To most people, coding seems like a secret art that only computer geniuses are capable of. We can only fathom the speed with which they write their codes. Understanding their jargon alone would take us years, we think.
In reality, coding is not all that daunting. In fact, it’s fairly simple to learn the basics. Coding is perhaps the most useful and valuable skill to possess in today’s job market. There seem to be endless positions for software engineers and computer science majors.
Many high profile entrepreneurs agree that coding is a skill that should be taught, or at the very least, offered at every school. Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are only two of many influential figures who have backed code.org’s initiative to expand computer programming education. On the website’s homepage, there’s a petition urging people to sign in support of encouraging schools to offer coding classes. The site also points you toward several websites that can teach you how to code.
I am a huge proponent of self-teaching, and this was right up my alley. Of the teach-yourself links, I like Code Academy the best. It is taught step-by-step and explains everything in layman’s terms.
First you learn how to write headings and paragraphs, and to insert links into a webpage. You can see the results of your coding immediately, which motivates you to continue on to the next lesson.Once you begin the process of learning, coding does not seem quite so esoteric or difficult. And with all of the resources to teach yourself, I do not see why anyone would not take advantage of them. So many startups rely on the ability to code. There is usually an idea person and a person who can make it a reality. Wouldn’t it be great to be both the idea hatcher and the coder?
It seems ridiculous that coding is not taught to a larger audience. I was never exposed to coding, and I never understood the opportunities being able to code would provide. I am deep into the lessons on Code Academy, and I recommend self-teaching to anyone with even a smidgen of motivation. It will be well worth your time and effort.