Building a Career in Tech Without a STEM Background
The Tech ecosystem is vast, and that’s why everyone can be a Techie because regardless of who you are or what you studied, if you are willing to put in the work, there is space for you. Damilola Awopegba, a first-class Master’s degree holder in religious science and a Women Techsters Fellow, is proof.
Damilola Awopegba grew up in Ibadan, Oyo state. As the only girl–child among six boys, Damilola quickly learned that letting societal gender roles define you was a slippery slope. She started to pick up interests from her brother and gradually learned to rise from the above stereotypes.
She graduated from Secondary School in 2013 and gained admission to the University of Ibadan in 2014 with the intent to study Law but ended up studying Religious Studies instead. She graduated with a good result and like every other career-oriented fresh graduate, she decided to further her studies.
While putting her passion for Law on hold, she pursued her Master’s in Religious Studies. In 2021, she finished her course as the best graduating student with a CGPA of 6.7, but as good as that sounds, it wasn’t fulfilling enough. After her degree, she tried her hands at many vocational skills like Fashion designing and Hairstyling, but none worked out.
While still exploring other career paths, she developed an interest in Tech. She started learning Graphics Design on Canva, then learned Figma on YouTube. From then, she started looking for more opportunities to help her fully transition into Tech.
Her transitioning into Tech was not easy as she faced many discouragements and was constantly told by people that, as a woman, she couldn’t thrive in the Tech space. However, despite this, she had the best people in her corner cheering her up. Her husband and friends in Tech kept encouraging her, so she stayed consistent.
Also, she saw that the Tech sector was very lucrative. Therefore, she kept looking for opportunities to build her skills. Eventually, she came across the Women Techsters Fellowship, which looked like it had the perfect structure. So she applied for the Software Development learning track because she believed it offered her many opportunities.
When she entered the program, her first challenge was balancing her home and being in the program. She spoke about how trying this period was and how proper planning has helped her to put things in order. She also mentioned how God has helped her and how supportive her husband was on the journey.
She also battled with “Imposter syndrome” and catching up with some concepts during classes. She overcame this by taking advantage of the community she had in the Women Techsters Fellowship and reaching out to other Fellows to help put her through.
One of her significant highlights during the training was the first time she could provide solutions to a problem her group was working on. This made her feel like she was making headway and motivated her to put her best foot forward.
Another highlight was attending her first job interview as a Techie and how well she performed. She credits the Women Techsters Fellowship soft skills training for helping her learn and develop the right soft skills.
On her experience in the program, Damilola praised her facilitator, “He was excellent and he made the learning experience so easy.” She spoke about the Women Techsters community’s support and impact on her journey, how beautiful the community members’ bond is, and how willing they are to help each other, women supporting each other without holding back.
Damilola advised other women looking to pursue a career in tech to avoid being discouraged because of their background. “Be passionate and resilient and go for it.”
