Most of the in-demand tech careers out there require programming! Hence, if you who want to have a career in tech - be it software development, mobile or web development, artificial intelligence, data science, etc., the right time to start the journey is now that you're still a student and not job-hunting yet.
According to Indeed, almost all the top 10 in-demand tech skills for careers in tech are require programming:
In-Demand Tech Skills for Careers in Tech
- Artificial intelligence (AI)
- Cybersecurity
- Cloud computing
- Software engineering
- Software development
- Project management
- UI/UX design
- Data analytics
- Data science
- Programming
Unfortunately, note that no company hires you to teach you how to code. Their general expectations is that you're already proficient in the tech position you're applying for. In other words, companies hire experienced tech persons.
Except for Computer Science and a few Engineering courses, I don't think other courses in our higher institutions teach programming. This is where self-learning comes to the rescue.
Many software engineers out there are self thought. Even those who studied computer science do a lot of self learning because the things they are taught in classes are not close enough to practical knowledge the job market demands.
Basically speaking, you can learning programming on your own. I know this because I am a self-taght developer too (read How I learnt Web and Mobile Apps Development) and there are many other self-taught software engineers too.
How to Start Learning Programming
There are many tech specializations out there and also different programming languages. It is good to know the right programming language to learn as a beginner so you you get started in the right direction.
Generally, most beginners can get started with modern JavaScript or Python. These two programming languages are oftentimes recommended by experts for beginners due to their high demand in the job market as well as the ease of learning.
You can visit ZestMade for learning resources or check for paid online courses on platforms like Udemy and Udacity. YouTube is another great resource to learning programming for free.
Happy coding!
