Microsoft Certified Azure Developer, Engineer Crystal Amarachi Udo–Obia Omerife in this exclusive interview emphasised the need to embrace the tech field in other not to be left behind. She explained that even though there is so much to benefit from ‘Machine learning & Devops’, Nigeria is still lagging behind in that area. Read the excerpts.
*Can you tell us who Engineer Crystal Amarachi Udo–Obia Omerife is?
I am Engineer Crystal Amarachi Udo–Obia Omerife. I graduated at at Federal University of Technology Owerri as a Chemical Engineer. I will say that I’ve been able to carved a niche for myself in the male dominated field despite the challenges and of course you know how hard it is for such feat especially, for a country like Nigeria. I have over the year’s acquired knowledge both as a field and cooperate practitioner with different private engineering firms. In 2023, i was certified a Microsoft Azure Developer. I am still growing and hope to attain more feats.
*How does it feels becoming a Microsoft Certified Azure Developer.
It’s an awesome feeling. I feel very proud of myself for achieving this difficult but worthy milestone. I return all glory to God and my wonderful family for believing and standing by me. It’s a great feat for me seeing myself standing tall in a male dominated field.
- In a field dominated by men, how were you able to achieve this feat?
Being in a field dominated by men has always been my thing and I’ve really gotten used to it. I studied Engineering in Federal University of Technology Owerri and in my class, girls were less than 10% of the population and less than 5% of the population of students in the entire Faculty of Engineering during that time. So you can say I am comfortable working and functioning in areas dominated by men. But back to the question, I learn to survive in my field because I have learnt to mind my business. Minding my business also helped in molding me as I was able to dedicate myself to life-long learning. It helped me to work hard to get things done all by myself, to fight and defend my place and space whenever the need arises. These have always been my guiding principles and with that, I was able to survive in the male dominated field.
*Can you tell us about the challenges in the engineering field, especially your area of specialization?
I would say that irrespective of the fact that technology is a very dynamic environment with countless tools, methodologies and processes, the biggest problem I see especially in my field, ‘Machine learning & Devops’’, is the slow adoption of devops culture especially on how we proffer solutions in this part of the world. This development often presents a serious bureaucratic bottleneck to seamless deployment. Needless to say, this problem often comes from management level which can be pretty frustrating. They employ you to help them to build and automate their processes in order to create and manage great applications for them but they are not willing to embrace the culture required for you to achieve that. They want things done the old way because that is what they are used to; so yes it’s a common problem in Nigeria.
Secondly the payment versus the workload is far from encouraging especially considering the fact that this is a field that requires a lot of learning and development on your part in order to hone your skills. This pay gap is not just a money problem, it’s also a mindset problem with many companies in Nigeria. I can go on and on but I will just stop here.
*What are you doing or how do you intend to impact the knowledge you’ve garnered so far to impact the upcoming ones especially, female who would want to toil your line
*I am already doing that through training and mentorship. Presently, I mentor for girls in tech under the platform of ‘SHE CODE AFRICA’. I have been mentoring ladies in the since 2019. I was also a technical learning ambassador for girls in software engineering with ALX Africa Software Engineering program. I have anchored numerous talks in Universities such as Nile University Abuja to encourage especially, young girls to embrace the field of technology, I also function as a judge where I was charged with the responsibility to critique the design and development process of multiple tech product from robotics to mobile applications for Visiola Foundation Abuja, etc.
- Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
*I see myself featured on Forbes 40 under 40 magazine for building a highly successful startup/accelerator and community focused on supporting women-led technology founders in Africa
*A word of advice to young Nigerians
*I will say whatever you choose to do with your life, go for gold because rejection is nothing compared to regret. Plus, Time is Luck, don’t let luck run out on you
*How do you unwind?
I read or go for walks ( lol, I know… I am boring) laughs.