My journey as a developer at Kodadot

A year ago, I never thought that I’d be the top contributing and only early female developer on a thriving open source NFT gallery project.

Back in August 2020, I had no background in blockchain, web3, or NFTs when I began contributing to the Kodadot space. Although I had prior experience in developing web apps, I had never delved into a web3-related project before, and I was completely clueless about it. Despite this, I decided to give it a shot, and I haven’t stopped contributing since. At the start of my journey, I didn’t realize that even though I was the only female developer on the project, I had a support system in place. I received guidance and encouragement from several individuals who were committed to seeing me succeed in an unfamiliar environment. Thanks to Yangwao Vikiival and RoiLeo.

With time, I became more self-assured and developed confidence in my technical abilities. However, I came to realize that having faith in my technical skills did not imply that I saw myself as an expert with all the right answers at my fingertips. Rather, building technical confidence meant being confident in my capability to tackle new technical challenges using the tools and abilities I had acquired.

I also took the following steps to make sure I was setting up for success:

1. I became a member of Kodadot’s Discord community with the intention of establishing connections with peers and acquiring knowledge and insights.
2. My top priority was effective communication, so I made it a point to message individuals on Discord whenever I required a second opinion or feedback on my ideas. They were always willing to assist me with any queries I had. Also, I make it a point to regularly monitor Github issues and respond to comments to clarify any uncertainties I may have.
3. To understand how other developers resolved challenging and diverse issues, I reviewed the pull requests they submitted.
4. I invested numerous hours in studying technical documentation and reading articles pertaining to web3 and blockchain to acquire a comprehensive understanding of the project and the subject matter.

Although I am not proficient in the technical jargon related to web3, I feel confident in my ability to address the project’s issues and enhance KodaDot for its users. Despite the fact that web3 development seems to be a male-dominated field (which, in my opinion, it currently is), there are numerous opportunities for female developers to participate. With perseverance, we can achieve anything we set our minds to, even if it appears insurmountable and challenging at first.

KodaDot — NFT marketplace

Reflecting on my growth and progress over the past year has been incredibly fulfilling. I transformed from someone who was apprehensive about facing novel challenges and exploring uncharted territories to someone who now embraces them and feels self-assured while doing so.

To gain further insights on Kodadot, you can either follow their Twitter account or join their Telegram group.