Ten reasons why you should learn to code even if you aren’t working in a tech job

So I did a thing back in October and started a nine week coding bootcamp with @Le Wagon — it was every bit terrifying as you would expect it to be for someone with zero coding knowledge . However, thanks to my amazing lecturers and batch-mates, I reached the end of the bootcamp and developed cool apps during the bootcamp that I’m pretty proud of. These apps include a food expiry reminder app for reducing food waste, a cafe marketplace app that connects coffee lovers and a cocktail organiser app (if anyone is interested in checking out any of these apps, please reach out).

For those who are interested, the bootcamp is a nine week, full time, full stack web development bootcamp (more info here 👉 Le Wagon). Due to the pandemic, the bootcamp takes the format of a hybrid bootcamp with both students on-site in the classroom and remotely dialling in to the lecture. Cue group photo on Zoom — standard 2020 things 👌

The completion of the nine week bootcamp made me reflect on my coding journey so far and the importance of picking up these skills. Therefore, to avoid writing a never ending article on the benefits of learning to code, I’ve come up with a list based on my experiences in the bootcamp of ten reasons why you should learn to code even if you aren’t working in a tech job.

Here are ten reasons why you should learn to code even if you aren’t working in a tech job.

1. Learning a future-proof skill in the digital age where every industry is impacted by technology will always be beneficial. All wins, no losses! 🙌
2. Build problem solving skills that is transferrable to literally every job out there. Coding is not just about writing computer functions, it’s more about figuring out ways to solve problems and implementing these solutions via code.
3. Flex creativity muscles that may not have been flexed in some time, especially if your job doesn’t require a high level of creativity. There are limitless ways of coding and solving problems through your code, everyone’s brain work differently to solve the same problem.
4. Join a great community with unparalleled support. I encountered some problems during final project week and submitted my first question on stack overflow, a forum for all things coding, there were replies overnight and everyone was really eager to help.
5. Develop continuous learning habits by taking the first step to learn one coding language (think snowball effect where you continue to pick up more and more coding languages/coding skills).
6. Improve ability to self learn — a large majority of the bootcamp was learning through doing (i.e. picking up skills in the actual process of coding on your own while refining search skills to find the answers to your questions) which prepares you for learning coding (or any other skills) on your own time.
7. Build perseverance and patience when facing not only coding problems, but problems encountered in your non-techy job. Coding is cyclical where you are writing code, testing code then fixing code but sometimes you end up spending hours fixing bugs. I’m not going to lie, it is a tedious process which is why it’s so important to be patient and persevere through it.
8. Ability to bring your visions to reality. Regardless of whether you become a developer to bring your ideas to life through code, a basic knowledge of coding makes it easier for you to understand which technologies could be useful for your ideas and the logic behind how your product could be built.
9. Vast job opportunities — the age of technology and technological growth is nowhere near the end and the ability to code/an understanding of coding is in high demand. Even if you’re not in a techy job, coding knowledge helps you to familiarize yourself with software, applications, and websites process and subsequently to grasp and adopt new technology tools faster.
10. Last but not least, anyone can code! Because of the age/background agnostic nature of coding, it’s a skill that can be picked up by literally anyone as long as they are committed to it. (Proof: an 84 year old grandma in Japan self learnt coding and developed a five star mobile app Link to Article 🙌)

And that’s all folks — thank you for taking the time to read through my first article. If you have any questions about learning to code with zero background in tech, please feel free to reach out to me. Always happy to answer any questions!

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Ariel Xu is a business and tax advisory consultant based in 📍Shanghai, venturing into the world of tech. With nine weeks of coding bootcamp training under her belt, she’s ready to take on the tech world one step at a time. Connect with Ariel on LinkedIn.