Can you code and should I learn to?

Harry Palmr · 01-04-2015 12:17PM #1

The media would have me believe everyone is at it - coding. Five years olds are being encouraged now, half the new jobs out there seem to need some ability to write HTML/Javascript/PHP etc. Should I, an old git learn and will it make me rich?

kneemos · 01-04-2015 12:20PM

Cancel Jonnies piano lessons.

01-04-2015 12:21PM

Harry Palmr wrote: »

The media would have me believe everyone is at it - coding. Five years olds are being encouraged now, half the new jobs out there seem to need some ability to write HTML/Javascript/PHP etc. Should I, an old git learn and will it make me rich?

You already know some of the lingo.. It's meant to be.

kippy · 01-04-2015 12:23PM

Harry Palmr wrote: »

The media would have me believe everyone is at it - coding. Five years olds are being encouraged now, half the new jobs out there seem to need some ability to write HTML/Javascript/PHP etc. Should I, an old git learn and will it make me rich?

If you'd had that attidude about 25 years ago, you'd be old AND rich by now, could even have come up with Facebook before Facebook did.
I think you've missed the boat tbh.

Baggy Trousers · 01-04-2015 12:24PM

Leave coding to the "nerds" (and I use that term affectionately) and get into management or consultancy.
9am-5pm versus 10am-10pm (because they like doing it).

Vowel Movement · 01-04-2015 12:24PM

Give it a go if you have an intrest in it. I done Java for a year.......Most boring year of my life!

Green Mile · 01-04-2015 12:24PM

I’ll be crucified for saying this but our youth would benefit more by learning code in school as oppose to Irish

OldMrBrennan83 · 01-04-2015 12:26PM

This post has been deleted.

Baggy Trousers · 01-04-2015 12:26PM

Green Mile wrote: »

I’ll be crucified for saying this but our youth would benefit more by learning code in school as oppose to Irish

+1 (and Religion)

Professional Griefer · 01-04-2015 12:26PM

Theres no harm in doing so. Its fun to learn html/css and make a webpage on your own. Take a look at the stuff on w3schools, its very useful and includes PHP and some database stuff with sql.

Gran Hermano · 01-04-2015 12:28PM

Morse or semaphore?

DoYouEvenLift · 01-04-2015 12:29PM

Definitely OP. In fact, we should encourage every single person to learn coding. Force them to even. Especially the elderly. This way tech companies can start driving down the salaries of programmers even more. If we get enough people on board we may even be able to manage to get three new iPhone and Samsung Galaxy launches every year.

But seriously it should be encouraged more amongst the young kids growing up now and in the future. The best jobs for them will involve developing tech.

Green Mile · 01-04-2015 12:31PM

Patww79 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Sorry Pat, I left out the 'd'. You must like the D?

The Diabolical Monocle · 01-04-2015 12:32PM

imho nope.

they'll just come up with a program to write programs.

then they'll simplify it to where its an app.

then it'll be you at 40 euro an hour versus a free app.

learn a human language or something else humany.

seamus · 01-04-2015 12:35PM

If you work in any kind of office job with a computer in front of you all the time, then you can probably gleam some benefit from learning some basic coding skills. It will allow you to automate the most mundane parts of your job and make you look like a genuis.

Otherwise, knowing how to code is something of a useful but not essential skill to have. Remember when your Dad (or even Grandad) had something break in their house, and they went out to their shed, took a few old pieces of timber, a saw and some sandpaper, fashioned a nice clean fix and sorted it all out? They were never a carpenter or a plumber or an electrician or a builder, but they knew enough tricks of each trade to get them by.

That's a useful skill to have, but it's not essential. That's what knowing how to code is like. You see something that needs a simple solution, you hack together a few pieces of code and it works. You're not a software engineer, you don't even work in IT, but you know enough tricks and tips to get you by.

And then when you're in your 50s/60s and your kids are grown up and you're looking for things to do at the weekend, you'll have enough skills to prick about in your office for a couple of hours knocking some things together out of the code that you know and then showing your grandkids and they'll think you're awesome.

The Backwards Man · 01-04-2015 12:39PM

Waste of time.

Learn Mandarin Chinese, how to plumb and wire your own house, grow your own veg, and how to service your car.

In the future, their will be too many people in made up jobs and not enough in real ones, so we'll all have to fend for ourselves.

Graham · 01-04-2015 12:40PM

seamus wrote: »

You see something that needs a simple solution, you hack together a few pieces of code and it works. You're not a software engineer, you don't even work in IT, but you know enough tricks and tips to get you by.

