Coding is an important skill that pays well and has a high number of job openings. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that, on average, almost 189,200 new coding jobs will open annually.
The above number indicates global coding jobs are sure to increase. In addition, coding also provides you with opportunities for growth and a promising career.
But there are other aspects of coding, excluding jobs and salaries, that make learning it worthwhile. In this blog, we will explain these aspects in detail.
Why is coding so important to learn?
We live in a world surrounded by technology. As such, being tech-literate can be helpful.
One way to learn technology is by programming. And contrary to popular belief, programming is not that hard to understand.
While learning to code, you often stumble upon programs that pose a challenge. These problems help improve your logical thinking and reasoning skills. They also make programming fun and interesting.
Coding makes you more collaborative, as you often cooperate with others while working for a company or creating projects.
Even in a non-technical domain, coding skills can be beneficial while applying for a job. In addition, coding can help you meet a large community of supportive programmers online or offline.
Benefits of Learning to code
There was a time when people assumed programming was meant for geeks and geniuses. But that perception has now changed, and many people have started to code because of the growth in technology.
People have started to see the benefits of learning to code, as many giant tech companies offer sizable salaries and opportunities today.
Let us explore a few benefits of learning to code:
More Job Opportunities
As a computer programmer, you can work as a:
- Software Developer
- Computer Engineer
- System Administrator
- Web Developer
- Machine Learning Specialist
- Data Scientist, and more.
In addition, programming can offer a lucrative career option. , Below are the average salaries of different programming jobs:
- Software developers: $107,510
- Database administrators: $93,750
- Systems Administrators: $83,510
- Web developers: $73,760
As you can see, the salaries above are higher than the average annual salary in the US which is $54,132.
Improves Problem-solving
When you learn to code, you will encounter problems that require logical thinking.
Tackling these problems with novel approaches will improve your problem-solving skills.
Coding allows you to break down complex problems into smaller bits that you can solve individually. You can apply this methodology of problem-solving in almost all walks of life.
So, coding can inherently make you a better problem solver.
Helps you Build Projects
Mastering a programming language and the surrounding technology can let you express yourself creatively with projects. You can identify new problems and build projects to solve them.
As a beginner, you can do projects such as:
- Simple games like tic-tac-toe, pong, or even Super Mario.
- Personal portfolio website to showcase your skills and experiences.
- Clones of websites like Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, or YouTube.
Further, building projects can improve your chances while applying to employment opportunities, as you can bolster your portfolio with projects you’ve completed.
Automates Tedious tasks
You can use programming languages like Python to write programs that can automate some of your tedious tasks.
Mundane activities such as managing your excel worksheet, making payments, posting on social media, etc., can be automated with programming.
Provides Insight on Tech
One of the primary benefits of learning to code is that it gives you a good understanding of tech. You can get a complete picture of technology and figure out how everything fits together.
As a coder, you will understand frontend and backend technologies, databases, servers, and how these technologies interact with each other.
How to learn to code?
There are multiple ways you could learn to code; you could join a boot camp, do an online interactive course, follow a video tutorial, enroll in a video course, and more.
Now, you might wonder how to determine what kind of learning approach is best for you, right?
Well, here is how you can figure it out:
- If you want to learn to code by yourself without paying any money, tutorial sites and videos on YouTube are the best options.
- For people who can’t concentrate by themselves and need to attend a class with instructors and a set syllabus, coding bootcamps are the way to go.
- Interactive courses like the Learn Python course from Programiz are great if you want a structured course but want to learn in your own time. This particular course has features like interactive lessons, quizzes, challenges, and projects. You also get certified at the end.
But no matter your approach, you need to follow a guideline. And while there isn’t one set guideline, you can follow the stepwise instruction given below to learn to code:
- Step 1 – Figure out what your goal is. Do you want to get a job, upskill, or are you looking to learn to code for fun?
- Step 2 – Choose a programming language as per the field you want to enter. But if you are a beginner, choose Python, as it is the easiest to learn.
- Step 3 – Consistently practice the programming language you have selected. Cover programming fundamentals at first and then move on to more advanced topics. You can choose to learn programming in any learning approach you prefer.
- Step 4 – Build projects you can show on your portfolio. Simple games, management systems, and portfolio websites are some great project ideas for beginners.
- Step 5 – You are now ready to apply for your first programming internship or job. We recommend you go with an internship initially, as it will give you a better understanding of a coding job.
Final Words
Coding might be one of the few high-paying professions that don’t require a college degree. It also doesn’t take several years to learn.
You can take an online course and learn a new programming language in just a few months. We recommend you start with an easy programming language like Python.
Master the fundamentals and then move on to the advanced practices. Don’t make the mistake of jumping from one programming language to another.
To code has many benefits. It can land you a good job, open new career opportunities, help you build things you want and even improve your logical thinking.
So, pick a programming language and start learning to code today!