It was around this time three years ago that I decided to make a major career pivot. I decided I wanted to work in tech! The tech industry is vast, and there are so many different career paths, each requiring their own unique skills sets.
I decided the first step would be learning to code. I did some research on my local job market, and the positions I was interested in. There was one language that popped up again and again. It was Python.
There are three main reasons I decided to learn Python:
- Based on my local job markets there was a ton of demand for Python developers.
- It was one of the two primary languages of Data Science, the career I was interested in.
- It is a solid general purpose language that would still be useful even if I decided to go into a different area of tech in the future.
Since starting this journey I have also studied C++ and Java in my Computer Science program. Learning to work with those compiled languages, which require a lot more direction than Python, has made me a more thoughtful programmer, but I am still glad that I started with Python.
If you are considering learning to code in 2021 there is no one right answer. Different programming languages have their own strengths and weaknesses, there is no one size fits all. I share with you how I got started in the hope that it inspires you to figure out the path that works best for you. Just know this, the only mistake would be not starting.
If you are already in the tech industry what was your first coding language? And why?