Opinion

My Journey from Computer Science Student to Software Developer

April 05, 2026 447 views
My Journey from Computer Science Student to Software Developer

The Beginning

I enrolled at Kibabii University in September 2020 during the height of COVID-19. Most of my first year was online, which ironically gave me more time to code.

The Gap Between Theory and Practice

University teaches you algorithms, data structures, and theory. But real development is about deadlines, client communication, debugging at midnight, and writing code that other humans can read.

The Internship That Changed Everything

My internship at Equip Africa Institute in Kitale was where I truly grew. I wasn't just learning — I was building real systems that real people used every day.

Personal Projects Are Your Real CV

The Remian Diagnostics platform I built as a volunteer is worth more than any grade on my transcript. It showed what I could actually do under real-world conditions.

Advice for CS Students

  • Start building projects from year one
  • Contribute to open source
  • Find an internship as early as possible
  • Build your online presence (GitHub, LinkedIn)
  • Learn to communicate — technical skills alone aren't enough

What's Next

The journey never ends. Every project teaches you something new. Stay curious, keep building, and never stop learning.