Should I have learned to code in college?

I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History and Psychology. I enjoyed those subjects and the material came naturally to me. I was told to follow my passions — so I did.

Now, seeing companies hungry for tech talent, I wonder if I should have become a software engineer. Given the stiff competition for engineers today (“Hard Time Finding Tech Talent? Create Your Own”), employees in the field are recruited across the globe at high-growth firms and offered top-notch compensation packages. And it’s possible I’m just around too many business school entrepreneurs posting in slack, “Looking to hire someone with coding experience!” that I’ve begun to think that I would have been much more popular if I chose to learn SQL instead of the Baroque style of art and architecture.

What would this path have looked like?

Suppose I chose to major in computer engineering (distinct from electrical engineering) at Georgia Tech. I would have had to take several math and science classes (many more than I would like) as well a slew of programming, systems architecture, and design courses.

And today, there are so many online (and even free) coding bootcamps that I could have studied whatever my heart desired during college and then dedicated time to learning code after.

There are too many programming languages to count — and they’re always changing — but it would have been helpful to pick up Python, SQL, Java, and C++ (“5 Programming Languages that Every Techie Should Master”).

With an undergraduate degree in computer engineering or certificate of completion from a coding bootcamp, there are several potential career opportunities. Common jobs that require these skills include, “Computer Programmer,” “Web Developer,” “Software Developer,” and “Data Scientist,” to name a few (17 Jobs with a Degree in Computer Engineering).

So, should I drop out of my MBA program and take Flatiron School’s Coding Bootcamp instead?

In my CBS Digital Literacy course, Professor Brett Martin lightheartedly asked, “Do you know what software engineers say is their number one skill?” to which my classmate correctly guessed “Googling.” As my professor went on to point out, these folks are not afraid to search for a solution and teach themselves the language.

This does corroborate the stories I’ve heard several tech entrepreneurs share: they taught themselves how to code in order to develop their first prototype.

Coding has become one of the most democratized skills and anyone with access to a search engine should be able to find resources to teach themselves the languages. And I do not think the same is true of other fields, like economics or mathematics.

If this is the case, I should be content with my liberal arts degree. However, despite the resources available to me, I find myself helpless when I need to write a complex SQL query to pull information. I usually go on to write my data request in another long-winded email to the software engineer who adds my “priority request” to his long list of priorities.

If I had the time and patience to learn programming languages, could I? I suppose the answer to this question would say a lot about my lack of confidence in this arena, but I’m not convinced that we all can, or at least not at a working proficiency level. But many entrepreneurs, career-switchers, and ambitious individuals can and will learn this technical skillset in a non-traditional academic setting.

What’s the verdict?

I certainly could have benefitted from a few computer science classes in my undergraduate days, but ultimately, it is becoming a democratized skill that those with the confidence, time, interest (and yes, intelligence) can learn. So, I suggest studying what you enjoy and hoping that eventually, that knowledge is highly sought after and (if you’re gunning for the high paycheck) difficult for others to learn.