5 Reasons Coding is the Skill Everyone Should Have

1. To Bolster Their Career

Computer programming is no longer the domain of an exclusive few. Coding is quickly becoming an essential skill in the oversaturated post-millennial workforce. According to Glassdoor, out of 25 jobs this year, 8 are tech positions.

Tech skills now transcend traditional “tech positions” with half of all programming job openings arising in other industries, and with coding skills becoming a quintessential differentiator when working in Writing/Content, Product Management, UX/UI Design, and Marketing.

For some, coding is the perfect way to get unstuck in their careers.

Ashton Kutcher doesn’t just play one on TV, he’s trying to get the whole world coding.

2. To Become an Innovator

There is a growing trend of freelancers, journalists, media, marketing and product professionals learning to code. Not only because everyone from Karlie Kloss to Richard Branson to Ashton Kutcher now advocates for including coding in your tool kit—being code savvy increase your chances of landing a job with a $22,000 annual salary increase. It is also fast becoming an essential skill for those with freelance or entrepreneurial ambitions.

According to a 2016 survey 40% of new coders enrolled in bootcamps or similar programs were motivated by a desire to either go freelance or start their own business. The willingness to learn coding indicates inherent character traits associated with successful innovators. What’s more, the practice of coding cultivates a dynamic approach to problem-solving that is crucial to personal and professional growth.

3. To Think Like a Developer

Developers who create the apps we interact with on a daily basis look at bugs as opportunities to improve their product. Problems are individual stars in a constellation that patterns the way towards a more identifiable and illuminated structure. The identification of those problems is what allows a more resilient system to emerge.

Design Thinking is a strategy used by web developers to improve upon a product or experience. Its format has also been adopted for personal growth and expansive career options through the lens of Odyssey planning, where the lesson is that we can transcend self limitation and become adaptive learners. The underlying idea is that identifying problems is an essential part of moving forward.

Dewey Schunk is the account manager at Maz Digital. He connects media companies to a broader audience by developing their mobile apps. Schunk is not a programmer per se but after attending the most recent bootcamp at Reboot labs, he found himself more able to communicate clearly with the development team as well as his clients. Knowing the language of coding, even in its most basic terms, can mean the difference between seamless communication and dissatisfaction.

4. Zen and the Art of Digital Maintenance

Coding is not easy, but the benefits are myriad. Hannah Sinclair from Sydney, Australia enrolled in a bootcamp to challenge herself and learn a new skill. She found it formidable but accessible, even as someone with no tech background (Sinclair is a twenty-something journalist specializing in education).

“Coding is tedious, requires extreme attention to detail and often leaves you feeling at your wits’ end. But it can also be extremely rewarding.” For a journalist working in the age of digital media, learning a new language was compelling. “The publishing mechanism of the future is the Internet, so why shouldn’t journalists know more about it?”

5. To Discover the Growth Mindset

Where are busy professionals learning to code? “It’s different for everyone,” says Nate Cooper, who’s been teaching coding for decades in corporate settings, at coding intensive schools, and lately at the bootcamp and professional learning community he founded, called Reboot. “Our Coding Bootcamp is geared towards people who are looking to get unstuck in their careers and are forward-thinking about their next steps.”

“It’s all about the Growth Mindset: getting to a space where you can take measured risks. Coding comes down to constantly learning. And people from all backgrounds have that sort of drive and desire to keep learning. I love seeing that magic happen with inspired people who take that leap.”

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Heather C. Meehan is a freelance writer and educator based in Brooklyn NY. Her spare time is spent cycling or writing essays about fried eggs functioning as a metaphor for interpersonal relationships.