What is Coding?
Coding is what powers the technology we use every day. Without people to write code that tells computers what to do and how to understand commands, we wouldn’t be able to check our email, watch a show on Netflix, or even use a credit card to buy coffee on the way to work. From smartphones and laptops to cars and e-bikes, the machines that enable our fast-paced lifestyles and instant communication rely on coding. Because coding plays such a critical role in our society, professionals who know how to write and edit code are some of the most employable people on the planet.
Why Learn to Code?
Coding is one of the most in-demand professional skills today. Learning to code is extremely important for many careers, especially ones in tech and tech-adjacent fields. When you gain experience in coding, you open up the possibility of a career in web development and design, data science, AI, machine learning, and FinTech. Working in any of these areas will likely come with a high salary and diverse job opportunities. If you want to make a comfortable living, learning how to code can be the first step you take to get there.
In addition, picking up coding skills can help with professional development in your current career. Do you work in digital marketing? Learning to code will allow you to get hands-on when optimizing websites and working with content management systems. Are you a graphic designer? Coding will let you branch out into web and digital design, which often come with higher compensation. Have you recently started a new e-commerce business? Once you know how to code, you can create and update your own online shop.
Many people also learn to code as a hobby. Whether you’re interested in building websites from scratch in your free time or just looking for a way to customize your blog, coding can be an efficient, rewarding use of your free time.
What Careers Use Coding?
Coding skills are most important to professionals in data and development. Data professionals use coding to write programs that help them clean, analyze, and make sense of raw data. Web developers rely on coding to build desktop and mobile applications from scratch. Both types of jobs are high-demand across industries and usually come with high salaries. Although data and development careers are most important to tech and tech-adjacent companies, they’re also critical for finance, education, government, commerce, and other sectors.
Coding experts who work in data-related professions include data scientists, data analysts, and machine learning engineers. Development professionals who use coding to build applications, software, and websites include full stack developers, front end developers, back end developers, and software engineers. Some product managers, UI designers, cybersecurity experts, and other professionals who work with data or digital products use coding in their jobs.
What Coding Classes Are Available?
Learning to code is one of the most profitable decisions you can make for your career path. Noble Desktop, our tech school, has a range of coding classes that you can take live online or at our location in NYC. Noble’s in-person and virtual classes offer expert instruction, interactive lessons, and hands-on projects.
You can get started in writing code for websites in Noble’s Web Development Level 1. This beginner-friendly class will teach you how to use HTML and CSS to make responsive websites. Once you have the basics down, you can take Web Development Level 2 to start creating more complex layouts and visual effects with CSS. Are you already an advanced HTML and CSS user? Then you can sign up for JavaScript for Front End and start learning the fundamentals of JavaScript and jQuery. Another option is the Python Programming Bootcamp, where students will start learning computer science principles and object-oriented programming with Python.
Those interested in learning to code for a data science career should check out the Python for Data Science Bootcamp or SQL Bootcamp. If you want to apply preexisting Python skills toward a machine learning career, the Python Machine Learning Bootcamp may be the best match for you.
Certificate Programs for Coding
Attending a certificate program is an ideal way to prepare for a new tech career while building credentials in your new field. Noble Desktop has certificate programs to prepare students for all kinds of coding careers. Whether you want to be a web designer, a software engineer, a data scientist, or a web developer, enrolling in a certificate course from Noble can help you get there. All of these programs include one-on-one mentoring with an industry expert who will help you polish your resume, build a portfolio, and prepare to enter a career in coding.
The Full Stack Web Development Certificate will prepare you to write code for both the front end and back end of websites. This 198-hour course kicks off with training in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and front end coding tools like Git. Once students have mastered front end development, they move on to learning how to employ JavaScript for back end development. This part of the course covers the frameworks Express.js and Node.js, NoSQL database programming with MongoDB, and portfolio development.
To develop the necessary abilities to work as an entry-level software engineer or full stack developer, check out Noble Desktop’s 288-hour Software Engineering Certificate. Like the Full Stack Web Development Certificate, students learn HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and frameworks and databases for full stack development. However, this certificate includes additional training in Python and Django, a popular Python framework.
If you’re specifically interested in writing code for the user-facing side of a website, the Front End Web Development Certificate or the Web Design Certificate may be the right program for you. The Front End Web Development Certificate is 72 hours and covers languages and tools for building interactive and well-laid-out websites. The Web Design Certificate combines lessons in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript with instruction in Sketch, an industry-standard app for interface design. It is a 90-hour course. To build your visual design skills further, consider the 120-hour Web & Visual Design Certificate.
Is your goal to start a career in back end development? Enrolling in the 90-hour Python Developer Certificate will help you get started building the server-side portion of websites. In this program, you’ll learn basic through advanced techniques for programming with Python and Django, a framework for back end development. You’ll also learn Django REST, a framework that will allow you to work with authentication, images, APIs. Along the way, you’ll build skills in developer tools like Git and learn how to write queries in SQL.
The 84-hour Data Science Certificate prepares you to enter a data science career with a comprehensive curriculum in SQL and Python, including three Python packages that are commonly used for data science projects: NumPy, pandas, and Matplotlib. Students get started in this course by learning basic coding with Python. After that, they complete more in-depth projects using task automation and machine learning.
What Language Should I Learn?
Many people who are not tech professionals and who have never received formal coding education know at least a little HTML and CSS. While knowing HTML and CSS will not be enough on their own for a career, it is useful and forms the basis of more advanced coding knowledge. Some coding classes and bootcamps require basic knowledge of HTML and CSS in order for students to enroll.
For aspiring web designers and front end developers, learning JavaScript is important. JavaScript is used on over 97% of websites on the client side, making it one of the most popular coding languages for the front end. It is also commonly used as a back end language with frameworks such as Node.js and Express.js.
If you want to pursue data science, back end web development, software engineering, or full stack web development, Python is a great language to learn. It’s also a beginner-friendly language that new programmers often like because of its readable syntax, many libraries, and supportive user community. Many major companies use Python to build their websites and software, including Google, Facebook, Dropbox, and Spotify.
There are many other coding languages besides these. Some common ones are C, C++, R, Ruby, and PHP. Each language has its own unique characteristics. Many people in coding careers know multiple languages. Figuring out which is the best one for you to learn depends on your planned career path.