Why you should learn to code in 2020 before graduation
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the lifestyles of college students all around the world. Normally, you’d likely have a summer job or internship during the summer months. Maybe you’d take some time to travel or relax on a beautiful beach.
Unfortunately, that’s not happening this year.
Given the harsh reality that we are huddled indoors for the foreseeable future, what are some ways you can maximize the ROI of your spare time whilst still feeling some modicum of productivity?
How about you learn how to code?
If you didn’t know by now, learning to code can only increase your chances of employability in today’s super competitive markets. Adding tech literacy to your CV is a sound investment with the fantastic ROI.
The Job Market Shift
The job market has seen major shifts over the last few decades. Everybody says that coding is the future but nobody explains why. The World Economic Forum mentions that 7 out of the top 10 emerging jobs in 2022 relate to technology and coding.
Coding equips you to work in fields like web development, data science, software engineering and blockchain. Each field requires technical skills that differ from the others. Check out the most popular fields in tech here.
While technology will replace 75 million jobs, it will help form 133 million new jobs. You can work in one of the top emerging careers if you have the will and discipline to do so.
Why Learn To code?
1. The salary
The salaries for coders are attractive. Here is a salary breakdown for different tech careers in Hong Kong.
Maybe you want the flexibility to be a freelancer at some point, which can give you flexibility in work hours and even competitive income. The average annual income for IT and Programming freelancers in the United States is 68,292 in USD.
You don’t need to be a freelancer to work remotely, however. Companies are expected to continue to allow employees to work remotely even after the pandemic is over. Facebook has announced plans to make this a reality for 50% of their employees.
2. Coding helps you think better
You will significantly develop your logical reasoning and problem-solving when writing and ordering lines of code. This can also help you solve problems from scratch in unique ways.
As Bill Gates, the Co-founder of Microsoft, has said: “Learning to write programs stretches your mind, and helps you think better, creates a way of thinking about things I think is helpful in all domains.”
A LinkedIn research on 1200+ CEOs shows that Computer Science is the number 1 field of study for CEOs. This is especially interesting because “Consultant” is the most popular first job for them, which shows how coding helps in people’s way of thinking logically.
3. Become an entrepreneur
With your new coding skills, you will be equipped to kickstart a new tech startup that could become a unicorn in a few years (or at least more equipped than you whttps://www.bitmex.com/app/trade/XBTUSD), GoGoVan and Klook. These startups and many more make the entrepreneurship ecosystem stronger with every new player.
Believe it or not,you can become an entrepreneur with minimal tech skills. If you want to know more, check out this article.
4. Coding helps you in your non-tech career
You can benefit from your coding background in most careers out there. These are 3 examples of careers that are being disrupted by coding.
A) Marketing
Marketing didn’t require any coding background a few years ago. Now, coding is very helpful for gathering and analyzing insights about your customers. Because of this, data analysis is the top skill required from new hires by many employers. There are other benefits from having a coding background that you can find here.
B) Sales
With a coding background, you can work as a salesperson for SaaS, EdTech or Fintech companies. This is because you can explain the product to your customers, which gives you more credibility when selling. You can also help them with any technical difficulties they are facing which makes them more comfortable using your product. To know more about the languages and level of coding skills you need, read this article.
C) Finance
A lot of our students at Xccelerate come from a finance background. The reason is that there are so many applications for coding in finance like in creating banking software. If you want to work in finance, Python is the best language for finance.
What should your next steps be?
Now that you know you need to learn to code, it is important to set a plan. Quarantine has given us more free time and fewer distractions, which is perfect for starting your learning experience.
The first step is you should know which programming language you need to learn. This decision depends on what you want to do with your coding skills and which fields you are interested in. To know which language to learn, check out the 10 Best Programming Languages That Can Land You A Job in 2020.
When deciding how to embark on your learning journey, consider the commitment in terms of time, energy and money. A coding bootcamp is arguably the fastest way to become a professional coder. In most coding bootcamps, you can study for up to 16 weeks before graduation. The duration depends on the level you want to reach. Here are 5 things that make Xccelerate your best coding bootcamp choice since it guarantees top quality of your learning.
Online courses and books are very useful, but it is difficult to stay committed till the end. Coding games use gamification, which helps you learn with minimizing the boredom and enhancing the fun.
Conclusion
There are a lot of things that have changed in the job market because of COVID-19. To increase your chances of finding a job after graduation, you must gain skills that will remain in-demand for a very long time. Learning to code could be the best thing that you could do for yourself in your career early on.
There are many ways to start your learning journey. You must choose the most suitable method for you to guarantee your success.
Xccelerate Full-Time Immersive Course
- Data Science & Machine Learning Immersive Bootcamp
- Full-Stack Software Engineering Immersive Bootcamp
- Full-Stack UX Design Immersive Bootcamp
Need more advice?
If you are at a choice point in your career and need someone to help you navigate professional challenges. You can make an appointment to our complimentary 1-on-1 Career Consultation and receive personalised career advice.
