If you’re thinking about learning how to write code, you should know that it’s a useful skill — even if you don’t want to make a living as a programmer. There are lots of benefits to learning how to code, beyond preparing you for a career in computer science. Here are 5 benefits of learning to code that you might never have considered.
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Allows You to Truly Understand Technology
You’ll be working with technology in virtually every job you ever get, even if the majority of your time is spent on physical labor. It’s extremely valuable to truly understand technology as you prepare to enter the workforce, and coding will help you gain that understanding.
Understanding how to use technology and understanding how technology works are two different things. You can understand how to navigate a website without knowing how the website works. Getting familiar with how underlying code works will help empower you learn how to use new technology and build your comfort around related skills.
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Boosts Problem-Solving Abilities and Resilience
When you learn to program, you learn very quickly that if there’s an error in your code, your program simply won’t work. When that happens, you need to problem-solve and figure out why the program isn’t working and what you can do to fix it. The process of fixing your code will make you a better coder and increase your ability to problem-solve in any context.
Not only does coding and fixing problems with your code help you build your ability to problem-solve, but it also helps you learn to work through frustration, build resilience, and ultimately succeed. Resilience will serve you well in every area of your life, from school to work and even personal relationships.
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Qualifies Some Students for Scholarships
Because coding is an in-demand skill, many organisations and individuals currently offer scholarships for students who want to learn how to code, especially minority and female programming students. These scholarships are offered to help close gender and race gaps in the tech industry, which continues to exclude many groups and could greatly benefit from diversity and inclusion efforts.
Historically, many groups have been left out of the highest-paying industries, including tech. Scholarships aim to change that trend by empowering and encouraging people of different backgrounds to study coding.
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Builds Confidence and Creativity
Learning a new skill like coding is a great way to build confidence. Creating something yourself — whether it’s a loaf of bread or a simple web application — can help you feel more confident in yourself and your own abilities. When you learn how to code, you learn that you can accomplish difficult tasks and you empower yourself to build and create all kinds of things.
There are so many ways you can use coding knowledge, from building a website to creating your own video game. Having the ability to build programs from scratch will give you the tools you need to bring your creativity to life.
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Can Open Up New Career Possibilities
Learning to code can also help you unlock new career options and job opportunities. While you probably know that learning to code is absolutely essential for getting a job as a software developer or engineer, coding is also an important skill in fields like data analysis. Learning how to code will give you a lot of career flexibility.
If you dream of working abroad, learning how to code can help you become competitive in the global job market, as well. Being fluent in a foreign language isn’t always necessary to land a coding job overseas since code is universal all over the world. With the strong global demand for developers, being a talented programmer could be your ticket to getting a visa for a new adventure.
The Bottom Line: Knowing How to Code Will Only Become More Valuable
These days, coding is a skill that will make you more competitive in the job market as a whole. Knowing how to code will give you more options, flexibility, and earning potential.
There are many employers looking for people who have coding skills, even for jobs like marketing. Now that tech has become so important in every industry, it’s only a matter of time before coding will be an essential basic skill to succeed in the workforce.
If you have the time and interest in learning how to code, it’s a good idea to get started as soon as you can. There are lots of great resources online for getting started, especially for the more popular and in-demand languages. Jump in and start coding to unlock the benefits!
