Reflection on what I have done so far
After high school I took a gap year before I joined New York University Abu Dhabi and graduated 4 years later with a BSc. in Civil Engineering and a minor in Interactive Media. With that combination of classes and several other 'random' classes I took as part of the liberal arts and science education at NYU it gave me a lot of options for what I can do with my university diploma.
This was both a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing in the sense that I was able to work at almost every work or opportunity where I placed my hands. For example, even before graduation I started several startups with my college mates and friends back home. These startup ranged from tourism, bus ticketing and online stores. Even though most of these startups failed I still have personal connections with my first team and are even still building things together. From that experience I learned a good team is better than a good idea.
On the other hand, it was a curse because after graduation I wasn't real sure about what to do or where to focus my energy into.
Graduating in 2020, the time when COVID-19 was at its peak, running a startup wasn't much of an option. Therefore, I decided to find a job and was lucky to find one as a software developer at DataVision International. This was my first job cooperate job which means I had a lot to learn and relearn. I was lucky to have the most accommodating managers, Magori kihore and MacLean Geofrey Mwaijonga who were not only managers but close friends too. Working at Datavision I didn't only learn to write better code but also deliver fast and more readable codes. Combining multi-disciplinary knowledge I could ask myself, like in Civil engineering where we have to choose the lightest but yet the strongest beam, how can I make this code better. In addition to learning Python, React and React Native I also learned how to manage projects big projects.
A year after, I had a 1 year contract to work with WhereIsMyTransport as a data lead for Dar es Salaam. I was responsible to plan data collection and mapping of all public transport routes in the city. In addition, I was also responsible to contact and establish data sharing partnerships with all major transport agencies and authorities in Dar such as LATRA, TAZARA, TRC and DART. When working with WhereIsMyTransport I was surprised to see how important transit data is important for urban mobility planning. The transit data, especially in a the General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) format, is very important for not only for creating journey planners but also to organizations accessing performance of a transport mode before they introduce another.
When my contract with WhereIsMyTransport completed in September this year, I have decided to take a gap (not a gap year for sure) away from 5-9 jobs and spend this time to travel, explore and reflect on what I want to do next which I bet will mostly be something related to transit data.