Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that everyone and their mother is obsessing over coding. It’s becoming an incredibly important skill for students to have, almost as important as reading, writing, and math. With coding experience, your job opportunities are almost endless, especially as a woman or other minority. But what is coding, and why is it so important?
Coding, also known as computer programming, is what makes it possible for us to create software, apps, and websites. It’s a way for you to “communicate” with a computer. You’re probably thinking, “Don’t I ‘communicate’ with my computer everyday? I use the internet and different software programs all the time,” which is true. You are right. But with coding skills, you can create something from scratch, or modify something else. With code, you can create a website, or develop an iPhone app, or create a computer game, or… anything! The possibilities are endless!
Computer science is usually portrayed in movies as people sitting in dark rooms, typing gibberish and watching floods of numbers on the bright screen. Computer science is really just studying and learning how computers work, and how to interact with them. It requires problem solving skills, and “thinking out of the box.”
So why should you care? According to MadeWithCode, “only 0.4% of female college freshman plan to major in computer science.” In a field that’s constantly growing, and with a population so poorly represented, many of our ideas can’t be included in new creations. This includes technology, city planning, and governments!
Computer science sounds intimidating, and as a major, I can tell you that it does require a lot of work, but it is very rewarding. If computer science is not for you, fear not! Learning to code is easy and fun! There are lots of different websites online, like Codecademy and Code.org, which provide tutorials and independent classes to teach you basical coding skills. If you’re interested, you can take an Intro to Computer Science course or any other courses your university offers.
For more information on how to get started, or just to learn more about women and coding, check out these sites: