Why I'm Learning to Code and You Should Too

At the beginning of the year, I wrote a post about my goals for the year. I had many, and so I've been working on tackling them piece by piece. One of my monetary goals was to learn a monetizable skill with which I could start a side-hustle. I discerned coding as a great option for me, and here's why.

Accessibility

Learning how to code is not an easy endeavor, but that does not make it inaccessible. I would argue coding is one of the most accessible skills to learn due to the sheer amount of information on the internet about the topic. I realized this and seized the opportunity.

There's a multitude of online databases which hold online classes, on top of YouTube and Google which already contain a sizeable amount of free information. The one thing that YouTube/Google lacks is organization. Learning is not necessarily hard, but it can be confusing without a logical progression through different code. Online databases solve that.

I use Udemy personally, although I know of others such as Skillshare, Masterclass, etc. that provide the same style of courses. I purchased a course for $20 with over 40 hours of lectures and built-in projects. You can't beat it.

Demand in the Workplace

Nowadays, everything is moving online. Ever since the early 2000s, the internet has been the revolutionizing factor of the world. As time flows on, more and more things will be on the internet. More demand means more supply is needed; that's where I come in.

Regardless of your goals, coding is something that raises your internal value. Of course, if you don't prescribe to capitalism and providing value in business, this may not be the same factor to you as it has been for me.

For me, I don't know exactly what I want. I am going to Texas A&M next year for business (Mays Business School at Texas A&M), but I don't have any desire to work an office job for the rest of my life. I feel like I have too many things to do, whether that be starting my own company or just exploring the world.

Luckily, coding will help me regardless. Coding in business is good for automating and innovation. Outside of business, coding helped me build this website, and that's just the beginning of what coding can do.

Location Independence and Freelance Ability

So, assuming I don't settle down and work a 9-5, being location independent is very important to me. Location independence is exactly what it sounds like: not being dependent on any specific location. It's the freedom to live wherever I want and go wherever I want. Having a job in person is location-dependent. Having a job online is not.

The beauty in coding (and online work in general) is that I can freelance. Freelancing is jumping from project to project instead of working for one company. I can be self-employed and pick and choose the work I do, assuming there is sufficient demand for my work.

With this, you can live anywhere you want. I want to live in New York City? If I have a feasible amount of income, I'm there. I want to live in Europe? If I have the necessary visas, I'm there. Nobody controls my location because I do my work online.

That's the end goal, anyway.

Creative Outlet

While coding may be viewed as something for STEM students and nerds, it's more than that.

To me, coding can be a creative outlet in and of itself, as well as allow me to access other creative outlets. By learning some code, I've been better able to manage my blog and understand how it functions.  After I have sufficient knowledge, I'm going to recode the entire blog and design it myself (I'm currently using a template).

Think of it like this: it's a tool for me to create my vision, whatever that vision morphs into. That's priceless.

Why You Should Learn to Code

I think everyone should learn to code for the four reasons mentioned above. I doubt anyone has ever learned code and later regretted it. It's a powerful skill to have, and especially valuable in today's world.

I know many friends who have no intention of working a 9-5 job for the rest of their life; it's not inherently bad but they simply don't have that interest. I'm going to take the liberty in assuming that if you're reading this, you're probably similar to me and my friends in that regard. We have dreams and need a solution.

Coding can be that solution for many, so I would encourage you to give it a shot.

For those interested in learning a bit more, here are the three markup/programming languages I've been working on learning. I didn't even know the difference between any of these to begin with, so it goes to show you don't need any prior knowledge to learn, although it may lessen the learning curve slightly.

1. HTML, which stands for HyperText Markup Language. HTML holds the content of a webpage or application. This includes the title, the actual text, images, hyperlinks, etc. HTML by itself produces an unaesthetically-pleasing look, so we add on CSS.
2. CSS, which stands for Cascading Style Sheets. CSS formats and styles the HTML to make content easier on the eyes. Once CSS is in place, the website or application has the necessary content and design but remains dysfunctional. Cue JavaScript.
3. JavaScript is the only programming language out of the three (the others are markup languages). JavaScript programs websites and applications for them to function. For example, if you click a button and are moved to a new page, that is JavaScript. Without the programming, nothing would happen.

There are hundreds of different coding languages available to learn; these are just commonly used and so I settled on these. They suit my needs more than any other language would. Find one that appeals to you and give it a go!