotions hitting in, but you’d definitely enjoy this read. You can call this my 2025 journey Wrapped (as A Beautiful Mind).

The Locking-In Time Period…

I started version 3 of my #365DaysOfSoftwareEngineering journey, on a high notes. I was so motivated after completing my ALX SE program, that I so wanted to land a Software Engineering job. But then, reality hit! Learning is one thing — Applying the knowledge and building projects is another thing entirely. 😅

At the time, I was still volunteering as a Tutor for the ALX Software Engineering program, being a Student mentor for the remaining students in the program, before it ended. I also helped out physically at the ALX Nigeria Costain Hub (I have always loved giving back to the community) with my SE skills. One big win: I helped over 25 ALX SE students graduate from their program, and I also got a gift from this (a friend I tutored).

Even while volunteering, I continued improving my skills. I worked on Learnopolia, and realizing I did not have all the knowledge I needed, I took huge steps, all at once, but some spaced within 😅:

• Applied for 2 “internships” (they were not internships, and to protect their “name”, I will not mention their names). I eventually finished the two of them, but I was asked to pay at the end (how will an internship ask you to pay? That’s how you spot them 🌚)

• Registered for the HNG 12 Internship program (moved from Stage 1 to 4, and dropped out on the 1st March). The program was too intense for me though, and my life was literally on the line 🥲

• Registered for the ALX ProDev Backend program, but I did not complete it (at first)

• Registered and completed several ALX Africa Artificial Intelligence programs (I was so glad I did):

  • AI Starter Kit

  • AI Career Essentials

  • AI for Developers 1

  • AI for Developers 2

• Applied for over 30 jobs, and got rejected for all of them.

Did you notice the pattern? I was trying to land a job, but I couldn’t because I had not gained the experience. And instead of building projects to make up for that experience, I was trying to take more tech courses and tech programs. The endless cycle of imposter syndrome I felt for months, cannot be efficiently described 💔

But, I am grateful for one changing point in the year: a session with Julien Barbier. We talked at length about my problem, and something stood out: You learn more by building projects, and you cannot skip the process. To help other students, Julien made a post about it on X and LinkedIn (yes, it was me that we talked about 😅).

It hit hard, and it hit home. I was too scared of going outside my comfort zone, of pushing myself to build.

No, this is not one of the motivational stories where after an event like this, boom! Sucess.

Nah 😅. It took me a while, to face my fear, believe that I could actually build a project, and kick start something.

I worked on a couple side projects, and they’re on my portfolio. Taking the ALX AI programs was a huge plus in speeding up the process.

Next Up: #InTheArena 🔥

Yes, you’re right. After a short while, I forced myself to do a whole lot. I won’t spend time on this part, but we’ve reached the point where things get interesting: 😅

• I attended several tech events with a few friends, and I actually connected with people this time.

• I created a team of 9 (myself inclusive) for ALX Nigeria’s first Hackathon, and guess what? We came in third place (we made history 🌚). We built (and are still building) JechSpace (check it out).

• I continued volunteering as a Software Engineering mentor for ALX Nigeria’s Software Engineering learners (now split into the Frontend, Backend, and ProDev programs).

• I engaged in several hackathons and touched the grass of the Web3 ecosystem :)

• Among many other things I cannot remember while writing this, I kept building, and showing up 😊

Small Wins 🙌🏾

I want to shorten this article, because of your attention span 😅. Here’s a summary of my 2025:

• Battle imposter syndrome, but not done winning it yet.

• Completed more than 4 ALX Programs, and built wonderful projects for there.

• Went from volunteering with ALX Nigeria and ALX Africa, to working as a Staff, the Software Engineering Learner Community Experience Manager (I did not do this on my own, and I got all the help I needed from people I can rightfully call Family 💙).

• Did what I enjoyed doing the most: providing program and technical support for ALX Nigeria Software Engineering learners, but on a much grander scale. I supported over 4,000 learners, managed over 12 communities, and achieved a retention rate of over 50 percent. I also gained professional experience in a fast-paced working environment.

• Learned (and now, mastering) the art of Software Engineering, with AI.

• Got 2 Computer Science Scholarships: one from University of the People, and International University (through RLabs).

• Built Smart ATS, a product of Algorithmia SE (Check the product story here).

• Instead of looking for a productivity app that suits my needs, I built mine instead, and I called it A Beautiful Mind 🌼

• Learning more of what really matters, pushing oneself, and, more importantly, being more of A Beautiful Mind.

• A little more, let’s just stop here.

Thank you for reading to this point, and I’ll stop here 😅. My story isn’t perfect, and I did not talk about all the times I broke down, wanted to give up, actually gave up but came back to the struggle, and every timeline and emotion in between. Never forget that I’m a human too.

My motivational quotes:

Keep showing up, and doing it scared, afraid and unsure. It just takes time.

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What’s Next?

We’ll see what tomorrow holds, and yet, we will keep preparing for it today! :)

And yes, version 3 of #365DaysOfSoftwareEngineering continues.

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Connect with me here. 💙

See you in another 365 days, Jehovah’s willing. 💙