That sounds like at least half of the software engineers/developers I've ever met.

Tesco Massacre · 01-04-2015 12:42PM

Patww79 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

That's the understatement of the year.

Although the year is young and there's much yet to understate...

OldMrBrennan83 · 01-04-2015 12:42PM

This post has been deleted.

Depraved · 01-04-2015 12:44PM

Harry Palmr wrote: »

The media would have me believe everyone is at it - coding. Five years olds are being encouraged now, half the new jobs out there seem to need some ability to write HTML/Javascript/PHP etc. Should I, an old git learn and will it make me rich?

1. Learn Java.
2. Gain 3-4 years experience even though nobody will hire you without experience.
4. After the 3-4 year of coding opensource, apply for job again.
5. Get told that Java is no longer being used and has been replaced with a new language that you know nothing about.
6. Return to step 1 with the new language.

Seriously though, it is frustrating, and difficult to become very good at it. But it can be very useful, not just in work but for yourself. I've made everything from my own browser, media player & small games for fun.

scdublin · 01-04-2015 12:45PM

Like others have said - certain languages become outdated very quickly and it might not be worth your time unless you're really eager to get into a role in that area.

I can do some basics in a few languages like Java, C#, PHP and then I'm slightly better at HTML/CSS. Code was a big part of my college course and I didn't like it at all but only realized how strong my dislike was when it was a tad too late.

It seems to be one of those things that people either just get or don't, and I didn't. No idea how I got through my course really.

CruelCoin · 01-04-2015 12:45PM

OP,

The odd bit of coding can be fun (and frustrating).

I like python, html/css, Java.

Javascript i'm not really getting, and php can **** right off. The syntax is a nightmare; I can do it, but i don't enjoy it.

01-04-2015 12:48PM

Tesco Massacre wrote: »

That's the understatement of the year.

Although the year is young and there's much yet to understate...

I wouldn't normally point it out but you leave yourself open to grammar nazis when you talk about how people should learn English.

GLaDOS · 01-04-2015 12:48PM

Other than the basics of HTML I can't, because I don't need to

Learned a small bit as part of a bioinformatics module, but it's long gone now.

retalivity · 01-04-2015 12:53PM

ve learnt/used about 10 different languages that I no longer use/need.

Learn SQL and some UNIX scripting, be grand

murpho999 · 01-04-2015 01:00PM

Patww79 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Your right their.

The amount of mistakes you see nowadays on the internet is shocking and makes me loose my mind.

What sort of grammer their teaching kids at there schools nowadays.?
Shocking.

Cienciano · 01-04-2015 01:03PM

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Waste of time.

Learn Mandarin Chinese, how to plumb and wire your own house, grow your own veg, and how to service your car.

In the future, their will be too many people in made up jobs and not enough in real ones, so we'll all have to fend for ourselves.

LOL, in the future you won't be able to get your car fixed or buy vegetables?

DoYouEvenLift · 01-04-2015 01:03PM

murpho999 wrote: »

Your right their.

The amount of mistakes you see nowadays on the internet is shocking and makes me loose my mind.

What sort of grammer their teaching kids at there schools nowadays.?
Shocking.

Your rite, you're post is on too something

Tarzana2 · 01-04-2015 01:52PM

Soooo many job specs look for specific IT skillz now. The most common I see are SQL, HTML, CSS, and SPSS.

But then I know someone who got a job in Facebook recently. The job spec was looking for someone with a comp sci or engineering degree and needed some fairly specialist skills, according to the spec. She doesn't have any of the said skills and has a degree and masters in social science/humanities areas.

Huh?

valoren · 01-04-2015 01:56PM

Programming Jobs.

Where you need 2 years experience with a coding language that's six months old.

SpaceTime · 01-04-2015 02:03PM

I tried to learn to code but probably bit off more than I can chew. I fully understand the concepts and the structure but, my brain seems to be incapable of processing the fine detail.

I kept producing programmes full of bugs and errors and always had to get someone to go through my code and spot all the minor mistakes.

Overall I think learning about systems and what coding is would be very useful but I'm not sure that everyone can take to coding like a duck to water!

I'm definitely not unintelligent but I just find it extremely difficult to get my brain to think in code. It's definitely better at human languages, visuals, socially focused things and grasping the big picture stuff.

I actually found learning to code one of the most frustrating wastes of time in my life!

Can you code and should I learn to?

Can you code 138 votes

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