Remember the 2026 plan? Yeah — the one where I said, "This is the year I stop warming up and start getting paid for my craft." Well, January just ended, and your boy is officially a paid software engineer. Not theory. Not practice projects. Real software. Real users. Real money. (Cue the confetti.)
First Paycheck Vibes
For the first time ever, I went weeks without calling my dad for transport money. No announcement. No dramatic speech. Just quiet independence. If you know, you know.
I promised myself I’d start becoming financially independent in my 3rd year — even if just a little. January basically said, "Say less." Shoutout to AgbeyTech for trusting me with real production work from day one.
Three Projects, One Brain, No Sleep Schedule
Within my first role, I got assigned three custom software systems for three different businesses. Because apparently, we enjoy pressure.
- POS for Spicy Thrifts (Clothing Company): Completed in 5 days. Locked in. No noise. Just shipping.
- Production Management Software for a Soap Company: Currently in development. My brain basically lives here now.
- Veterinary Hospital Software (Accra): Coming up next. Future me is already tired.
It’s still January… and one major 2026 goal is already checked off. Progress? Yes. Peace? Absolutely not.
A2SV Update: Welcome to G7
Now here’s something I refuse to downplay.
As A2SV G6 wrapped up, I went through interviews — one easy problem, one medium problem — and yeah… let’s just say they didn’t survive. I got promoted to A2SV G7, which is fully remote, with 150+ engineers across Africa.
We’ve already had two contests:
- Contest 1: Joined with about 20 minutes left and still solved 3 out of 5 problems. Not bad for a late spawn.
- Contest 2: Fully active. Fully locked in. Finished 5th out of ~120 strong competitive programmers across Africa.
That right there? That’s us moving closer to the Competitive Programming goals for 2026.
The Schedule From Hell
Let me explain why I look permanently tired.
A2SV G7 runs every weekday (except Wednesdays) from 5 PM – 8 PM. My lectures end at 7:30 PM. And immediately after A2SV, I go straight into COMPSSA DSA Club meetings from 8 PM – 10 PM.
I co-founded the DSA club with my A2SV colleagues, and I genuinely love teaching. But sometimes it feels like we’re dragging motivation out of people. Not everyone is excited about DSA the way I am — and that’s okay — but it definitely adds to the mental load.
School Said “Good Luck”
And then… there’s school.
Machine Learning assignments stacked like debt. Discrete Math quizzes that somehow now require AI assistance — which is crazy because on a normal day, I wouldn’t even blink before choosing answers.
Four weeks into the semester and I’m behind on coursework, overloaded, and wondering how January alone managed to age me mentally.
January Recap: Success & Stress
So was January successful?
- ✅ First Software Engineering Paycheck
- ✅ Real Production Software Shipped
- ✅ Promoted to A2SV G7
- ✅ Top 5 in a Continental Competitive Programming Contest
But also:
- ❌ Mentally stretched
- ❌ Physically tired
- ❌ Academically behind (for now)
Still… I’ll take it. This is what growth without comfort feels like.
"January 2026: Got paid, got promoted, got stressed, but we move."
February? We bounce back. Smarter. Sharper. Less chaotic.
If you missed the plan for this year, check it out here. And if you want to see how my journey at AgbeyTech is going, check the Journey page.
Let’s go. 🔥