Why Learn To Code?
Tags: career, startup, webdev
Published: 2020-11-23 19:16:57

If you get to do one thing for yourself, one investment for your future, it should be learning to code. "Software is eating the world", while giving people the independence they seek. Considering the change in the global landscape, which is accelerated because of the pandemic, you don't want to miss being part of the action.

I want to discuss the topic in 3 main axes:

* Intrinsic values and propositions of coding, what are the qualities and opportunities comes with it.
* Current and prospective market conditions, ever increasing demand and resulting supply crisis.
* Shifts happening in the internet era, in modern way of life and their effects on creating wealth and value.

Let's dive into it.

### Intrinsic Qualities of Coding

From the top of my head, I can list out several practical and obvious values:

* Coding helps with creativity, math and problem solving skills. These can overall lead to a more successful professional and personal life.
* Coding helps with understanding algorithms, patterns and organizations. This can lead to better planning skills, organizing thoughts, even to better academic performance.
* Coding doesn't discriminate. Everyone can learn it. There is no threshold to pass, there are no requirements. Everyone can do it.
* Coding is another language. In a way, it is the literacy of future. 

Apart from all these, maybe the most important thing to talk about is that it may be the most asymmetric leverage towards financial freedom in human history. 

Coding makes it possible to create something for yourself, by yourself. You need neither manpower, nor capital. Not anymore. It makes it easier to work on passion projects / side hustles. You can create apps without too much investment, whether it is time or money. And most importantly, when you build something, you can sell it infinitely. 

The possibility to create, have ownership, market and sell your products on your own terms is the game changer. Coding gives you the opportunity to be financially free.

### Market Reality

There is a also a huge demand for software in the market, and it will only increase in the future. Software is not even an industry itself, but it is an essential part of every industry. Every industry, every job, every process, every task can be digitalized and be carried out by a software or a robot. This digital transformation is happening for some time now, and it will continue in a growing pace in the future. Most of the work, if not all, will someday be carried out by autonomous robots.

Some of the industries, jobs and tasks have been around for hundred years. People have always adapted advancements in science and technology into their practice. Science and technology shaped the definitions of jobs. Same is true for software. Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape among other things, said: "Software is eating the world". I would highly suggest everyone to read his article here. 

Which also brings us to the next topic:

### Shifting Medium

Internet, especially social networks changed how we live. Not only that, they also transformed the way we think, the way we feel and everything else. The abundance of information and content, the destruction of entry barriers, the accessible and affordable infrastructure, etc., all of these things calls for us to create value and share it with the world.

Big percentage of information and value is created on the internet. Businesses are moving to internet. There are so many information, ideas, opinions, tv shows, movies, music, whatever you can think of... There is a huge abundance in everything you imagine. So much going on, even there is a need for people to tell us what to choose. There are curators, influencer, youtubers, streamers, etc. The shift has already happened! We are just lagging.

High value / High impact creation doesn't require big organizations and big investments anymore. Every six months or so, We hear another small team creating a multi billion dollar company. Traditional jobs are not creating much value anymore. 9-5 job hours are quickly becoming obsolete. People, calling themselves "Digital Nomads" are working over the internet, without a fixed location. More and more companies are adjusting their teams to remote working. Even future of money is shifting to a decentralized currency, according to many advocates of Bitcoin.

Would you want to miss the train, or embrace the possibility to create 100x, 1000x leveraged value on the internet, through code?

(Cover Photo by Oskar Yildiz / Unsplash)