Humans of Bujeti: Meet David, The Front-End Whiz

Welcome to another episode of Humans of Bujeti, where we showcase the people behind the scenes at Bujeti; Our feature this month is David, a self-taught Frontend Engineer with a passion for design, who took a bold step and offered to work for free at Bujeti to kick-start his fintech career — and it paid off! Learn more about David’s journey to Bujeti, his mindset for success, and what he does as a frontend engineer.

Hi David, Can i know you?

My name is David, and I currently work at Bujeti as a Frontend Engineer. I studied Petrochemical Engineering, so I never really had an academic background in Software Engineering. It was not until 2017 my third year in University that I started developing an interest in Software Engineering and started learning independently, although prior to this time I had developed skills in video editing and graphic design.

Oh, wow. Self-taught engineer.

Yes. Although I’m self-taught, I had to build connections with tech communities and hang around friends that were ahead of me in the industry. I spent about six months learning the basics I was able to learn fast and had a lot of sleepless nights felt I could learn everything within a short time and improve over time, I was able to learn HTML, CSS, Javascript, and a little PHP, within that six months I got my first job as a freelancer to develop a website for a client. Interestingly the client wanted the project done on WordPress but I had no knowledge of WordPress.

However, I did not decline; I took the job and started learning WordPress on the job and delivered in four weeks. Months later, I had to start improving more on the frontend development and later switched to backend PHP because of my friends who were all into the backend (funny). I built platforms with PHP, started learning frameworks, and worked with a few companies to build Product API. After a while, I felt like learning User interface design, and since I particularly love design, I adopted that into frontend development. Later on, I left the backend and went back to frontend web development.

A full circle. Quite inspiring.

it was around 2019 I started learning how to write React JS a framework to build the frontend of a web app, and built web apps for agencies, businesses, and clients, fast forward to 2021 I had the desire to work for a fintech company. Started applying for jobs up until 2022 and got a lot of rejections was a stressful process until I found out about the opening for a frontend engineer position at Bujeti on Linkedin, I applied and was granted an interview session.

Okay, tell me about How you got into Bujeti

The interview session with Achille and Samy was very exciting and they told me they would get back to me. I felt like I had gotten the job, but I got a rejection email instead. And guess what? I replied to the rejection mail by acceding to the fact that they needed a good hand and that I did not mind working for free. This time, I got no response.

What? You emailed them that you wouldn’t mind working for free?

Yes, funny enough, When I first sent that email expressing my willingness to work for free, I didn’t really know what to expect. I was just looking for an opportunity to work with a fintech and gain more experience as a frontend engineer. And I thought offering to work for free could be a good way to get your foot in the door, so I decided to give it a try.

Omoh, Go On

To my surprise, it worked. Two weeks after I sent the mail, Achille the CEO of Bujeti, replied to my email, expressing his surprise at my willingness to work for free. He said he was impressed with my initiative and drive, and that he would be happy to offer me a paid position as a frontend engineer.

Inspiring…

Achille sent me a contract to sign, which outlined the terms of my employment, including a probation period of six months. During this time, I would be evaluated to see if I was a good fit for the company. I worked hard, learning as much as I could and doing my best to contribute to the team. After three months, my contract was reviewed, and I was offered a permanent position at Bujeti. They were impressed with my work and It’s been an amazing journey since then. I’ve had the opportunity to work on some really interesting tasks. it has been an amazing journey working with Bujeti, I have learned, unlearned, and relearned.

Looking back, I’m glad I took the risk of offering to work for free. It was a bold move, but it paid off in the end. It just goes to show that sometimes, taking a chance and putting yourself out there can lead to great things.

Has your mindset in believing in yourself and taking the giant stride always been like that?

Yes, it has, I have always had this mindset of I can achieve anything I set out to do. I have had to improve myself a lot and learned a lot of things that have affected my work ethic, finance, relationship, etc. This mindset has allowed me to overcome obstacles and has led me to where I am today.

Deep! What has been your proudest moment so far at Bujeti?

it has been almost a year here, and I have had a couple proud of moments. One was when Achille told me how proud he is of me and how there has never been a moment or regret bringing me on board. Another time was when we were on a call with one of our clients and he asked if the engineers that built the product were from Nigeria and he said, “Yes, it was built by our engineers from Nigeria.

Explain what you do to me like I am five.

As a frontend engineer, I take the designs created by designers and turn them into a fully functional digital experience that people can interact with.

Uhm Uhm, I Said like 5

Just like how an artist uses colors and brushes to create a painting, as a frontend engineer I create the buttons, forms, pictures, videos, and other things that we see on a website or an app using a special tool and a language that the computer understands.

What makes up a typical working day?

I work 8–5 and usually kick start the day with meetings at 10 am or 9 am. Join meetings when there is one, and give a stand-up report every morning. When that is done, I start working on the task assigned to me. Sometimes, in between fixing that, I try to resolve random issues raised by customer experience and that is how my day goes. Oh, and once in a while, when the need arises, I don’t close until 6–7.

How has working at Bujeti made you a better person?

Before I joined Bujeti, there were certain things I did not understand like standard working procedures and documentation. Working for a fintech company requires a lot of attention to details because it involves money, and you know some people’s hearts are tied to their money (Hahahaha) it’s a very delicate industry because little mistakes can affect customers or cause the company to lose money, so that informed how I approach my work here. This has made me very much aware, improved my working style, and made me a better software engineer.

Why did you settle for frontend engineering knowing all your career trajectories?

I settled for frontend engineering because even though I love designs and spent most of my time growing up designing and working on videos, I burn out easily when designing. But, I could go on for 24 hours writing codes without burnout. So I thought, why not switch to the engineering side of designing stuff since I love design?

That’s great. So what do you do for fun?

I’m normally an indoor person, I hardly go out, but when I do, I make sure enjoy it. it’s weird, but one of the ways I unwind when I’m at home is by having a conversation (a great one) not texting but by voice call and I like to converse.

What advice do you have for people who want to become software engineers?

First thing, you have to define your reason for wanting to go into tech. A lot of people switch to tech because of the money, which is good, but it won’t keep you, in the long run, you might end up doing a job you hate. I switched to tech because growing up I have always loved technology innovation and also I had a strong conviction to build my career in the tech industry. Secondly, you have to be dedicated, have the right mindset, and show up every day.

It’s not a part-time job; you have to put in your best and dedicate hours to learning every day. If you want to start as a frontend engineer, you need to start by learning the basics of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, which are the building blocks of web development. These are essential skills that you will need to master before you can move on to more advanced languages and technologies. Once you have a good foundation in these languages, you can start exploring other tools and frameworks that will help you become a more proficient and successful frontend engineer. Don’t be scared to ask questions, intelligent or stupid questions, build communities of people in tech, and do a lot of research.