Inspiration from a senior software Engineer at Netflix

Meet Victor Anyirah, a senior software engineer at Netflix. I found out about Victor when someone shared the video below in a WhatsApp group I’m part of.

Victor was interviewed by Bukola, a software engineer who’s based in New York City, and runs a very interesting YouTube channel where she gives tips for people interested in entering the tech arena. She also interviews software engineers and other techies to share their insights on how to make it in the tech industry.

Victor’s story is inspiring because Black engineers in senior positions are rare, because his story started a long way away from Silicon Valley – in Nigeria, and because he never intended to become a software engineer. He wanted to be a doctor, and while doing his pre-med, a string of events led him off his initial track…

One of the things he talks about that affects a lot of people is this idea that you are not good enough, aka imposter syndrome. He says the turning point for him was getting his first job offer. “It was definitely a moment of just jubilation, right, like going through this five, six year journey. And then that number [the salary] to me was life changing, because that was more than anyone I had ever known, had made in their lives. And from that point forward, it just kind of let me know that I belonged in this field. And I was actually capable of excelling and succeeding in this industry.”

And about being Black in tech, he has this to say; “There’s so many things from negotiating your pay and negotiating your salaries that black engineers and just you know, minorities in this industry are so afraid to do because we feel like we shouldn’t be there in the first place. And I think breaking that mindset is the most important thing, understanding that you aren’t here by chance, you know, you’re not lucky to be in the position that you are. You deserve to be there because you’ve worked for it and you’re great at your job.”

Connect with Victor

• On Twitter
• On LinkedIn

Connect with Bukola

• On YouTube
• On Instagram

Random Addition

While I was watching the video, I noticed YouTube was celebrating 1 trillion views of minecraft content. You know you have TOTALLY missed a trend when something like this happens and you had no idea it was a thing.

P.S. See that ad at the bottom of the screenshot? The one that says ‘New YouTube Ads Webinar 2022 Edition.’ That’s from a guy called Aleric Heck. He has been trying to sell me YouTube courses for two years now. Maybe I should just say yes…