From No Career Prospects to Product Manager — Cynthia’s Career Journey
Meet Cynthia Ugwu, a Women Techsters Fellow who went from not having a job to having a clear career path through the Women Techsters Fellowship.
For years, Cynthia went from one career path to the other, trying to figure out one where she could excel and find fulfillment. Along the line, she decided to start a career in tech. However, she knew little about tech, so she began searching for learning opportunities. It was during this period that she came across the Women Techsters Fellowship Programme.
She was initially skeptical about the Women Techsters Fellowship but her brother, who is a Software Developer, encouraged her to apply. She applied under the Product Management learning track and soon found all the clarity she needed.
Being in the Women Techsters Fellowship helped her build character. Having to consistently show up in terms of classes, assignments, and projects gave her an insight into what life as a Product Manager was like.
Learning and networking with like-minded women from around the continent helped her build confidence. She saw firsthand that she was not alone, and it rekindled her passion.
Going for the Women Techsters Initiative Tech Girls Drive alongside other Fellows completely changed her life. She had the opportunity to educate young girls on the importance of venturing into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), which made her desire even more to be an influential woman in STEM so she can continue inspiring young girls to dare to dream.
Asides from the soft skills gained in the program, Cynthia also gained core skills like learning the basics of Product Management, Business Analysis, Software development lifecycle, and Product marketing. She also mastered the use of product management software like: Miro, Jira, Clickup, Notion, Google Docs, sheets, Microsoft Word, and so on.
She went from someone who did not know what to do career-wise to a Product Manager with a proven track record of working on real-life projects.
In the future, she looks forward to equipping young girls and women as the Women Techsters Initiate has equipped her.
