Why I finally decided to learn how to code

To most people, learning a coding language feels like a daunting and overwhelming feat. Watching someone perform the simplest tasks in the terminal seemed impossible to comprehend. It was like watching Neo from the Matrix. I was one of those people. Despite the intimidation, I was always intrigued about coding, but it wasn’t until the Covid-19 pandemic hit that I finally decided to take the red pill.

For me, the decision to get into coding was not about the code itself, (although I very much enjoy writing code) it was the benefits that the occupation could potentially provide. As of me writing this, the pandemic is not over. Many people’s lives have been affected in the wake of the 2020 pandemic. I lost my job. Many businesses have gone, and continue to go out of business. Companies have raced to pivot and create a productive work-from-home environment. In this process, many of those companies have looked to the web dev and tech industry. Those companies seem to have possessed the capabilities to pivot faster and make the work-from-home transition more seamless. This is what interested me.

There have been debates over whether people enjoy working from home. At the end of the day, it comes down to peoples’ personal preferences. Either way, I think it is going to stick around. Especially in industries that are structured well for it; the coding industry being one of them. I have taken quite a liking to the idea of being untethered from the office. We in North America have looked to our European colleagues in envy. Better work hours, better benefits, and 5 weeks paid vacation. While I am not expecting these perks to cross the pond any time soon. I do believe the growing remote workplace movement can help to level the playing field slightly. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to switch to coding. The industry seems to be leading the work-from-home movement. Already, Shopify and Twitter have declared that employees don’t need to come back to the office. I like that flexibility.

The other reason I chose to learn to code was its evergreen quality. Before the pandemic, I was interning at an advertising agency. During a recession, the marketing companies tend to get hit the hardest. It is the easiest thing to cut from the budget, making the whole industry quite volatile. I wanted something that was more recession and pandemic proof. While I was sitting at home unemployed, I would read the news and see that web development and tech were getting more business than ever. With everyone staying inside, the online traffic increased, creating more business. It was at this point I decided I wanted to be part of that thriving industry.

I am determined to be successful in this industry. I am loving code and want to absorb as much as I can. What makes me more excited is all the possibilities on the horizon. Will the switch to to coding pay off? Only time will tell. The journey has been amazing so far, and I’m ready for more.