If you’re thinking that coding is just for the young, think again. More and more, established and experienced professionals are enrolling in coding bootcamps to learn how to become computer programmers. They do so for a many reasons, but the desire to stay up to date with technology is one of the strongest motivators.
One reason older professionals choose to leave their jobs and become coders is that they want to understand coding to sharpen their general understanding of coding. Companies hire in-house coders to bring new products to the market, and project managers and marketers, for example, can benefit from knowing how apps and websites are built. This will help them communicate more clearly with programmers and with end users of the products the companies sell. When they understand the needs and expectations of those who will build and use the products, they can better help create well-thought-out and popular products.
Paul Sullivan of The New York Times reported in March 2014 that Patsy Price, a 57 year-old Google employee, left her six-figure position to learn to code. Why? She felt out of touch with the technology that the teams she was managing were creating. She knew that she would take a serious cut in pay by leaving her job, but the enjoyment she gets out of her job now makes it worth the struggle of learning to code and leaving her lucrative former position.
While the pool of coders typically is male and young, Price didn’t let that stop her from learning to code. She also faced the problem of a potential employer wondering what she made at her job with Google. She replied that it wasn’t important; she expected to receive the $60,000-$80,000 salary that a junior developer made, despite her experience in the technology field.
Some companies, like partners of DevelopIntelligence, are happy to have individuals with significant prior experience in other fields on their teams. They come with a wealth of insight and knowledge that can provide new perspectives and ideas. So if you’re considering learning to code, don’t let the fact that you are a bit older stop you.
Finally, you might want to learn to code because you have an idea for a program or app that you want to create. By learning to code, you can avoid having to farm out the coding work to get your idea off the ground. Even a basic understanding of how to code can help you communicate effectively with those you hire to write the code.
In a few short months, you can complete a coding boot camp that will give you the basic skills you need to find a position. Coding is a field that is always changing, so you will have to always learn new programming languages and about other topics related to coding to keep yourself in the loop. Learning to code will take some intense work, but you can master the skills necessary to take your professional life in a new direction.
