Introduction
In this article, we’re going to look at coding as a hobby, what to expect with it, and why you should be interested to explore some of its intricacies as an activity.
Most people assume you have to be a genius to start coding but we’re going to try to dispel some of those myths too below in our popular questions section.
In fact, over the years, coding has started to become far more popular and far more relevant due to the fact that we’re seeing more systems based on machine learning or coded algorithms.
In the future, it’s quite likely that a large majority of low-skill services that are currently manned by humans (such as customer service or packing) will be automated by programmed machines or algorithms based on code written potentially by people such as yourself.
With that said, there are tons of other exciting areas that you can write code for such as game development, web development, and even making little apps to help automate certain tasks on your computer.
To answer the question then, coding is a hobby as it can be done for fun or pleasure, however, it’s also an excellent skill to have especially since most of the highest paying jobs are now based in the coding industry.
Let’s take a look at some of the most popular and best reasons to start coding as a hobby.
Top 5 Reasons For Why You Should Start Coding Now
1. Coding is practical
Most people assume coding is learned through doing hours of studying and theory, however, the large majority of tasks require you to practice on the spot whilst you’re learning to help imbed the techniques better in your memory.
Basically, you can get started with the fun things straight away even if they’re relatively simple things.
In fact, it’s quite reasonable to have a working piece of software by the end of your first day learning to code rather than having to work for years until you can make something.
Even relatively simple programs can be enjoyable; sometimes there is elegance in simplicity which is especially true in coding.
A good example is with the game Pong which uses relatively simple code and has a few pixel-based graphics but that’s about it and we still see it being played to this day since 1972.
2. Coding can increase your creativity and problem-solving skills
Coding is brilliant if you want to see how creative you can be and that’s because you have to come up with solutions to potentially your own problems.
What we mean by that is you can be a conceiver who thinks of what to make (the problem or task) and at the same time might also be the person who solves the issue.
This end-to-end creating and solving means you go through the entire creative process in your brain and you’ll probably end up surprising yourself with some of the solutions you come up with.
In fact, once you get used to the structure of your coding language then you’ll probably know what you can make before you know how to make it and that’s what makes it so exciting.
You can dream up endless possibilities and provided you knuckle down it won’t be long before you’ll be able to make those dreams a reality.
3. Coding can increase your career opportunities
Coding is linked to hundreds of growing industries and they’re quite likely to grow continuously over the next few decades or possibly longer.
In fact, the majority of industries are making significant changes to the way they do business by streamlining their processes with machine-based systems rather than inefficient people-based ones.
That means tons of jobs are available now for coders and there’ll probably be even more going forwards into the future.
As a coder, you can be part of large or small projects depending on the business, however, regardless of the size, you’re sure to have job security for the best part of your career even if that means jumping between companies every once in a while.
4. Coding is moving with the times
It’s hard to imagine a future where there’s something that replaces machine-based systems in terms of efficiency — it seems to be the pinnacle of what we can do and is only limited by how well-structured the code is to achieve a certain task.
Realistically, the only technology on the horizon that might change the way things are done in quantum computing, and even then, will still be based on coding languages that are optimized to take advantage of what quantum computers can do.
If you’re looking for something solid to get into that has a great future ahead of it then coding is definitely one of the best hobbies/careers you can do.
5. Coding can help you achieve financial freedom
If you’re wanting to FIRE (financial independence retire early) then the coding industry is probably one of the best industries to achieve that in.
Coders are paid well above average and it’s not unrealistic to have made over a million dollars within ten years (not accounting for personal expenditure).
In fact, once you’re good enough, it should be fairly easy for you to start your own business within coding which means you’ll get a larger slice of the profits and you’ll fast-track your retirement plan leaps and bounds.
There are absolutely tons of opportunities for coders and even if you’re currently employed on a salary, you can sell your services on the side through websites like Fiverr meaning you can make money in your spare time too.
FAQ: Popular Questions About Coding Answered
Do I need to be smart to code?
No, you don’t need to be smart to code, however, your intelligence can be a limiting factor in how well you can implement your skills for a certain task.
Generally speaking, most advanced coding requires a good grasp of mathematical concepts which are limited if you aren’t good with numbers.
As a caveat, some specific coding languages are streamlined or simplified meaning they’re easier to achieve success in without the depth of expertise of some other languages.
Can anyone be good at coding?
If you’re tenacious, you can be relatively successful in basically any area of life and the same is true for coding.
Even if you aren’t as smart as someone but have a better work ethic then it’s quite easy to surpass the person who should technically have an advantage over you.
Is programming harder than math?
Most programming is based on mathematical concepts and thus, can be equally as hard as doing raw math itself.
With that said, most programming is based on already-established mathematical concepts meaning you should be able to learn it over time whereas cutting-edge math is based on theoretical concepts that may not have had any answers yet therefore raw math is probably harder once you get to the peak.
The only other factor in programming that can be difficult is learning all of the nuanced code instructions, however, given enough time, you should be able to get to grips with it as it’s simply based on memory and practice.
Conclusion
Coding is an excellent hobby that teaches lots of valuable skills and can also be a lucrative career area to invest your time into.
You can make lots of simple programs for fun or more complicated ones depending on your appetite for tedium, however, most people eventually join a company to work on grander projects such as games or systems for business.
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