Computers are amazing pieces of engineering and technology, and we interact with computers in almost every aspect of life in a given day. Not only do we interact with computers on a daily basis but we also interact with software everyday. When you wake up in the morning and check your social media accounts, when you play games on your phone, when you send a text, when you write a paper for school on the computer– that is all software. Have you ever wondered how all of this works? How when you upload a photo to Instagram and it suddenly becomes visible to all of your followers within seconds? The answer is code, which is the language that computers speak, and just like a spoken language, you can become fluent in different languages of code to essentially speak with computers.

One reason why many people learn to code is to be able to work in the tech industry, which is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. A software engineer has the potential to make $50,000 to millions of dollars each year. In America the average salary for a software developer is $103,620 according to US News. It is also listed as the #1 job in America on the US News list of the 100 Best Jobs in America. 

There is currently a worldwide shortage of qualified software engineers and developers, and people who are going to college for computer science are getting job offers in their junior year to work for tech companies as soon as they graduate. Many of the largest tech companies have entire recruiting divisions that go to colleges all around America to find the best young programmers and offer them jobs with top pay straight out of college, or even when they are in the junior or senior year. 

Coding is the new art medium which is giving millions of people the freedom of expression and creativity just as a painter would have with paint and brushes and a blank canvas. Coding gives you that freedom of exploration and creativity that can lead to you building a website or an app that you can express your creativity through. If you have ever had an idea for a new piece of software that you feel so passionately about, coding allows you to build something that is yours for fun that has the potential to lead to financial gains for yourself. 

Coding has been known to increase a person’s ability to solve logic problems and also for them to become better problem solvers. One of the qualities that a good coder has is the ability to look at a problem and think of a solution that is logical and applicable to the problem at hand. This is something you can aquire throughout time as a coder or a programmer because coding is a large majority of problem solving mixed in with math and logic. 

Tech is one of the fastest growing and largest industries in the world. There is such a demand for jobs in the tech industry and with a job growth rate of 17% and the ever increasing online presence people have the need for people who are skilled programmers (or coders) has never been higher. It is fun but challenging and something that anyone of any age may learn and can serve you throughout your entire life and or career.