24-year-old Erick Maina is a programmer based in Nairobi West.
The last born in a family of five landed his first coding job while he was still a student at the university.Maina joined Kenyatta University in 2012 to pursue a bachelor's degree in Industrial Chemistry after scoring an A- (minus) in his KCSE exams.He, however, quit the course and instead joined a free online class in programming.Maina says he took advantage of the several coding classes that are available online as he was not comfortable with pursuing a course in Chemistry."I decided to drop the Chemistry course because I did not enjoy it. Dealing with chemicals every time was so hectic for me. I took quite a liking to computers when I was in high school and have since been intrigued with how they work,” said Maina.Maina recalls how he was introduced to coding by a roommate in campus and has never looked back."My friend, who was a roommate at campus introduced me to coding. He was pursuing Computer Science at the university. That is how I found myself in the business. I’ve managed to learn more than four programming languages from different online platforms including Codecadamy, SoloLearn, and Udemy,” he added.Maina who sources his freelance jobs from online platforms, landed his first gig when he was a second-year student.He was linked to his first client who was based at Parklands in Nairobi by a friend. The client, who was a hotelier, asked him to create a website after which he was paid Sh9,000."I designed a website as my first job. I, however, no longer visit my clients at their place of work. I do everything from the comfort of my house, which I have turned into my office," said Maina.
Erick Maina working on one of his projects. [Photo/ P.Meja]
He noted that the major challenge he faces in his field of work is the ever-changing technology.“Computer languages are ever changing so I have to update my skills every now and then to stay on top of my game,” he said.He, however, notes that he is always motivated by the challenges he faces in coding, as they push him to come up with solutions. "The good thing about my job is that there is always a ready market. There isn’t much competition in this field as there is no single programmer who can master all computer languages,” said Maina.Maina revealed that his earnings vary depending on what the client wants, which languages will be used and the time it takes to complete the project."My earnings vary depending on the job I get. I take home around Sh70,000 when business is slow," he said.
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