Get To Know Sigma School's Head of Fundamentals - Yee Qiang!
Sigma School
20th August 2023
I'm Yee Qiang, a self-taught developer working on diverse projects and actively contributing to the Open Source community. Currently, I am working as a Software Developer at The Hacker Collective, a collective of techies, entrepreneurs, and thinkers with big ambitions to solve real-world problems.
I am also the Head of Coding Fundamentals at Sigma School, a squad of education-focused hustlers, and we're on a mission to redefine the education system.
Last but not least, I am actively growing and developing my community, helping others start their developer journey, and influencing others with my beliefs and mindsets on how we should come about learning new skills.
Ever since I was a kid, I have always fallen in love with the subject of mathematics. Why? Mathematics is complicated. It always boils down to the fundamentals, the numbers we have all known how to count since young. It trains me to think computationally and learn how to discover the root of a problem.
Eventually, it is also interesting to teach people how to solve a problem. It motivates me to solve more problems on my own. Furthermore, it gave me a sense of achievement by helping others. So after I graduated from High School, I got into the educational industry and started working as a private tutor.
When working as a private tutor in a tuition centre, I have a chance to also be part of the administrative team where most of the things they are working on are things like students' registration, customer support, reaching out to students, etc. That's when I realised a lot of the work is done manually, and the productivity is low. So I started learning Python and developed my own WhatsApp Automation Software to help my company automate their communication with students. That's when I realised the power of technology and how it can help our daily lives.
I started to explore online courses because I couldn't afford to go for college degrees, and used most of my earnings working as a private tutor to pay for mentors to teach me how to code. Till July 2020, when I discovered The Hacker Collective, I was attracted to their mindset on education and how education should not be that expensive, everyone deserves a chance to learn and prove their skills. After a month of learning, I got an opportunity to work as a Junior Software Developer intern at The Hacker Collective and that's when I started to work on real-world projects. And eventually, I got an opportunity to work full time as a Software Developer and also conduct some coaching sessions during my spare time, that's how I'm part of the Sigma School working as a Programme Lead.
“I think it’s important to reason from first principles rather than by analogy. The normal way we conduct our lives is by analogy. With analogy, we are doing this because it’s like something else that was done, or it is like what other people are doing. With first principles, you boil things down to the most fundamental truths…and then reason up from there.”
This is a famous quote from Elon Musk, and I strongly agree with this mindset. I always thought to become a successful Software Developer, I have to go through universities and get a degree by spending 4 years and probably 5 to 6 figures on college fees. But who says that? Our parents, our school, our society. Are these fundamentally right? I don't think so, the key to getting a job in tech is not the degree, it is the value of holding the degree, which is the skills and knowledge.
The only difference between a degree holder and a non-degree holder is just the qualification. Qualifications determine the past, not the current state. Hence, I started to self-taught myself how to code and develop programs that help solve my daily challenges, and eventually help others to boost their productivity, that's my ultimate goal.
I have only one goal for the Coding Fundamentals Programme with Sigma School. Since this will be where most of you will be taking your first steps to tech education, I will make this the best learning experience and impart all my knowledge I have with me.
Don't worry, I was just like you. If I can do it, so can you. Start strong with Coding Fundamentals before you move on to the more advanced courses.
Looking forward to work with you guys!
Email us directly at hello@sigmaschool.co!
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