Content Editor Dives Into the Challenging Sea of Coding
Is there anyone today who isn't learning to code? With websites like Code.org aimed at teaching children the fundamentals of computer science and even the president advocating for coding lessons in the classroom, we just might be on the way to a nation full of nerds. Of course, while plenty of people will dabble in the basics, not everyone will have the desire to continue learning. And let's not forget that the tech boom bubblewill most likely burst—some predicting that it will be worse than the tech burst of the dot.com era in the early 2000s. But despite the complete influx of wannabe-programmers and the fact that I am happy in the content marketing field, I still wanted to jump on the code bandwagon. I can't deny how awesome it feels looking at a page of commands that looks like gibberish to everyone else. And it's incredibly satisfying knowing that you built something, even if it's a basic one-page website.
My coding journey began with Codecademy, a free tutorial site where you can learn HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Ruby, and more. It's a wonderful place to start, and there are dozens of websites just like it aimed to simplify code and allow users to create fun projects. As an online writer and editor working on various CMS, it was only natural to learn a little bit of HTML—fixing random formatting errors and embedding videos, before everything became one-click solutions.
What began as just a general interest became a necessity when I was looking to find a new job. So many online editorial positions wanted candidates who knew more than just the basics of HTML. They were looking for advanced CSS and JavaScript—some even asking for back-end programming skills. With more companies having less money to spend on a large team of employees, many positions are being combined; there's no room left for niche jobs.
While I'm lucky enough to be in a position where I'm not expected to be a copy editor and a full-stack developer, I don't want to ever feel under-qualified for future opportunities. Plus, learning a new skill is fun. I'm now a student of Treehouse, an online school with hundreds of courses (feel free to contact me about a referral for 50% off your first month), where I'm learning website design and front-end development. Coding is challenging, sometimes stressful, and annoying when a misplaced bracket screws up everything. But I didn't dive into code because I thought it would be easy.
<script>document.write("Cool!");</script>