This morning I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. I said “hello” to my electrical toothbrush, hoping the subtle humming sound would wake me up. Then I found my way to the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee with a single push of a button. My fridge greeted me with a friendly glow when I opened the door. And my phone beeped again! It was my mom wishing me a great weekend.
So I took my warm coffee and sat down at my laptop to read the morning news. By the time I was half an hour into my day, I had already interacted with half a dozen devices with a microchip inside.
My point is: Our world is just filled with computers! They have revolutionized the way we interact with our surroundings in just 20 years – with no end in sight.
So everywhere you look you see a computer – a phone, a laptop, a car, you name it!
What they all have in common is the language they speak. It’s the language of computer code. No matter how simple or complex a digital device is, its functionalities and features are based on code running on the inside.
So why am I rambling again, huh?
Well, all of these devices need to be programmed to perform their various tasks. So, understanding computer code is just about the best possible skill you can learn these days in terms of boosting your career.
Not only is the world of tech filled with job and income opportunities, but learning coding is also a lot of fun!
And I’ve got some good news for you: Anyone can learn how to code! These days it’s easier than ever to find amazing resources to learn everything you need to about coding to start a new career.
But what can coding do for you exactly?
1: BECOMING MORE EFFICIENT AND PRODUCTIVE
So obviously the #1 reason for using computers in the first place is to take advantage of their computing power.
You know, the first computers were ridiculously slow in terms of performance. But luckily for us, that changed pretty quickly.
The smartphone in your pocket has more computing power than anyone imagined possible 20 years ago.
And what’s so great about computers is that they are great at doing tedious and repetitive tasks for us. They never get tired, they never complain about how boring their jobs are, and they never make mistakes.
Therefore, harnessing the power of a computer by writing your own programs allows you to spend your time on more productive and sensible tasks.
2: IMPROVING YOUR COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION SKILLS
Think about managing a project at your current company.
It will most likely involve an entire team of colleagues from different departments. They all have different ways of doing things. People who work in different fields also have different backgrounds and different levels of understanding what the others are saying.
Most of us have probably listened to the IT department at work explain a cool, new tool or software to us, having absolutely no idea about what they were talking about.
Technology simply comes with a good bunch of jargon and cryptic terms – it’s the language of tech.
Again: how can learning programming help you, then?
Knowing how to code will help you understand your technical colleagues at work much better. If you know how computers work and how software is built, you can also ask better questions. Let alone understand the answers.
You will be more confident and secure when discussing technical topics like:
- implementing new software,
- updating the company website, or
- optimising your sales reports.
Knowing how to code will also make you more valuable as an employee. You can take on a role as an intermediary between the IT department and your own team, for instance.
3: UNDERSTANDING HOW SOFTWARE WORKS
Ok so this one’s pretty straightforward.
Whenever you use your computer, you interact with the program running in the background by using your mouse and keyboard, for instance.
If you know even just the basics of coding and the logic behind programs, you can learn how to use new tools with much less effort in the future.
All in all, being familiar with a range of different devices, software, websites, and apps helps you understand and adopt new technical tools more easily.
It’s no wonder the kids these days know more about how my laptop works than I do – even though I work with it every day.
They simply grew up with a smartphone in their hands!
Now, I don’t know if that’s a totally good thing, but they sure can learn their way around new devices much more quickly than you and me can.
4: IMPROVING YOUR PROBLEM SOLVING AND THINKING SKILLS
If you’ve already started learning programming, you’ve probably heard this one already.
Coding is about solving problems. That’s the essence of writing computer programs: they should solve problems for us.
Therefore, learning coding will make you a better problem solver in general!
Aaaand how could this help you in life?
Just think about your work, for example. You probably have plenty or questions to answer and problems to solve at the office. (Now, of course not all problems are yours to solve!)
My point is: learning how to solve problems with coding also helps you tackle the challenges at work!
Learning programming will not just give you technical skills. It will teach you a whole new way of approaching your work.
Knowing how to solve problems in a structured way is the very core of coding:
- First, you will be forced to start out with a solid plan,
- Secondly, you’ll identify key potential areas for errors, and
- Thirdly, you will work towards your goal step by step.
Moreover, you will pay more attention to detail, simply delivering better results. Every time.
5: COMBINING TECHNICAL SKILLS WITH CREATIVITY
There aren’t too many fields or industries where you can put your technical and creative skills together so seamlessly as in programming.
If you enjoy and do a good job at both, learning how to code will definitely open some doors for you in the future.
Since coding is all about identifying problems and solving them in new ways, you will find yourself developing new solutions on a daily basis.
And what’s even better: Each day is different from the other, so it never gets boring.
6: BECOMING AWARE OF WHAT IT TAKES
How does a website work? Is it difficult to write a computer program? Can anyone create a web application?
Now, I don’t know about you but when I started learning how to code, I had no idea about the answers to these questions!
So, one great benefit from learning coding is that you will automatically become more aware of how websites work, for example. Also, you’ll understand how applications are built.
You will learn the fundamentals of how they work and how much work goes into creating them.
How does this help you with your career then?
Again, let’s think about work. Let’s say your employer want a new feature for the company website. Regardless of whether you could develop it yourself or not, you would understand what it takes for someone to build it.
7: CREATING A WEBSITE OF YOUR OWN
If you wish to start a career in tech, having a website is simply a must.
It’s your business card for the whole world to see. Literally, billions of people can find you that way.
Also, having a portfolio website the best way to showcase your skills to potential employers in the future.
8: ESTABLISHING AN ONLINE PRESENCE
Have you ever googled yourself? Awesome!
Did you see what you wanted to see?
Most likely, your potential employers have done the same thing.
Especially in tech-driven industries, having an online presence is a great tool to manage what people find out about you when they look up your name on Google.
9: BECOMING SELF-EMPLOYED AND STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS
This is a point I could go on about for hours, since it’s simply the path I chose.
I already mentioned coding is like a superpower. And here’s why: Knowing how to code gives you so many opportunities to start your own business based on your new tech skills, such as:
- Creating an online publication
- Establishing an online shop
- Starting your own web design agency
- Building mobile applications
- Offering coding courses and tutoring online
- Reviewing products on your website and earning ad income
- Selling licences for media, e.g. as a professional photographer
The options are almost endless. And what’s even better is that there’s a lot of demand for all of these areas online.
10: ENJOYING MORE FREEDOM AND FLEXIBILITY IN LIFE
I just got back from a trip to Finland a few days ago. I stayed by a beautiful lake surrounded by practically untouched nature.
And let me tell you: the air there was so clean that I actually felt how the oxygen was flowing into my body through my lungs. I’m not exaggerating. (In fact, according to the WHO, they have the cleanest air in the world!)
11: ACHIEVING A HIGHER INCOME
Learning programming to start a career as a developer? Take my advice: the right time to start learning coding is NOW.
The demand for professional developers has been on the rise for years now. Not meaning to be an economist here or anything, but whenever the demand for employees is high, they usually have the upper hand.
So, if you know how to deliver value to a potential employer, you’re most likely to get hired (right away). That’s all you need to do.
Learning coding can therefore open up an entire world of new opportunities for your career-wise.