Learning to code has been gaining a lot of ground lately. But coding is not the new literacy. It's not always about learning the technology, its about using those skills to build things, products, Prototypes etc.
As a student during college I was big on learning a plethora of technologies, reading about it, watching all kinds of tutorials, but I had not ventured into practically using those skills beyond my academic curriculum until my second year of college.
I stumbled upon the ideas of hackathons in 2018 and that's when my actual journey in tech began.
Participating in my first national hackathon was an eye opener for me when I understood that learning to code is not the be all and end all of the tech industry.
Learning to build things shaped me as a developer, as a product designer and as a team player too.
In this talk I will share my journey of adopting the ideas of learning to build. I will be shedding light on the path that I chose, to be where I am today, of how the extra efforts that I put at the right time at the right place helped me accelerate my career, build a name for myself and also build products. Building things makes you aware of your own capabilities and also bolsters your confidence. It teaches you smart management, team dynamics ad much more. All these skills not only helps one drive their career better but also contributes to becoming a comprehensive developer

Being a woman in tech, the journey till here wasn't easy. Just like me there are so many women who venture into this field with the idea of learning to code. I want to bring out the message: "Don't just learn technology, learn to build things" to the wider audience and motivate them to go to that hackathon, participate in that bootcamp, go talk about their projects and takeaway some inspiration and positive affirmation from my journey which in turn powers many more women and people in general.

I was inspired and motivated by so many wonderful folks in tech to tread on this journey and the lessons that I have learnt on the way have helped me build a path for myself. Through the talk I want to give back to the community that helped me reach here and bring out the idea of learning to build as a skill that each one of us should have.