Coding to a better life: Learning the skill for potential growth

For many people, learning to code was one of the best decisions in their life. Hanna Blair is a great example. She attended an all-girls school where IT was available. But for boys, there is full-fledged computer science. She couldn't help but put herself in a position where learning to code or getting into programming is the priority. She joined the all-boys course, and it seriously took a turn for the best. After completing her computer science degree in 2018, she secured a Deutsche Bank graduate scheme spot. Hannah now works as a full-time freelance developer and also as a senior virtual developer at Hopin.

Carrier in software development or programming has to be a choice taken after the fact there is a lot of grinding involved. Plenty of people will advise for choosing a programming language to start with, but to be honest, it differs from person to person. For a mobile developer in the IOS sector, Objective C or Swift is an excellent choice of learning. But for Android, it's Java and C or C++. So, you can see, just in the mobile sector, there are vast options. Now there is Machine learning, AI, desktop application, database, web application and plenty more. A sweet spot to find which will suit someone better is to see what interests them most.

Professional or Hobbyist

According to PayScale, a salary comparison website, an average developer makes around £53,000 annually. It's good money because there are lots of opportunity and spot for more. Resources for learning to code is also immersive. There is both free and paid option regarding what someone wants to get more out of a session. It is easy for someone who is just at school to pick up a language from a tutorial site for next to nothing, and there is also YouTube. Lots of trainers and professionals who are working high paying jobs offer their suggestions. Even paid course sites offer free courses every now and then, and who wouldn't want that?

An adult who is just looking to get into the tech industry, a student willing to learn the latest language or a hobbyist, everyone falls under the student category when it comes to programming. Just a computer with internet access is enough to get feet wet in this vast world. Many students majoring in a wide variety of subjects take part-time programming courses to improve soft skills. Even if you want to learn how computers work from the inside and prefer logic, you'd have quality time. As every programmer say, no matter how good you are at your craft, you'd have to google every once in a while. There are plenty of solutions online for a simple problem, and communities of different languages are eager to help others. Microsoft's GitHub, or Stack Overflow, even Reddit has dedicated hubs for coders.

As pandemic made many people work from home, guess who had the easiest time in the transition? It's the programmers who spend long hours at desks going through complex codes. Large platforms like YouTube, Netflix is primarily written in Python. Automation, algorithm is also a great example. If you want to build your website from scratch, HTML & CSS is enough. But to add advanced functionality like payment system, animations, & effect requires JavaScript. So, it is a great place to start.

Many youngsters who play video games are interested in building their games. Unity and C# makes things easy for small development studios of a solo learner. Unreal Engine is for advanced game programmers and large studios. After practising for a while and having an exciting project to show for can be used as a portfolio. Companies require real-life knowledge rather than a fancy degree, but in someplace, it is the only option to get started. Cloud computing companies, managed service providers, large tech companies hire people all the time who knows how to code. And even now, if you search for jobs in this market, you'll see lots of vacant spots to be filled.

Many boot camps sprung up in recent years. They offer intensive courses to participants with curtail job skills in the field. The Odin Project, FreeCodeCamp are platforms with free resources. Many companies want certification from these vendors as portfolio requirements. Applying basic knowledge for jobs is not sufficient. Even if they are duplicates of the popular application, real-world projects show the maturity of a candidate. Learning to problem-solve should be the first step in this giant tree. Someone with basic knowledge of how things work and what are the command types that computers recognise helps widen the area of expertise. Going through lines of codes may look gibberish, but once you accept and understand the fundamentals, it's like reading through a storybook of logic. Hour of Code became a popular trend as it pushes people to code at least an hour a day. Which helps to keep motivated, and it is the key.

Many programmers prefer reverse-engineering someone else's code to see how that functions. There are tons of open-source resources available on the web. You have to find the one appropriate for your task. VS Code, Microsoft Visual Studio, Sublime Text, Notepad++ IDE's (Integrated Development Environment) are suitable for beginners and professionals to write code. Having a public profile is essential to highlight carrier works and applying for roles in the IT sector. Also, finding a mentor is like using a cheat code. But the process is challenging nonetheless. Pushing mental and physical barriers further is the key to stay ahead of the curve.