I’m assuming you are new to Tech or maybe you’ve been in this space for a while but you don’t understand why everyone is shouting that phrase, “join a community.” I’m not writing this to increase the frequency of the shouts. I’m only writing to tell you why you should join. It’s your choice if you still choose not to join one. Whatever your choice will be, this article is going to be an interesting one so buckle up.

Ready? Let’s go!

Immediate Help

Imagine being stuck at an error in your code or you want to get feedback on some designs you’re working on. You might have people in your contact list in the same field as you but what if they are busy with work or are not available at the moment and it’s really urgent. What will save you?

You got that right. A community. A Tech community consists of people from different backgrounds in the Tech space. These communities could either be generic(consists of people in different Tech fields. Example, She Code Africa), or specific(consists of people in the same Tech field. Example, Data Science Nigeria). Either way, you will most probably get help immediately if you inform the community of any problem you’re experiencing.

Access to Opportunities

This screenshot is proof of the thousands of techies that get jobs and gigs through a community. Communities are known to be a platform where job opportunities, internships, training, webinars, are posted. The access to resources are limitless depending on the communities.

You just need to be open-minded and be proactive in taking steps to get benefits from these resources. I have gotten writing gigs from a community. Some webinars that gave me rare knowledge in my career were gotten from the various communities I joined.

Relief of Pressure

Many people are afraid to join a community because they feel they might get intimidated by people’s successes. You don’t have to feel that way. The truth is, no one knows it all. Whatever success you see out there was days, weeks, months, or even years of grinding. It didn’t happen in a second.

One thing I’m grateful about the communities I’ve joined is, I always get to be relieved of the stress through the jokes and fun. One community I love so much is Ingressive for God UNN community. There’s always something to laugh about in the group. It’s good to keep grinding but one stage that’s always inevitable in the Tech space is that stage of depression or feeling overwhelmed or not feeling like doing anything. Yes, it’s possible to pass this stage all by yourself but being in a community will make it easier especially when you’ve made friends from that community.

I hope you’re now seeing reasons to join a Tech community?

Community Turned Family

I saved this special one for the last. How many friends have I made from the different communities that I’ve joined? Hmmmm(thinking hard). Can’t count!

Let me tell you a story about how I got a dear friend from Ingressive For Good UNN chapter. On a usual day, I got on WhatsApp and saw a message on the group where Alvin (they call him Veri5ied) announced that he was looking for volunteer speakers for a Google Developer Student Clubs event for ladies. I messaged him and he added me to the list of speakers.

This message sparked a conversation and we got to know ourselves more. I got to know that he’s the lead frontend developer for a company. He got into the lead position just four months after he joined the company. That tells a lot about how good he is in his craft. Now, I have someone to go to if I have questions as regards frontend development.

I’ve formed even more friendships like these. Because of the various communities I joined, I have friends like Favour, Keside, Chinemelum, Nnamdi, Max, Taofeekat, Halima, Joshua, and many others. And guess what, these people have experience across different fields like web development, data science, data analysis, and so on. I have people to run to if I am finding anything difficult in the Tech space.

Next Steps

I’m sure you’re considering joining a community now. Hold on a bit. These benefits I listed are the few things amongst a long list that you can get from communities. However, joining communities will be a waste of time if you are not active and willing to grab opportunities.

I wouldn’t have gotten those jobs if I didn’t indicate interest in the jobs ads on the group. I wouldn’t have veri5ied as a friend if I didn’t volunteer to speak at the GDSC event. I wouldn’t have had these friends I listed if I didn’t spark and maintain reasonable conversations with them in the group.

If you are planning to join a community and become a non-active member, I’m sorry to say but you will gain only 5% out of the benefits you can get. So while joining these communities, make a resolution to be active. Join conversations in the group, make a step to apply for the job ads dropped in the community, volunteer, and join webinars and training relevant to your field.

If you’re wondering what communities to join, click here to get a list of these communities. Start with these ones and you will surely see opportunities from other communities outside these ones. Remember; be active. I believe in you great techie. The sky is your starting point.