Is coding for you?

IF you’re student, the holidays are here once again and naturally almost all of you will be looking forward to some welldeserved rest and recreation.

However, if you’re also looking forward to making the most of this free time to improve yourself, you could look up some of our past write- ups in this column for some tips on what you could do.

One of the things we’ve never touched on is learning how to code, so for this week, we’d like to touch on this skill, which could become an important asset for you, especially if you’re keen on joining the tech industry one day.

If you’re asking yourself what exactly is ‘coding’, according to codeconquest.com – a free online guide to coding for beginners – it’s basically what makes it possible for people to create computer software, apps and websites. Your browser, your operating system, the apps on your phone, Facebook – they’re all made with code.

Many people are learning how to code not only because they’re looking forward to a career building mobile apps and websites, but also because they love the challenge.

But even if you’re not looking forward to becoming a hotshot programmer, one of the benefits of learning how to code is it can help to make your life easier. In fact, coding could help you in ways you may not even have imagined. If your life revolves around computers, learning how to code will improve your life.

Learning how to code will not automatically make you a software engineer. However, just remember that people in all sorts of professions, be they scientists or engineers are able to use their knowledge in coding to help them in their work.

By learning basic coding, you will also improve your problemsolving skills. Actually, this is one of the main arguments as to why all children should be taught how to write computer programmes or learn how to code.

For those of you thinking about picking up coding during this holiday break, look around for any coding workshops or classes for beginners in your area.

If not, there are plenty of online resources for you to research and in the process you’d probably find out if coding is indeed for you.

This is a weekly column by SarawakYES! – an initiative driven by Faradale Media-M Sdn Bhd and supported by Angkatan Zaman Mansang (Azam) Sarawak – to provide advice and stories on the topics of education and careers to support Sarawakians seeking to achieve their dreams. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.