Learning to code would change your life significantly

Hannah Blair encountered an additional complication when determining which A-levels to take. Hannah went to an all-girls school that didn't have the coding and programming course she wanted, given the fact that a joint all-boys school did. Even if they were under the same roof, the girls' school had IT and the boys' school had an actual computer course, so I switched over to the boys' school to do it, Hannah reveals. 

Her dedication paid off, and she obtained a computer science degree from the University of Surrey in 2018. Hannah was accepted into the Deutsche Bank graduate program and has since worked as a freelance developer for start-ups and is now a senior developer at virtual event company Hopin. Software production is a competitive business with numerous rewards, so it was a wise career option.

Hannah Blair. Credit: BBC

What programming language to learn is largely determined by your objectives. Python is a strong, general-purpose language that is often taught to undergraduates in computer science courses as the first language. Python is commonly used in industry; for example, YouTube is mostly written in Python. Ruby is a flexible language that is popular with start-ups.

Whatever programming language an aspiring programmer prefers, there are various tools available online to assist others who are self-teaching. Under any coding case, a platform like freecodecamp.org can help you learn and even though you already know the language, you can develop your skills by using this tool/website.

Many of these have opened up in recent years, delivering extensive classes aimed at equipping participants with the expertise they'll need to obtain their first job. Regardless of the direction taken towards coding, it is important to ensure that so-called softer capabilities are not overlooked.

A man looking at his computer. Credit: Getty Images

Carl Mungazi studied journalism at university and worked for four years as a local journalist in Luton before moving to a developer role in 2016. His interest in coding arose from a need to produce a local news aggregator, similar to what he'd seen mainstream newspapers do.

"I wanted to basically find a way of being able to track the news being published in Luton," - Carl reveals.

Carl taught himself JavaScript, a programming language used for creating websites, with the assistance of a developer buddy who made the back end. When the news initiative fell through, it also resulted in the start of a new career path. 

According to Stack Overflow, one of the major coder communities on the Internet, many computer programmers are self-taught rather than graduates of coding "boot camps" or enterprise qualification programs operated by major technology companies.

These numbers were released as part of the website's annual survey for 2016. Stack Overflow is a website where developers can inquire and answer coding questions. It has over 4 million registered users. More than 50,000 developers from 178 countries took part in the study.

The user interface of the Stack Overflow website. Credit: Google Image Search

Hannah Blair found that participating in hackathons at university was a great way to enhance her transferable abilities and meet new people. "Even if you're not heavily involved in the development of the product itself that you pitch at the end, there are just so many skills that you can take away," Hannah mentions.

When applying for positions, having a public presence to demonstrate your work can be beneficial. GitHub is one of the places where you can show off your previous work; there are repositories that people have created, and in those repositories is usually source code.

Having a mentor to motivate you is another place where you can get a lift, and it may be your computing career's hidden weapon. For a newly trained coder, finding their first job may be the most difficult task. In many sectors, networking will help you make the important first encounters.

JavaScript code. Credit: Google Image Search

However, the difficulties of obtaining that first job, especially for career changers, should never be underestimated. It's a difficult task that will test your emotional strength, so if you can get through it, it will significantly improve your life. Finally, regardless of which way taken into the profession, a consistent commitment and enthusiasm for coding and programming must be shown.

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