Have you ever considered your thought process when you want to learn something new? Or rather, whenever you get to learn something. Have you noticed what usually are your motivations whenever you decide to go into the adventure of learning?
There are a few common reasons that most of the time move us to commit to learn something:
- Because we want a new job
- Because we need it for a test or school project
- Because we are passionate about it
- Because it might represent an advantage for us in the future.
Any of those reasons are valid, and throughout our lives, we learn different things for different reasons. However, have you considered learning to code? Many people have, and they have because of any of those four reasons above, but the most exciting aspect of it, is that many of them have not only been able to land a high-paying job, but many also find a passion in code.
Is coding really for anyone?
The short answer is absolutely, yes! And, at the same time, it might also be an it depends. Why so much ambiguity?
If the question is whether anyone can learn how to code, no matter gender, nationality, social class, language or age, the answer is, again, absolutely, yes! Really, let’s just say that again, because it feels empowering: Anyone can learn how to code!
For years, the idea of computer programmers being these few selected people who were really good at math and learned how to code as kids because they had an old computer and in order to play a game, they had to program it themselves has been pervasive in our society.
Things are changing though, and coding has become a skill that more people are wanting to learn, and we are lucky enough to live in this day and age when we have so many learning resources available online, free, inexpensive, immersive, at our own pace.
However, the other question many of you would ask yourselves is whether programming or coding is for you. That’s a valid question, and the answer would be, once again, a frustrating it depends.
Why it depends? What does it depend on? Well, we can all learn anything we want, really. Someone who has never played an instrument before can become a very good musician, and someone who cannot draw to save their life can become a very good drafter.
The same happens with computer programming, everyone can learn it. However, even if the capacity is in all of us, there’s something we still need, and this is the motivation to learn how to code.
The question isn’t anymore “is coding really something I could learn?” But “is coding something I want to learn?” You have the ultimate answer. However, we truly believe that everyone should at least give coding an honest try, because many people have found a passion in code, even if they never were into computers before.
So, just as we all learn how to read and write even if we don’t become writers, and we learn the basics of math without becoming mathematicians, learning the basics of programming is becoming increasingly important (also: Coding is a lot of fun).
Benefits of learning to code
There’s no wasted time when it comes to learning something new, though it might often feel as though sometimes, especially when we feel forced to learn something, instead of being naturally motivated to learn something like code.
It’s probably happened to most of us. As kids or as students, we were forced or asked to learn many things we simply didn’t want to, because we thought we were never going to need them in the real world. And months or years later, we ended up benefitting from having learnt those.
This doesn’t translate into just going and trying to learn absolutely everything there is to learn, but into developing a positive mindset towards learning new skills.
In the specific case of learning how to code, the benefits, both immediate and long term, are surprising and numerous, even if you decide not to pursue a career in programming or web development after all.
The benefits of learning code are many and some might be more evident than others. Let’s review some of them:
Understanding how software you use every day works
Depending on the area you have the most experience with, you have probably noticed how things regarding that area make sense, while for people without that same background, they can seem like magic or just way too complicated.
When we learn the basics of coding and software development, these programs, apps and websites we use every day suddenly start making much more sense, and we can even start solving problems that seemed just impossible before.
Learning how to solve problems logically
Programming is really about solving problems with the help of a powerful tool called a programming or coding language. To solve a problem by programming, we need to think on logical ways to get the computer to do what we need.
When we learn how to code, we eventually learn that it’s not about thinking about something, sitting in front of the computer and coding our way. Instead, the more we program, the more we learn about the importance of thinking about the problem in simple terms.
For example, if we want to make a simple social network site where people can post pictures of their kitties, instead of just coding as it goes, we divide it into smaller steps:
- Each person has a profile with a gallery of kitties’ pictures, with username, a description
- A page like a twitter’s timeline, where new kitties will appear in chronological order as users post them
- Finally, users follow other users and only see new kitty posts of people they follow
Automate repetitive tasks and facilitate things in life
There’s a popular phrase that says that programmers are lazy. What!? You may ask yourself, so the only thing you have to do to become a software engineer is to be lazy? Of course not! Or not literally.
What this means, is that, the more you get comfortable with coding, the more you start avoiding doing repetitive tasks, and you start thinking about automatizing or optimizing processes, either in the computer through code, or in your life (sometimes also through code).
Also, you can start doing some tasks by yourself if you find the time or motivation to do so. For example, maybe you are learning data analytics and not web development; but you have the principles of code already covered, therefore nothing stops you to learn some HTML, CSS and JavaScript and make a website for yourself, your company or a friend!
Land a high paying job in tech
It’s not a secret that many people in recent years have started learning programming, coding and web development to change careers and land a six-figure job in tech. There’s nothing to be ashamed about this, and the best thing is that it works, many people have been able to do it!
This doesn’t mean that coding is a bill printer. What this means is that the demand for people who know how to code is high, and the jobs requiring these positions pay quite well, often offer a great working environment, and expose you to exciting new challenges each day.
But you don’t even need to land a tech job to proof the value of code in the job market, because knowing how to make a website gives you extra points in the job hunt, and overall, all of the previous benefits we’ve mentioned, will help you no matter what you career path or passion is!
Teach and motivate others
Many people have completely changed their lives by learning code after having read an article or watched a video of some person, maybe a single parent or a dropped out, who decided to learn code on their own and landed a job they are happy with.
This is inspirational, and many of these people are so happy that they want to show others how they can also do it, either by motivating them to learn to code, or by actually teaching them. And you can be one of these living testimonials too.
The bottom line is, no matter if you grew using computers and wanting to make videogames and apps or if you never had that interest before. You can learn how to codeas a hobby, as a secret weapon, as a useful tool, or as a passion. For an immersive and modern learning experience, consider learning to code at Ubiqum courses, and land the job of your dreams.