HNG Internship - The big leap.

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3 min read

I spent the most part of last week packed up with thrill and anticipation for the HNG internship that was scheduled to start on August 15, 2021. I had earlier spent three months participating in and getting to the project phase of its elementary internship organized by the Zuri team (training.zuri.team) and my experience was nothing short of amazing. During my Zuri training, I was enrolled in the backend track and worked with technologies like JavaScript, Node.js, GIT and MongoDB.

Having to learn so much about software paradigms and application architecture within a short timeframe seemed like a daunting task, but with encouragements from an amazing team, perseverance, and the ability to filter “noise”, I was able to deliver on my final project. During my journey as a Zuri intern, I was also backed by tutorials from some the world’s most amazing instructors:

• Complete Git guide - Understand and master Git and GitHub:

This course by Bogdan Stashdhuk is a literal goldmine that introduces you to the world of version control using Git – an essential skillset for every developer. Bogdan then dives into hosting an online repository with GitHub and teaches you the very commands/processes that would make your daily workflow bliss.

Course Link: udemy.com/course/git-and-github-complete-gu..

• Modern HTML and CSS from the beginning (including Sass):

Brad Traversy is an instructor who has mastered his art. In this course, he introduces learners to the world of web development. As a software developer, Brad understands the importance of a great foundation and he didn’t treat this course any different: he teaches you about the structure of the web and assists you in learning to build responsive websites and user interfaces, while working on real life projects.

Course Link: udemy.com/course/modern-html-css-from-the-b..

• NodeJS the complete guide (MVC, REST, APIs, GraphQL, Deno) :

What better way is there to pivot to the backend of software development than having Maximilian Schwarzmuller of Academind instruct you. In this course, Max brings an arsenal of experience and productivity tips. He teaches you everything you need to get started with server side development and architecture with NodeJS and even uses a fraction of the course to teach trendy technologies like DenoJS, GraphQL, and MongoDB. With Max by your side, your growth trajectory as a beginner would be exponential.

Course Link: pro.academind.com/p/nodejs-the-complete-gui..

• Learn Figma – UI/UX design essential training:

Okay, so knowing I was going to dive into UI/UX design at some point in my software development career was sort of supposed to be like an Easter egg, but now it's cracked and I’d act like I’m okay with that. I’ve always had a thing for fascinating designs and I spend a good number of hours every week endlessly scrolling through Dribbble.

During the project phase of my Zuri training, I made friends with a UI designer and she spiked my love for designs even more. She recommended a course for whenever I was ready to give design a shot and I don’t mind sharing it with you. Nothing beats the recommendations from the people that intentionally want to see you grow.

Course Link: udemy.com/course/learn-figma

With the depth of knowledge I acquired from the Zuri internship, I believe that with dedication to my projects I would be an HNG finalist. During the course of the HNG internship, I intend to carry on with my learning in NodeJS and challenge myself with even more difficult task as I progress; this would be achieved by looking beyond the fundamentals on my projects with a first principles approach and truly understanding NodeJS under the hood, taking an intuitive approach to understanding Node servers and performance improvements, testing authenticated NodeJS code, and working with third party dependencies.

I understand that I have a lot more to learn during the HNG internship and I’m excited about the challenges that come with such learning. I truly hope to maintain focus and entertain growth over the next two/three months.