Everybody should know how to code in 2020
Over the past 10 years, I’ve built my career around Project and Product Management. I was always the technical one, the one someone would turn to if they experienced problems with their computer, if they needed help with an Excel formula or parsing data. The go-to guy to solve your problems “at a glance”.
I always struggled to realize why these seemingly normal tasks would prove so hard for the majority of people and I believe the problem lies in them being illiterate in the most important language in the world. No, that is not English, or Chinese for that matter. It’s the ability to understand computer languages.
Now, I may be biased as the Covid-19 break “forced” me to get re-excited about programming and that I firmly believe we need a much more diverse eco-system where young girls would be empowered to pursue the creative tech-oriented path, but I firmly believe that computer code is more important than any language as it’s as global as music. It’s hard to believe that 15 different sounds can be interpreted and commonly understood all over the globe and the same goes to if sentences, while loops and other quirks of the developer languages.
To dismiss auto code generators upfront
I am aware of many startups trying to build translation tools that generate computer code out of the few sentences of text one would type in the generator fields, but that technology might still be decades away from being useful in the production environment.
If you don’t believe me, ask any developer what is the confidence level that an automatic code generator will sufficiently insert another field in the form on the page and adjust CSS files for mobile appropriately. Then watch them laugh out loud.
Generators at the current level are fun and teams are making epic strides, but unfortunately they are not yet production-ready, therefore not a valid excuse not to give code a chance.
The kids should learn how to code
I (a thirty-something-year-old) only got exposed to HTML and CSS by mistake on the high school level and I got lucky because I was exposed to the computer and the internet early, but I was also pushed in the direction of Excel, Word as I knew much more than my not-interested peers.
It gets even worse with kids being born with smartphones nowadays and only the future will tell us how literate will they be and how the tech ecosystem will change in the next couple of decades as the youth enters the work market without ever touching a keyboard, while we, the education reminiscence about “the good old days” when we were left outside to play in the dirt.
All countries should invest heavily in technology education at the primary school level and continue with a steady plan throughout the years of learning. That means, we need to involve the actual developers in the education process. It will take much more than the current situation where semi-interested teachers, usually dev-enthusiasts, run extracurricular activities. While some countries already invest heavily in pupils literacy, other still have some catching up to do.
You should also learn how to code
Get future-ready. The fact about 10.000 hours until mastery still holds water, but only 10 hours will enable everyone a different insight into the mundane tasks, help to simplify workflows. Take an online class, watch a Youtube video, do a pet project. Do anything, or you will become obsolete.
In my opinion (again, not a developer, but someone who can clearly see the value), everybody should know:
- how to write complex formulas in Excel (VLOOKUP and more),
- what IF, FOR, WHILE stand for,
- what are variables, variable types and how to handle errors,
- how to pose correctly structured questions to get appropriate results on Google or Stack Overflow,
- how to build a simple landing page in any technology.
I don’t want you to change your career, just to become 2020+ ready
Knowing how to read (and potentially write) code will help you significantly reduce the time spent on problem-solving, increase overall value on the market, and most importantly, it will allow you to stay relevant when talking to future generations. You will be able to help them solve the problems they will face down the line.
Share your experience of how you got exposed to the code and how it helped you overcome your struggles to empower others.