Episode 280 | Rehema Wachira

Guest:

Rehema Wachira

@remy_stack

Rehema Wachira talks with Dave Rael about career rewards, learning to code, new experiences, and being a role model

Rehema Wachira is a software developer with Andela, living and working in Nairobi, Kenya. Rehema studied political and social theory at the University of Virginia before working in arts and education programs for nonprofits. She then spent 3 years working in advertising for a telecommunications company, an experience which sparked her interest in technology products and the influence they can have on communities. She found the right combination of creativity, challenge and impact in software development. Rehema’s technical experience includes building web apps with Ruby on Rails and Python. When she is not coding, Rehema can be found reading about product design, binge-watching sci-fi shows, and learning how to play her Ukulele.

Chapters: 2:37 - Dave introduces the show and Rehema Wachira7:10 - Rehema's background in political and social theory9:58 - How Rehema got started in software13:28 - Rehema's history and role with Andela15:06 - The rewards of solving real problems with technology16:58 - Andela's application and apprenticeship processes and Rehema's experience with them21:24 - How the experience of becoming a software developer has changed Rehema and her approach to life25:11 - Rehema's story of failure - being unprepared for a class in school, unwilling to ask for help, and the related crisis of confidence31:07 - Rehema, the role model35:32 - Rehema's success story - joining Andela and learning to be a professional software developer - cooperative learning, asking questions when needed, and learning a valuable lesson37:52 - Rehema's book recommendation40:14 - The things that have Rehema most excited42:07 - Rehema's causes of pain and suffering43:49 - Rehema's top 3 tips for delivering more value46:22 - Keeping up with Rehema

Resources: Andela Rehema on Instagram Andela Learning Community Codecademy Udacity Andela's Home Study Curriculum IBM Watson API Linda Rising on Developer On Fire Mindset: The New Psychology of Success - Carol S. Dweck Eloquent JavaScript, 2nd Ed.: A Modern Introduction to Programming - Marijn Haverbeke

Rehema's book recommendation: Indie Hackers Julie Zhuo

Rehema's top 3 tips for delivering more value: Understand who is your target end user and build for them Technology is a creative tool - use it to express yourself and understand the diversity of your audience Communicate with an actual curiosity about other people and seek diverse experiences