When you think about a new career in coding, what comes to mind? Do you imagine working behind the scenes at a movie studio or fashion house? How do you imagine the remote job lifestyle? The deep satisfaction of improving a life-saving medical device? The systems and engineering mindset needed to build the dashboard controls for a new smart car?
Maybe you’re thinking of a coding job in a workplace where projects are different every day, like an ad agency building websites for global brands. You may even have an app idea that could change the landscape if only you knew how to make it. Whatever you think a coding career might be, you’re probably right — unless you think it’s boring.
Of course, every job has its boring moments, as well as stressful ones. The good news is, once you become a proficient coding specialist coder, you can begin to explore and decide on the types of coding projects that will help you thrive for years in your new career. The idea is to choose a career path that’s the right fit for your particular working style; it doesn’t necessarily have to be a programming job.
The variety of industries that hire programmers and developers is endless, from the energy industry to retail operations to manufacturing to social causes. The software your dentist uses to view your X-rays; the app that you use to order takeout; the computer in your car that lets you know your coolant is low; the playlist that syncs your phone to your home audio system — all of these cool innovations were made possible by teams of professional coders.
Remember, understanding a computer language, and writing code are not the only programming skills out there. The individuals who built those solutions to everyday challenges have lots of different titles, from web developer to mobile developer to software engineer, or even data scientist. They all work with code in their ways and have their career paths, with their obstacles and rewards. With so many career options that stem from a shared set of programming skills, the last thing the coding field could be called is boring. The real question: is coding the right fit for you?
Do you like learning new things?
Neuroscience reveals that our brains have something in common with technology: neither our brains nor tech are fixed but are instead constantly changing and evolving.
Experienced senior developers are constantly studying to learn new coding skills, as new programming languages like Python become widely used, and new applications are found for existing fields like machine learning.
Fortunately, job seekers don’t need a computer science degree to start a new programming career or learn a programming language. Many coders and developers are self-taught, using free or low-cost resources available at their local libraries or online such as Stack Overflow. Some seek out learning opportunities and coding experience at their current jobs, like volunteering to help maintain a business website or install a new database. Still, others invest in themselves by signing up for a coding bootcamp with live instruction, real-time code critiques, and built-in networking opportunities.
In the end, the programmers who are most successful in this field are the ones who continuously upskill and stay current with new developments in tech. What does this mean for you? It means that a demonstrated commitment to lifelong learning and a growth mindset as a computer programmer can be the key characteristic that sets you apart from other candidates for that first junior developer job!
Are you good at solving puzzles?
Can’t get enough of jigsaw puzzles, riddles, and crosswords? Your ability to quickly see patterns and solutions where others do not is a quality that could serve you very well in a software development or computer programming career. Successful engineers and developers have an excellent eye for detail, an essential skill in a field where a single misplaced bit of punctuation can stop an elite billion-user app dead in its tracks.
Is it stressful? Not for you, because you thrive on pursuing solutions when others have given up and find it deeply rewarding to help a team resolve wicked issues that no one could fix alone. Every bug is an interesting coding challenge, and every update a chance to make something good into something even better.
Are you a musician?
If you think composing and arranging music is fun, you’re likely to find programming to be fun as well, and a good fit for your skills. Studies show that playing music can help people learn more quickly and create more elegant and creative solutions to complex problems. Trained musicians and successful coders tend to share specific core competencies: a good memory for details, the ability to sort and prioritize an incredible amount of information, and the skill to recognize and tweak patterns. A musician with programming skills can be a great team asset, proficient in both creativity and code. There are even coding courses and workshops designed especially for musicians. Who knew?
Every musician understands the importance of practicing scales before you play your first concerto. In a line of work like programming, a great way to learn is to practice writing bits of code over and over, then begin to string those bits together in sequence until you’ve composed something wonderful and new.
Consider what makes you thrive in a workplace. There will be stressful days and boring days in whatever field you choose, and to stand out in any field requires hard work. But if finding patterns, solving puzzles, or taking small perfect bits and then using them to craft something larger and much more complex sounds enjoyable to you, buckle up — a new programming career may be exactly the path for you.