Learning To Code

If you are interested in learning how to code, then I would recommend giving it at least a try. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were over 2 million jobs in the IT field in 2018, and that number has definitely grown. Many jobs are being driven away by automated systems and computers. Learning programming skills is a great way to help you in a world that is driving towards automation.

Now, not every job is going to be replaced by a computer. There will always be jobs that require humans, and human interaction for those to be accomplished. However, almost every job will be affected by technology and computers in some way. It may be as basic as driving more businesses to have websites, or moving a bid system from paper to on the computer. Whatever it is, I can't think of a single profession that will not be affected in some way in the future (if it hasn’t already been).

Finding time to learn new skills is always a challenge as a parent. There are already limited minutes in the day, and adding on time to learn something new (and complicated) will require dedication. You can read up on some of our tips for learning new skills as a parent to help overcome some of those challenges.

Where to start learning to code

If you’re unsure sure where to code, or what you’re interested in, I’d recommend learning the very basics of web programming: HTML and CSS with some basic javascript. Understanding more about how the web works can be extremely helpful as you navigate and work on other websites. It can also be valuable if you ever want to build or create your own site as well.

There are a lot of free options out there for learning HTML and CSS. If you search for a basic tutorial, you can find many great resources, and most of them are relevant. If you’re unsure, then you may try the tutorials from MDN or FreeCodeCamp. Both have solid tutorials for beginners for free.

I’d complete all of the tutorials on the MDN (or FreeCodeCamp) website to make sure you have a really solid feeling around coding in HTML and CSS if you’ve never worked in it before, as well as beginning Javascript. Once you’re comfortable with all of the different tags and syntax, then you should move on to something a little more advanced.

Where to learn more advanced techniques to code

Once you’re comfortable with HTML and CSS, I’d move on to some more advanced building tutorials. CodeAcademy is a great resource  for this, and they offer a lot of content for free. They will take you through many different topics and tutorials for building websites. They will teach many of the important basics about how coding works in general as well.

I’d recommend their PHP or Javascript pathway - both languages are generally easier to grasp for beginners than other languages. You’ll have to do some research to understand all of the different platforms that are built on top of these languages (for example, you’ll see React and Angular thrown around - these are actually frameworks built in the Javascript language).

Regardless of the exact path you go down, I would highly recommend following a tutorial or enrolling in a course for this part - while HTML and CSS are quite straightforward, it’s important to have a more structured direction for learning about concepts of programming (such as loops, conditionals, and so forth).

Should I get a job as a programmer

If you’ve made it this far, and you find that you enjoy coding, then I would say you probably want to start preparing for a change in your career. You’re likely not ready to get into a programming job directly at this point, but if you’ve enjoyed the challenges of coding so far, then it’s time to commit and move to the next step.

There are a couple of directions that you can go with this. You can look at signing up for a program online that will take you through a more rigorous coding process, or you can look at going back to school. Obviously, going back to school is a bigger commitment, and it’s not completely necessary to get a coding career. However, it will certainly give you a stronger foundation.

Assuming that you’re not going back to school, make sure you do your research about the programs available for learning to code. They can often be expensive, and many times they will not deliver anything to you of huge value. There are reputable companies out there though.

Another option is to build your own websites or tools. This can be great to show off to prospective employers as you try to get into the field. If you're a person that has a lot of great ideas, or that has a good eye for design, then this can be a great option for opening doors into programming jobs.

Alternative paths for coding

You don’t have to go into web programming. While it’s generally the easiest path, and there’s a huge demand for it, it’s the path that many people will take. However, another popular path is going into mobile development. Phone apps are used by billions of people across the globe, and you can make really interesting and useful tools for a phone. Regardless of where you start, you should be doing HTML and CSS as your basic starting point as it will be needed for app development as well.

If you’re more analytical, you can focus more on database or scripting type languages. This is generally for those who are more math focused as it will require being able to make connections of data and understanding deeper patterns. This can be a lot of fun as well, but it’s definitely not for everyone.

Conclusion

Whether or not you take on programming, and learning a new skill, I’d highly recommend that you give it a try. Learning a few of the basics will help you understand an ever evolving technical world just a little bit more.