Digital natives, or Generation Y and Z members, have grown up with technology at their fingertips and have never known life without it. It is not surprising to see many people begin their tech careers from such young ages in this clime.
Abigail Inyang is one of the Gen Z with a big dream as she forges her path in the tech industry. Her journey into tech is remarkable, she stumbled upon her sister’s jottings from a code camp and her interest was piqued. Now, writing codes is such a part of her life that it is a means of escape and the gateway to making a larger impact in society.
Technext had a chat with Abigail Inyang, a 17-year-old Cybersecurity Expert to learn about her journey in tech, her plans for the future, and how she is balancing her teenage life with a challenging tech career
Abigail Inyang’s journey into tech
Sometimes we all need a ‘push’ to spur up passion in us, or that which we don’t even know will tickle our fancy.
Abigail’s sister had a “thing” for tech and was enlightened on the versatility of tech. One day, curious Abigail stumbled upon her sister’s jottings from b0otcamp on coding and became engrossed by the content.
The truth is, there is an “Abigail” in every one of us and this is what I mean: going through her sister’s jottings on coding, getting to know about tech and all, she developed interest, then thought to herself about things she could do and ways to maximize her knowledge of tech. Smart teen and a goal-getter! She, of course, went for it, taking a step at a time, yet killing it till this day.
Read also: The teen techie taking giant strides
Similarly to every successful individual in a field facing challenges in the embryonic stage, which for Abigail was in 2019, she lacked essentials as a beginner. She said she was short of resources like internet access and mentorship.
Abigail Inyang started with content development at 14 and then switched to python development in 2020. A few YouTube videos helped but she was not consistent because her attention was divided. However, she noted that Python could help her build hacking tools and this launched her cybersecurity journey.
To Abigail Inyang, being a cybersecurity expert does not come easy, especially being consistent with the training and lessons required.
She explains that coding is therapeutic to her and loves getting back on track with it when she feels bored because it exercises her brain.
Last year, she worked on a technical project by joining a tech challenge, she designed an AI power variable with her friends and learnt about different tools in which variables can be built. However, she mentions that she aspires to solve edge challenges through technology.
Her long term goals for the tech ecosystem
Abigail Inyang wants to start a cybersecurity mentoring and consulting firm. This is because there is still a high percentage of people interested in cybersecurity development with little or no knowledge, resources, or mentorship.
She is also interested in being a global speaker on cybersecurity and a technical writer.
Despite her biggest challenge – a shortage of resources – she earns more than a million naira annually and hopes her income will skyrocket in the nearest future. Not only does she earn a reasonable amount but she has mastered the act of saving and investment by investing at least 50% of her monthly salary.
Abigail wants to stay ahead as technology evolves and she advises anyone to keep up with the trends.
According to her, she has no extracurricular activities, but her favourite thing to do is spend time on her system even though this has cost her friendships she thought would have lasted. She spends a lot of her time coding and says does not know how to have fun anymore.
Advice for other tech teens
Ultimately, Abigail Inyang recommends that it is good to try various things in tech. She explains how naive she was about what she truly wanted. And this led her to what she is right now. She adds that she talks “about collaborating with people and making connections” because, at the end of the day, you alone understand your dream, so you should get people who can back you up in your vision until it manifests.
Watch the full interview here:
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