What Does a Programmer do?
People often tout the great job market for those proficient in Computer Science and coding as a reason to learn to code — by the year 2020, there will be over 1 million surplus jobs in fields related to computer science. That all sounds great — why not pick up a skill that will always ensure you employment? It seems like a no-brainer.
However, most people don’t actually know where programmers work, or what they do. Hopefully, after this post you’ll understand a little bit more about what it means to be a computer programmer, and perhaps consider it as a career!
Programming jobs can vary wildly. Any company with a web presence needs programmers to help create and maintain their website; in 2014, that means almost every single company in existence. There are also companies that provide software that they have created themselves (Google, Microsoft, etc) and they often employ huge teams of programmers / software engineers to create and maintain their products. That’s not to say that you’ll end up at a tech company — check out these job listings from the Miami Heat, NASA, and video game company Blizzard, or this story of one young woman’s journey in the fashion industry. You truly can work anywhere, in any industry.
Additionally, programmers have the ability to create websites, apps, and software all on their own. This means that many programmers are entrepreneurs — creating and selling their own products, instead of working for someone else.
At these jobs, programmers are professional problem solvers. A software engineer will be presented with a problem, and asked to fix it. These problems have a huge scope — they can be things like building a website, creating a program that automatically collects and reports certain statistics, or integrating two different pieces of code to work as a synchronous whole. These generally includes designing a system, writing the code, and then testing / debugging it to make sure it works correctly. However, given the varied job descriptions and tasks a programming job can entail, no two programmer’s days will ever look exactly alike.
Why would you want to be a programmer?
Here’s another question that we get often — “why would I want to be a computer programmer?”
There are several answers to this question — first and foremost, you might find that you really like programming and want to pursue it professionally. Many people really enjoy the problem solving aspect of programming, enough so that they decide they’d like to do it full time.
Many people like the freedom. As a programmer, you can find work anywhere in the world, for nearly any company. Some companies let you set your own hours, and many will even let you work remotely from home (or wherever you want!).
Finally, the perks just cannot be beat. According to the Bureau of Labor Stastics, the median annual wage for a computer programmer is nearly $75,000. The perks of working at a tech company are often insane as well — travel stipends, unlimited vacation days, and free food are closer to normal than outlandish.
How do I get there?
Are you ready? The first step is easy — complete your first hour of code! If you liked it, sign up and keep learning. As you learn more, you’ll learn what you don’t know. Start asking questions and filling in the blanks.
Consider a 4 year degree in CS (check out our list of great schools) to further your knowledge and lead you right into a job. If that isn’t an option, don’t worry — often, employers care more about what you’ve built than what school you attended. Start teaching yourself, learn to use GitHub, put your projects up and start applying!
