My name is Nyero. I’m from Delta state, and I live in Port Harcourt. I have a Bachelors of science degree in psychology and now I am a product manager and I owe most of this to the Ingressive for Good scholarship.
Before the scholarship, I was working at an oil and gas company as a health and safety officer. Unfortunately, I lost my job in 2020 during the covid-19 pandemic. I noticed that people in some other career paths were still working, so that made me start to worry about my career choices. I didn’t want to build a career in an industry that a pandemic could affect so easily.
Losing my job was kind of a blessing in disguise because I am a doer, I don’t wallow for long, and I always make an effort to move on after a setback.I did my research and found out how to make myself relevant. I started interacting on Twitter with people in tech and that was where my personal tech journey started.I got many opportunities from following people in tech on social media, including the opportunity to hear about the Ingressive for Good scholarships.
I had a natural apprehension for coding. I understood that it wasn’t my strong point. On the other hand, I have very strong organizational administrative skills and I love to get things done. So I considered brand design first and applied for the1000 Women in Design scholarship. While studying design I saw that I wasn’t really passionate about it. So I further researched for a tech field that suited me better. I learned about product management and became eager to go into it. So when I heard about the product management scholarship that Ingressive for Good was offering, I grabbed it with both hands.
The product management course was very intense. I still remember one of the difficult tasks I had struggled with. We were asked to create an MVP. Our tutors had mentioned that although it wasn’t compulsory it was going to be a good addition to our portfolio, so I decided to do it. I watched videos about the task and tried it out on Figma. I spent a lot of time on it but I was glad I succeeded and now I get to refer to it during interviews. Overall, I liked the entry-level course. I put a lot of late nights into it but I’m glad it all paid off.
Being a part of the I4G alumni community has been really helpful. Although I am a silent participant in the group, I have benefited from insights that others have shared. On one occasion I have also been bold enough to respond to someone, and recommended a product management community. I really love how Ingressive for Good tries to keep people from different tech career paths together in one community, and meet the needs of each of them.
In addition I love the tech content on Ingressive for Good’s social media platforms. I love the kindness that reflects in how they respond to complaints and questions from I4Gees. I remember reading a tweet where someone was rude and Blessing Abeng responded so kindly. It made a strong impression on my mind.
I have not been able to make friends as much as I would in physical networking and I look forward to attending physical events organized by Ingressive for Good. I also look forward to more internship opportunities given to I4G alumni that lack experience and are trying to pivot or get experience. The practical training will complement the theoretical knowledge in a significant way.
I would encourage upcoming product managers to join product management communities virtually and physically. Twitter and other social media platforms allow you to join different communities and participate in relevant discussions relating to your field. This has been a game changer for me. I got a job opportunity from a link shared in one of the communities I belonged to.
From my experience I can say it’s possible to do well in product management regardless of your academic background. What it takes is commitment and hard work. At the beginning the focus should not be money because if you are looking at the money you would not be focused on trying to get your leg. Because you are going to start from the beginning, you need to be committed to building your career as you would in any other sector. I have realized that if you are not passionate or interested in a career and you just want money, most managers would be able to pick up on it.