We had the opportunity to participate in a Job Shadowing program organised by Ashesi for some of their first years students in Computer Science. We hosted three students consisting of two ladies and one gentleman. We shared what it was like to work in a software development company, the roles each individual plays and the work we do to encourage them to take on careers in Technology. Read more about their experience during the internship below:

For about two weeks, I partook in a job shadowing program at Ampersand Technologies Ltd to gain a broader idea of the various job opportunities a computer science major like myself could pursue. While undergoing the program I got to peek behind the proverbial curtain of the company’s day-to-day runnings as well as see how the different roles work in tandem towards each projects’ success.

While there were a lot of things I took away, I found some to be more valuable and worth my joining the program. One of which is the variety of roles you can play in the software development stage as a computer scientist without you needing to write a line of code. At Ampersand I found that there are positions in the software development field where one is required to perform tasks that support the build of the program; tasks such as research or project coordination. In such instances, having coding experience also allows one to help out with software development if needed.

As implied earlier, I also saw the variety of opportunities there are in just the software development field. So I know there is a lot more about the computer science industry to explore, but from what I’ve seen and heard from my time with Ampersand, I know software development is an area I can dive into, if only for a while.

Overall, my time at Ampersand has shed some light on the computing sphere and some of the opportunities available to me to pursue. I also got some valuable tips and advice on the field and coding in general, so I am really appreciative of this opportunity and grateful to the Ampersand team for having me for what little time we had.

 

Hubert Delasi Korbla Dake

  Ashesi University 

     At the beginning of my Job shadowing program, I expected to get learn more about the 

technology industry, its requirements and which part of it I fit in. My mentor, Lady Omega 

Hammond of Ampersand Technologies Ltd, was very friendly and approachable which made 

asking questions easy. She structured a flexible timetable for the Job shadowing program over 

the course of 3 weeks. She also got some of her co-workers to share their experiences and tips to 

help newcomers in the tech industry. 

     From this program, I learnt that there are various job opportunities like designing, web 

development and business management in the tech industry. I also noticed that the tech industry 

is very flexible because people with a background in any other field can learn programming and 

enter this industry. I also learnt that it is better to understand and be comfortable with a number 

of programming languages before specializing in one or two or them because when developing 

an application or website, a combination of languages must be used. The programmers and 

designers at Ampersand Technologies gave demonstrations of their work and shared what a 

typical workday was like for them.   

   My key take-away from this program is that for someone to survive in the tech industry, he must 

develop love for the industry, be creative and be ready to learn new things everyday because the 

field is a fast paced one.  My mentor also gave advice about how to approach life in university. 

The Job shadowing program showed me how interesting the tech industry can be. 

Thank you very much for hosting me. 

                                                                            

                                                                              Beverlyn Ewuradwoa Amanfu 

                                                                                   Ashesi University 

It’s been a thrilling experience following you for the past 3 months. I cannot begin to thank you enough for how warmly you welcomed us all and how you 1agreed to use your time to help us understand! The misty idea of software development that I had in my head cleared off and got me seeing the realistic picture of it all.

 I had this idea that in the tech field, I could work alone and never have to deal with people, but from this shadowing experience I attained a better understanding that teams are everywhere. Thank you for all the practical advice you gave; I’ve already begun implementing some(I’m working to achieve mastery in Python this summer break).

From my campus experience, I will do everything I can to hone in on the art of communication and team work so that I will be in a better position to succeed in the tech world.  Not forgetting to keep updating my knowledge to stay on top of my game in the competitive tech world. And after all this I am more than certain to add Software development to my career path!

 

Ruvimbo Joy Sithole

Ashesi University

Class of 2024

We do wish them the very best in their studies and do hope they became all that the wish to be in the coming years!