Please tell us about yourself.
My name is Caesar James Mbotana. I was born in the rural Eastern part of Uganda, and currently staying in Germany. I studied a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Statistics at Kyambogo University.
If you were a vegetable, what would you be?
Haha, if I were a vegetable, I would love to be a Cucumber. All that water contained in it helps one to be hydrated. And besides, the water helps you to keep a regular mood, healthy and strong. In other words, I am Caesar, and I cut cucumber.
Do you have a dream job? If yes, which one and why?
My dream job is to become a policy data analyst. With my background in Economics and Statistics, I love how statisticians collect raw data, then organize and analyze it using different statistical packages. In a nutshell, data analytics helps you make sense of the present and predict the future trends and behaviors, rather than basing your decisions on utter guesswork, but informed choices on what data is telling you. And by staying here in Germany, I believe this is something achievable, no matter how long.
What were the outcomes for you?
As someone coming from Uganda, there (are) were not so many opportunities for me in terms of what I had studied. Whilst in Germany, I realized there were so many opportunities for one to enter into the IT sector through applying to university, or doing an Ausbildung or even doing boot camps. So I applied for an Ausbildung as an IT specialist in data and process analysis to many places, unfortunately I got many rejections. I was hurt, but I never gave up.
I shared my experiences with one of my Flatmates in Nuremberg, who was kind enough to connect me to Mark, a program head at We Code IT Academy. Mark studied IT, and has got loads of experiences doing IT work in Germany, and his experience makes him so much familiar with many IT firms in Germany. There was no thinking back for me!!! And immediately Mark asked me if I was interested in being coached into starting a possible career in IT and data. And this encounter became like a rebirth for my aspirations.😊
How was the coaching process, and how did you feel about the coaching process?
The coaching process was simple. All I had to do was to check the website for We Code IT Academy. On the website, I was asked to sign up and fill out some form of questionnaire. Not to scare you off, the questions seem many, but they are literally helping the coaches to get to know more about an applicant, one’s strengths and possible weaknesses in order to help and advise one better for a career.
After filing out the questionnaire, I was emailed and given an appointment for a free consultancy. Trust me, at first I thought I was gonna pay for this consultancy process, because that is what happens in a typical capitalist world, but I was wrong. This was a free consultancy from experts in the IT field. I was given ideas on how I could make my CV outlook better using Canva.
I was also given advice on how to improve my LinkedIn profile. I was given advice on how to better approach firms out there, and there is a lot more stuff I learned. And after this consultancy, I realized on many points why I received many rejections, and I definitely worked on these and reapplied, and I got a few positive responses for interviews. And as a foreigner, and a new newcomer in Germany, I am truly appreciative.
A few weeks after the consultancy, I got my first positive response from Heidelberg university, with whom I can start studying in the masters program in economics from October onwards. I’m very grateful I got my CV and LinkedIN presence refined with We code IT Academy, so I have access to opportunities like this.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start in IT in Germany?
Make a lot of research before making applications on what exactly you want to do. For example, look out for possible IT consultancy and speak to an expert in the IT field, and look out for the German language level needed to pursue this career. There are loads of IT specialties out there in Germany, for example IT Clerks, IT specialists in System Integration, IT specialists in Software development and so on. You should know what you want to do and where. There are particular formats, like Duales Studium or schulische Ausbildung, you should know about.
Trust me, Germany gives you loads of opportunities in literally everything in terms of study opportunities, and education is almost free in all universities, and sometimes you are paid during your study time during an Ausbildung with a company, but you must also do a lot of research, otherwise you would be confused on what to do. I faced this at some point.
You should also be open-minded, and with a positive mental attitude, and never giving up to share your experiences, because there could be someone out there to recommend to you some useful information and this is what happened to me, and I fell in the Project We Code IT Academy. They even give me a learning opportunity doing our social media channel alongside with data analysis to find out to help more people in the future. Doesn’t that sound awesome?! 🤗
Thanks for your time, Caesar. Do you want to add anything else?
Thank you for your attention!
Good luck everyone reading this interview.
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