Are you aspiring to be a Tech Bro/Sis?
Then this post is for you. In this blog post, I'll explain why developing your tech roadmap is the first thing you must do when you break into the tech space.
"A Roadmap is a plan that outlines your career path and the steps you need to achieve them", developing your tech roadmap does not include only being sure of the role you want to acquire in the next 5-10 years or knowing the skills needed to get into that role. It is about evaluating yourself and how far you have come in your journey to get where you aim to be.
There are other points to consider when designing a tech roadmap. A good resource that gives you an in-depth explanation of how to plan a good road map is this YouTube video by Yewande Odumosu, titled 'Designing a tech career Roadmap'.

These are the top 5 points I gained from the video:

• If you self-reflect, you will advance in your career: We need to understand ourselves not just for clarity but to know how to develop ourselves with the insights we've gained. Self-reflection is not the only way you can evaluate yourself. You will be enlightened if you ask people around you. Seeing yourself from another person's perspective can provide so many insights about yourself.

• Develop yourself: Your strengths and weaknesses need to be identified, and recognizing the skills that come easy to you and those that need development would help in the long run. There are activities to partake in to ensure growth, including side projects, joining a community, getting a mentor, identifying transferable skills, etc. Mainly, your roadmap is about the opportunities you get and how you turn those opportunities into advantages.

• Consistency is key: The importance of consistency in all your endeavors when breaking into tech can't be over-emphasized. The workload, time, and attention you put towards your learning have to be constant. You have to be able to stick to it so that you can achieve your goal. Partaking in different courses and side projects at once doesn't mean you are growing; you have to be focused on one goal to prevent mental exhaustion. It is best to learn things one step at a time.

• Get noticed: The key to getting opportunities is to advertise what you can do. The two ways to differentiate yourself from others and get noticed are grouped into categories. The categories are:

Internal: This is mainly about working on your soft skills. Soft skills relate to how you behave in a working environment. What can be done to elevate internally are having a great work ethic, being proactive, ensuring your work is of high quality, etc.

External: This is mainly putting yourself out there and networking with people. It may include sharing your work, volunteering, updating your online profile on notable events, and so much more. Social platforms like Linked in and Twitter publicize the skills and expertise of people professionally.

• Explore your interests in tech: Exploring interests is often ignored when starting. A person would perform better in a job that is interesting to them than one which is not. There are difficult parts in every role. Discover the one you love and give it your all.

Applying these lessons is very important to development. You can't just receive knowledge and not implement it. How would one implement these amazing facts? HERE ARE A FEW POINTERS

1.Always document whatever course or project you are doing:

Documentation is done differently by different people. Find one that serves as a creative outlet, and have fun! Some fun ways you can document are through journals, a blog (you can make it private if you don't want to share), Photobooks, and so much more. The importance of documenting is creating an outlet you can use to record your actions.

2.Plan! Plan! Plan! :

A plan keeps your workflow and thought process organized. The most important part of planning is making them reasonable you have to know your limits and not overwork yourself.

3.Make sure you are practicing:

If you are learning a tech role, whether technical or not, you have to practice and apply what you are taught. Refusing to practice is like trying to fetch some water in a basket. Don't make all your efforts go to waste.

On a final note, don't forget your roadmap is about you, the opportunities you get, and how best you turn those opportunities into success stories.

Link to the Design a Tech Career video: https://youtu.be/EZ6oX7HvAHA

Link to cover photo template: https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/copy-space-blooming-flowers_12479381.htm

Link to Roadmap definition: https://www.thevirtualhub.ph/how-to-build-a-career-roadmap-where-you-are-and-where-you-want-to-be/