Every machine, every app, every website you visit has been through the programming process. What used to be a skillset considered highly technical and reserved for knowledgeable people is now widely accessible. Yet the demand for coders never seems to slow down.
If you’re wondering whether coding is a feasible career path, or planning to take coding courses. In that case, it might help your decision if you knew how recruiters are always welcoming coders and programmers. Here are a few reasons why coding proficiency remains the extensive skills recruiters are after.
1. There are opportunities from end to end
Should you be the programmer for a company, and provided that your skills are aligned with their needs, you can be tasked with developing proprietary software solutions for the company. From user interfaces to accounting software, the possibilities are endless. Since most of today’s programming languages are versatile in application–Python, JavaScript, and even C++ – people proficient in these languages can be infinitely useful for a company. This isn’t limited to the development, setup, and implementation. Even updates and modifications will require a certain level of skill.
Similarly, being a proficient coder doesn’t necessarily mean you have to do all the coding yourself. You can even serve as a consulting party or an in-house programmer. Usually, before companies implement a new program or software, it has to undergo a code review process. This is where all developers involved in the project, plus their colleagues, meet up and reassess the source code created.
By investing in your skills in coding proficiency, you can ensure that there are a lot of opportunities for you to learn, grow, and earn, even from a single company. It even assures you of career flexibility, some of them being extremely high-paying, in a global market that is rapidly shifting towards digitization. With enough experience and skills, you can even employ yourself as a consultant, which brings us to…
2. A shortage of programmers and coders
While this is a complicated issue that can not be attributed to a single source, the fact and the opportunities remain. Businesses are expected to feel the effects of a shortage among programmers, coders, software developers, and similar roles. Companies are starting to put a premium on these skills, which makes them among the top priorities for recruiters. Also, as companies are shifting more toward automation and interconnectivity. The need for IT and programming roles is continuously on the rise.
One issue that works to everyone’s advantage is that traditional companies hire coders, programmers, and developers in general with a heavy reliance on their formal education. However, since courses and materials have become accessible, there has been a steady increase of skilled and qualified coders without formal education in this particular area. This means that learning basic programming languages, even on your own or through online courses, can return a premium for your career. You can even shift to a programming-based job, regardless of where you come from.
3. Coding skills are associated with some desirable traits
Coding proficiency is an acquired skill from continuous learning and experience. To be good at it, you must have a certain attitude and behavior toward the activity–and this is something recruiters are looking for. It applies even to non-tech career opportunities, which makes coding proficiency still a useful asset for you to have. Even as a hobby, coding associates you with certain desirable traits that are important for a wide variety of roles.
Because coding is built upon achieving a desired functionality or design through lines of code. The code follows a specific structure or syntax. Writing programs on your own is generally taken to mean that you are capable of following structures or, better yet, solving problems on your own. For example, coding skills are typically associated with being logical and being a problem-solver. Additionally, coding proficiency is also widely associated with arithmetic capabilities, most likely because of their overlapping applications in computing.
Conversely, taking coding courses even as a hobby can help improve some of these traits. For example, a complex task can be broken down into simple parts, which would eventually lead you back to the essential functions you’ve learned early in your studies. By learning how to code, you are training your mind to respond in ways you probably never thought possible.
Conclusion
Regardless you’re looking at coding as a potential career, as a sideline, or even as a hobby, there will always be an added value for you as a prospective employee. This applies even as you try for positions that are not directly tech or programming. Working on your coding proficiency helps develop you as a professional and a person.
Written by: Chatty Garrate
