10 Life Skills That You Can Learn Being a Coder

A Coder or Programmer is defined as a person who develops software and programs using various computer languages like Assembly, COBOL, C, C++, C#, JavaScript, Lisp or Python.

But if you ask us, a programmer is a person who bridges the gap between abstract ideas and physical reality. They are the people who pour life into imagination using logic, mathematical functions and lines of code.

There was a stereotype until recent years that a coder is an introverted, socially anxious, lonely person who has no other social or life skills like Mr. Robot. This is an erroneous stereotype and we have proof. Here are 10 Lifeskills a coder learns during work:-

1. Abstract thinking

Abstract thinking is the ability to imagine and think about objects and concepts that are not physical or concrete. It is a characteristic of creative and inventive people. Scholars argue that abstract thinking is not a part of the natural cognitive development and is inculcated through culture, teaching and experience. When you begin learning to code, you need to predict the outcome and the interrelationships between various parts as a whole. This is a great way to gain the elusive ability that our scholarly education fails to touch.

2. Attention to detail

Writing even the most basic program needs and begets greater attention span and accuracy. The C+ language, being a predecessor to other user-friendly languages, doesn’t automatically tell you where you’ve made the mistake in the code. Coders develop an uncanny perception and analytic capability owing to having learnt from their initial mistakes and having to go through the whole program to find their one small error. This makes them quick at picking up details that are overlooked by others.

3. Communication

Part of the socially awkward stereotype about coders, people assume programming is an individual activity in which communication is not at all involved. Far from it, experienced coders develop great communication skills dealing with the requirements and outcomes of the program they are coding and co-operating with their team. It plays a critical role in the development of any software and is developed more actively during project work than when passively learning in the society.

4. Creativity

Coding is literally a process of creating something new, like creating a genome by assembling genetic material. When you learn a new language, albeit a computer language, you expand the media in which you can express yourself.

Creativity is majorly boosted as coders bring the product of their abstract thinking into reality. Coding enables you to create digital content rather than solely consume it. This means you now start thinking of things you can make or produce and the interaction between you and technology becomes two-sided from one-sided.

Experimenting is an integral part of learning programming. You learn from experience how different codes produce different outputs. This leaks into life outside software as people who learn to program tend to find various ways of interaction with the same mundane things.

5. Empathy

Empathy is the ability to understand and share others’ feelings. It is a scarce emotion in the current competitive world. Almost every aspect of life has become a fight for superiority. It is fortunate, that when learning to code as part of a team, you grasp the value of this emotion. Every team member has things they’re good at and things they aren’t.

Coders learn to work off of the expertise and compensate each other’s flaws. Even when writing a program for someone, you understand the client’s requirements and needs; you empathize with them and stand in their shoes to give them the properly tailored output they wish.

6. Enterprising

Coding is a very open-ended subject. Unlike scholarly subjects where you memorize facts and data, programming teaches you a small part, the basics of the languages. Post this; you enter the ocean that is software development. Here, you start finding sources other than your classroom and textbooks for help. This is where websites like Xda-Developers and Github come in. Coders become naturally resourceful and take initiative as they learn to take inputs from multiple sources instead of sticking to one or a set of books.

7. Logic

Logic is a core part of programming. Almost all of the coding runs on it. When you learn programming, you first breakdown programs and inspect the logic which connects the input and output. When you advance in your programming abilities, you are tasked with implementing new kinds of logic to your code. If you look at it in one way, writing a program is like taking an IQ test. And Programming is a way to increase your IQ.

8. Problem-solving

When developing software, you encounter a multitude of problems like making sure the program is user-centric, debugging the problematic lines, keeping up with new Frameworks, tools and libraries, time estimation, etc. Coders learn to make their way around all kinds of problems both inside and out of the software. You develop your own arsenal of solutions and start working smart to avoid hard work. In time, you don’t see errors brick walls that stop your progress but obstacles that are meant to be overcome. Problem-solving skills are one thing that is seen in every programmer.

9. Project planning

We are always advised to look at the bigger picture in life; to understand that smaller and finer things are overarched by other concepts and things that we should notice. This philosophy is a part of programming as well. Programs created by code are not envisioned as individual lines of code which work independently, coders are taught to pay attention to the overarching rules and the code as a whole to make their work efficient. Their resourcefulness pays off here as they assess their inventory and bring in new ideas as part of their project plan.

10. Resilience

What happens when you hit a wall in your work? Do you give up? Or do you breakthrough? Coders face a lot of frustration during the debugging process of development.

Programming teaches you to build resistance against the fact that you make errors. You understand that it’s only human and that you need to be resilient in order to make something great. This goes a long way in life as you apply the same thing to your life’s problems.

It’s obvious by now that learning to code is a very useful skill that has effects not only on your professional life but also your social life. With the Corona Virus outbreak and quarantine everywhere, considering learning basic computer languages and programming. You’ll see for yourself how these attributes get developed in you.