In 2016, there were more than 294,000 job opportunities available in computer programming. So if you’re looking at learning how to code, that’s a great choice!
But you may be wondering, “Why learn to code?” It’s easy to wonder if it’s worth it. We’re here to tell you that it is.
Here are 6 key ways that learning to code can transform your career and change your life for the better. Check them out below.
1. New Career Opportunities
Let’s start with the basics. When you learn to code, you instantly open the door to tons of new career opportunities.
And it’s a great career path, thanks to the median salary of $82,000. This is a great median salary, but remember that there are lots of developers making much more than that as well.
As the tech industry continues to grow, the opportunities for software developers keep growing and growing. The demand is continually increasing.
You can also use your skills as a freelancer. This is a great side gig that could you help you save up for a vacation, pay off debt, or have a little extra spending money each month.
2. Why Learn to Code? Develop Problem Solving Skills
Coding is essentially solving problems. You take a big project, break it up into smaller steps, and then create a program that can solve these issues.
This skill is something that you can take and apply in all areas of your life. This is especially helpful in relationships, where it’s often necessary to figure things out together with someone else.
But it can also apply to any issue: a car problem, a house issue, or parenting.
It teaches you to look at the situation as a whole and then break it up into smaller steps to create a plan. Being able to do this makes overwhelming situations much more manageable.
3. Improve Interpersonal Skills
When you work in coding, you’re working with other people. Almost every project you work on will involve collaboration with other people.
And you’re often working with a wide variety of roles and personalities, including coworkers, bosses, and outside stakeholders. You’ll learn how to communicate with each of these groups differently to move the project forward.
These skills will benefit you throughout your career. Anytime you’re working on a development project for someone else, you’ll need to be able to effectively communicate with them.
And this will also benefit you in your personal life, improving your interpersonal skills all around.
4. Be Able to Work Remotely
Another great benefit of working in the tech industry, specifically development, is that you can often work remotely. Wherever you are, whether on vacation, at a kid’s soccer game, or at home, if you have a solid internet connection, you can work.
If you’re a big traveler, coding can be a great career path for you because of the flexibility and ability to work from anywhere.
So if this interesting to you, definitely consider learning how to code. And if you really do want to learn software development, check out this course.
5. Become More Self-Sufficient
Have you ever been in a work situation where your team had too many tasks on their plate and not enough time? For most people, this is all day every day.
This happens all the time on development teams. That’s because big projects simply take time. From sketching out ideas, to programming every last line of code can take months for a large-scale endeavor.
So if you are on the sales or marketing team and need something done in terms of development, your dev team might not have the time to fit it in for a while.
Well, if you knew how to code, you could get that project done immediately, moving your team forward much sooner! In other words, learning how to code makes you more self-sufficient.
This way, you could build a landing page or create a marketing campaign on your own. If you are working on SEO for your company, knowing how to code means you could quickly make changes to the site’s code to improve site speed.
If you’re on the sales or support team, talking with clients daily, imagine how nice it would be to be able to answer technical questions without having to ask an engineer. That’s the case when you understanding coding. This will save time and also improve your worth to your company.
6. Increase Your Productivity
When you know how to code, or in other words, manipulate your computer to work better for you, you will see an increase in productivity. Imagine being able to automate basic tasks on your computer. This would save you time, letting you focus on bigger projects and more important items.
For example, you could create a program that makes answering emails much easier. You could also create something that helps you organize all your files, making you more efficient. Perhaps you could code a program that would help you keep your calendar more organized as well.
Have a more specific need? Chances are, you could code something for it. The possibilities here are really endless.
Final Thoughts
There you have it: 6 answers to the question, “Why learn to code?” Now that you’ve read through these ideas, it’s time to start the decision-making process.
Is learning to code the next step for you? Think about the pros and cons of your specific situation. In no time you could be on a whole new career path.
Have questions or want to learn more? Check out our blog full of ideas to improve your life.