Code Your Way To A Career: How Far Can You Go With Programming?
Written by Stephanie
February 9, 2023
“Any fool can write code that a computer can understand. Good programmers write code that humans can understand.” That was said by Martin Fowler, a British software developer who is a guru in the field of programming. They’re wise words for any aspiring computer programmer. Maybe you are that person?
Computer programming is understood as being “the process of writing code to facilitate specific actions in a computer, application or software program.” That code creates instructions that allows computer applications and software programs to operate as they should. Without that code (or computer language), computing systems will cease to function properly. Just imagine today’s world without IT!
So, what is the extent of the computer programming field? How far can you go with programming skills? This article will probe those questions for you.
Types of Programming Language
There is no single ‘computing language’. Instead, computer programming consists of a range of specific languages that allow programmers to execute specific tasks. For example, standard HyperText Markup Language or HTML is what you need to create websites and make them pop with things like text colours or hyperlinks that work. The structure of any website is hyper-dependent on HTML.
There’s also JavaScript, a computer scripting language used on most websites. Its used in both front-end (what you actually see on your screen) and back-end development (what goes on in the background). Javascript is central to what are known as the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). All those buttons we click and media we download on websites are thanks to Javascript.
Learning Coding is Not Rocket Science!
The good news is that languages like HTML and Javascript are relatively easy to learn. The even better news is that you don’t need a college degree in order to get into computer programming. Self-learning is indeed possible! First you need to learn one or more of the languages. You then need to learn data structures and algorithms. After that, a great step as a newbie is to build your portfolio. You can do so by being an active contributor/collaborator on open-source projects on platforms such as Github
A further boost to your computer programming credentials is to be knowledgeable on search engine optimization, or SEO. Knowing how to improve the rankings of websites on search engines in order to generate more traffic and conversion rates for them is powerful. It makes sense that you master SEO if you are to develop websites that create real results for clients.
The Continued Rise of Programming
Computer programmers have been in high demand for years now. You may not believe it but there will be nearly 29 million software developers worldwide by 2024, according to a study by Evans Data Corporation. Don’t be daunted by all that ‘competition’ – it obviously means there are plenty of programming jobs out there!
The upward trend in programming jobs should continue well into the future. In the United States, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has predicted that demand for software developers, for example, should grow by 22% from 2020 to 2030. That should mean 189,200 new job openings each year. Web development jobs should grow by 13% from 2020 to 2030, with nearly 18,000 new job openings each year. Those are pretty good stats!
What Jobs Can I Get With Programming?
There are various job categories to which those with programming skills can aspire. Of course, as with any field, there are jobs that are more complex and better-paid than others.
For starters, there are the more ‘entry level’ programming-related disciplines which you can think of getting into. As of 2022, these are jobs that can already earn a programmer in excess of $65,000 a year and include:
- Web Developer
- Computer Programmer
You then get those programming jobs for which more complex skills-sets are required and for which salaries above $80,000 are possible:
- Computer Systems Engineer
- Systems Analyst
- Programmer Analyst
As with any field, the more specialized the programming skills, the loftier the title and the better the pay, including these:
- Database Administrator
- Front-End Developer
- Mobile App Developer
- Software Developer
- Software Quality Assurance (QA) Engineer
Then there are those programming jobs that usually require years of experience and/or years of academic study. They can also pay well in excess of $100,000 a year:
- Business Intelligence Analyst
- Data Scientist
- Cloud Engineer
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Learn Programming on Yip!
Yip is definitely the platform you should consider if you want to take a few classes in the basics of programming. We are thrilled to offer not one but two programming and coding tutors at this time! Our programming gurus offer a variety of pick the classes from which you can choose. Learn online when you want and from where you want along with other students worldwide.
Our one tutor offers a class in which you can learn to use the main concepts of programming by doing exercises in Python, another important coding language. The same tutor also offers a course titled ‘Practical programming: Rock Paper Scissors’ in which you learn how to create a ‘Rock Paper Scissors’ game based on concepts learned in previous sessions. Sounds cool!
Our other tutor offers exciting lessons on PHP (or Hypertext Preprocessor, a general-purpose scripting language for web development). Knowing about PHP means having the best scripting solutions for the blogs, learning management system (LMS) platforms and e-commerce websites of clients.
‘To code or not to code, that is the question.’ Okay, we know that’s not how Shakespeare said it in Hamlet! But you may be asking yourself just that question. There are clearly opportunities out there if you have a knack for IT and want to become a programmer. Commence your journey by learning the fundamentals of computer programming right here on Yip. Your future awaits!
