Women In Tech Spotlight – Elizabeth Asobi

“Growing up, I dreamed of becoming a medical doctor, and my family supported that as it was a respectable profession. But when I informed them that I wanted to be a programmer, they kicked against it and said it was a job for men.” – Elizabeth Asobi, Software Developer at Tunga.

The number of women in tech is on the rise, and we are excited to showcase the incredible work of female tech engineers at Tunga in honor of the IWD 2023 theme. We want to highlight their unique opportunities, challenges, experiences, and success stories in the industry. Although progress is still being made, we are encouraged by the growing presence of women in tech and are committed to supporting their continued success.

For this Women in Tech spotlight series, our Partnerships Manager, Pearl interviews Elizabeth to discuss her tech journey and how she finds fulfillment in her career.

Elizabeth Asobi is a mentor for women in STEM and a telecommunications/software engineer. She enjoys using coding to address issues in the real world. She recently got into the field of cloud DevOps engineering and is constantly looking for methods to optimize the software development and release process.

She works on developing desktop and mobile applications that let customers bet on their favorite sporting events and horse races. She is now developing a tracking and collision detection system for cars that would notify loved ones of a potential collision and save lives.

So let’s dive in;

Discovering A Passion for Software Development Against All Odds

How did you get interested in software development, and what inspired you to pursue it as a career?

“Growing up, I dreamed of becoming a medical doctor, and my family supported that as it was a respectable profession. But when I informed them that I wanted to be a programmer, they kicked against it and said it was a job for men.”

“I found myself coding during my spare time, especially while working on my final year project. In addition to programming a microcontroller, I built a web application to make my project stand out. This helped me find my passion for software development and ultimately receive the Google Africa Developers scholarship.”

As a lady, what was your family’s reaction when you told them you wanted to go into tech? and what’s their reaction right now?

“Even when I asked for a computer, they thought it was a waste of resources. They thought I would go blind from staring at the computer screens all day. So I enrolled to study computer engineering at the university with a major in telecommunication as I didn’t want to get into software development at the time.”

“Right now, my parents are proud of my work and will always ask me to teach my younger relatives how to code. I advise young women considering a career in software development to be strong, as it will take a lot of work. Especially being an intern or junior developer, the pay may need to be more encouraging.”

Finding Motivation and Fulfillment in the Challenges

What do you enjoy most about your work as a software developer?

Software development is so vast, and there are many things to learn. However, it encourages me to keep up the pace and upgrade my skills to become a better programmer. Sometimes, I come across lines of codes I wrote in the past, and I can see my progress over time.

Can you tell us about a project you worked on that you are particularly proud of, and what made it stand out for you?

One of my proudest projects was building a betting system that integrated USSD betting and a mobile/web application. It cuts across many aspects of development, including software design patterns.

What are some of the biggest challenges you face in your day-to-day work?

Coding has become like an addiction. I often need to remember to take care of myself. Once I wake up and get on my laptop, I spend hours or even the whole day trying to fix a faulty code or bug. The main professional challenge I struggle with is the constant snide remarks like ‘you’re a woman; very soon, you will get married/have kids and stop working.’

A Note to Women Trying to Break into Tech

What advice do you have for other women interested in pursuing a career in software development, and how can they best prepare themselves for success in this field?

“My advice to young women considering a career in software development is to be strong, as it won’t be easy. Especially being an intern or junior developer, the pay may not be encouraging. Also, Depending on your upbringing, be ready to face pressure from your family because they might not understand your career choice.”

What’s your advice to young women interested in tech but are facing backlash from their families?

“They (your parents) might need help understanding your career choice. And if they’re facing backlash from their families is that they pick a female mentor or role model and introduce that person to their parents. This will make them trust the process and feel some sense of comfort in your decision.”

“One of my first mentors was Akwoh Fawah, the founder of a community for Women in STEM. She had worked in Silicon Valley, Google, etc., and was an ambassador for many tech companies. She inspired me to want to build a career in tech.”

What skills and qualities do you think are most important for success in this field, and how have you developed and honed those skills over time?

You must be passionate, focused, and goal-oriented to succeed in this field. First, you must decide if you want to build your career as a software developer or build a product and become a founder. Second, you also have to be willing to learn and better yourself. Thirdly, you must be a leader to mentor other junior developers.

What are some of your future career aspirations, and how do you plan to improve your skills as a software developer?

“I like to break the norm. I dream of building a community of young girls I mentor. I also want to start my own software company at 35.”

“for now Tunga has helped me explore the foreign job market and escape low pay rates and exploitation from my local community. The opportunities I have gained from Tunga have made my friends and family appreciate more my career choice. Tunga has also allowed me to work and build my career life while still being close to my loved ones since I don’t need to go far away to have these opportunities in foreign countries.”