The payoffs for women learning to code

1) Be ahead of the pack

‍At the moment, not many people know how to code. Since it’s being touted as the new literacy, learning to do it before most, will make you keenly sought after - think well-reimbursed - especially in the financial and technology sectors but also in most other industries too, including education, healthcare, space exploration, gaming, transport, tourism etc. So, don’t miss this opportunity to snap up the rewards on offer now!

2) Advance your education

‍For young women and girls, learning to code will help them achieve greater heights in their education. How? We all know the modern school system largely offers an outdated set of knowledge and skills, right? Even our parents and grandparents would’ve learned similar stuff. Learning to code means females establish their own programming history which places them way beyond what they can learn from school. In turn, this means they will have access to great scholarships available in coding in the best schools, as well as an employment future of easy pickings between a range of exciting, challenging, well paid careers e.g., working as a white-collar hacker for some of the biggest companies in the world, such as, NASA, Facebook, Google, and the like.

3) Crank up your brain power

‍Develop your critical thinking and logical reasoning skills. “Coding encourages you to deal with large problems by breaking them down into smaller, more manageable ones. It relies on maths and logic to come up with innovative solutions to otherwise complex problems.” (Suchin Ravi, lead instructor at YoungWonks). Such skills are seen as crucial in today’s marketplace and keenly pursued by all industries.

4) Be the change you want to see

‍Imagine being a poster woman for female parity within the workplace. Young girls looking up to you as their inspiration for their career aspirations. Sounds pretty cool and an important contribution to a well-adjusted, happy, productive society, no? Breaking the past stereotypical mould that STEM is too hard for women to master or lack the aptitude for, you could empower new generations of women to take the plunge and learn to code. All it takes is to see women successfully doing it, to open the door for many others to follow.

Sadly, the number of women in STEM fields has declined steadily since the 1990s, due to past cultural norms discouraging women from entering these fields. In practice, learning to code is a pathway to other STEM related industries that badly need more women. In fact, it’s not uncommon to see job adverts specifically targeting women. Ironically, this current dearth of women in STEM is providing them with unique opportunities. A changing corporate culture coupled with Affirmative Action laws make now the best time for women to make this move and land the coding job of their dreams.

5) Have a blast!

As mentioned initially, coding is good fun. Imagine creating a game where you are joining forces with Wonder Woman and taking on Ares and Doctor Poison! Or creating virtual worlds through VR/AR technologies whether it be for gaming or marketing, or simply making your own website/apps or even building your own robot! Why wouldn’t you want to feel happy and fulfilled while also scoring better schools and work opportunities?

Outro

We, as women, can’t complain about gender gaps and workplace inequalities if we aren’t prepared to do something about it ourselves. Like it or not, technology is shaping the world we live in and beyond. Being computer-literate will position you well for future success. Begin by actively encouraging your young daughters, nieces, sisters etc., to learn to code, as well as doing so yourself. Search for coding courses which will suit your needs e.g., full time/ part time? offline/ online? Bootcamps/ workshops, night, or day classes etc. A great starting point is H Academy @happyer.io which offers a variety of courses, including coding, whether for beginners or advanced professionals.