Powering the Next Generation of Coders
As a student who opted into Columbia Business School’s Digital Literacy course, I clearly see the importance in growing one’s skill set to keep up with the rapidly evolving technological landscape. It turns out there are many others who agree; coding boot camps have grown rapidly since 2011, and some size the industry at $309 million with ~23,000 graduate developers per year. Of course, there are also a plethora of no (or low) cost online learning platforms, with several dozen websites — such as giants Codecademy and Udemy — providing vast resources to individuals of all backgrounds and experience levels.
An extensive focus within this computer science education community is empowering kids to learn the basic concepts behind coding and programming. There are split opinions (and endless think pieces) on whether children should be taught these skills, and whether this learning should occur within the classroom. A recent Wall Street Journal piece summarizes the crux of the issue well: supporters claim that coding know-how benefits students in an increasingly digital world and that there is a shortage of workers with programming skills, while opponents claim that public schools shouldn’t serve as job-training sites and a pipeline for tech companies. While some schools are pushing to include computer coding as a subject that students are required to demonstrate proficiency in to graduate, a softer approach has been more successful thus far. Providing accessibility, rather than pushing requirements has been key so far; nearly 20 states have passed legislation requiring public high schools to make computer-science classes available to their students. While I personally cannot relate to making this decision on behalf of children in today’s day and age, I have often wondered what my life and career aspirations would be like had I learned these valuable skills in middle or high school (rather than, say, cursive).
In any event, the world is continuously progressing, and it is reasonable to assume that the global job market — and the skills necessary to compete more effectively in it — will look quite different in 10–15 years. The Institute for the Future (IFTF), a Silicon Valley-based non-profit think tank, estimates that around 85% of the jobs that these students will be doing in 2030 have not been invented yet. Regardless of if this forecast becomes a reality, it is worth considering how this prediction fits in with another notable trend in the workforce: freelancing and gig jobs. As of 2019, 35% of U.S. workers, or 57 million people, freelanced, up 4 million since 2014. This path is seemingly by choice: skilled freelancers earn more per hour than 70% of U.S. workers, and 51% say no amount of money would entice them to switch to a traditional job. The work landscape is clearly shifting, and I would surmise that the new opportunities on the horizon will be novel and allow technically proficient individuals unprecedented opportunities to succeed.
While there are plenty of EdTech companies driving this innovation forward, big technology companies are also investing heavily in educating young coders. A glance at a few of these programs:
Amazon’s Amazon Future Engineer program is a comprehensive childhood-to-career program aimed at increasing access to computer science education for children and young adults from under-served and underrepresented communities. It includes a suite of free computer science courses to any student or teacher in the US, a partnership to bring CS to 1000+ elementary schools across the US, robotics grants, sponsorships, internships and more.
Google’s Code with Google provides free coding curriculum to “close the equity gap in computer science” and ensure that every student has access to the collaborative, coding, and technical skills that “unlock opportunities in the classroom and beyond”.
Apple offers several coding resources: Everyone Can Code, Swift, Swift Playgrounds and Swift Coding Clubs, among others. Swift is a programming language that is notable for its simplicity and ease of use. It is now the 11th most popular programming language in the world, right behind SQL and R, according to the TIOBE Index for April 2020. The Everyone Can Code curriculum guides users through Swift Playgrounds, an app that teaches coding for kids through a world of interactive puzzles and playful characters.
Many speculate over these companies’ motivations: governance and PR tactics, a war over the next generation of talent, a move to push down wages for computer programmers. Those who spout the last point cite that big tech’s primary instrument is Code.org — a nonprofit funded by Facebook, Microsoft, Google and others — that spent nearly $20 million on training teachers, developing curriculum and lobbying policymakers in 2016. Many critics also do not like the fact that many of the leading advocates have direct ties to the tech industry. I personally believe that the truth is more nuanced, and that these efforts could be driven by technologists are visionaries and are powering a future that others may not be able to envision yet.
