The slogan “everyone should learn to code” was a popular one in the United States a few years ago and just like how American culture penetrated our minds, learning to code is seen as a vital skill to teach at school, boot camps, online software development courses, or kindergartens all around the world now.

Programming seems to be a solution for financial and job insecurity. However, is it really for you? This is hard and demanding work in a competitive environment. It might promise big, long-lasting rewards, but it requires skills, passion, and dedication. This article will help you pause, think, and see whether a programming career can make you happy. Do you have the following traits?

You Like to Understand the World Around You

Programming may become quite essential to better navigate in everyday life. The world is getting more and more digitalized. Everyday devices run on software. Understanding how software works will help you solve many problems when they malfunction or simply don’t offer the function you need. Is it frustrating when you don’t understand software? Do you agree that it’s quite necessary to have a basic idea of how computer systems work?

You Believe In Persistence

There’s a popular saying “Life is full of wonderful ideas, but it’s the execution that matters”. It’s the truth. People fail to finish what they’ve started because they lack motivation and persistence. A full-time job in coding is full-time persistence training. If you are motivated and determined to find a solution, programming is for you. The job will make you even more persistent, and then, you can focus on pursuing your other ambitions in life.

You Want to Solve Problems

Programming is a wonderful job that teaches you to solve problems daily. That’s what you’re paid for. But since you're paid for it, you have no choice if you want to stick to this career path. It makes you better at using your analytical and logical thinking in all areas of your life. It’s hard to describe how it happens, but it does.

You Want a Job That Will Keep Your Interest for Years

Programming languages change, and there are plenty of them. You will always find the need to learn, recalibrate and update your skills. Your mind will stay challenged and active. That’s what brings satisfaction in the long run. If you have the tendencies for workaholism, this may not be a great path. There’s always something to do, to learn, to check, or to change, so you need to be able to find time for rest as well.

You Wouldn’t Mind Working in an Internationally Diverse Environment

Coding opens the door to many companies worldwide. Not to mention, that people travel, work from home, work for different countries they live in or have a digital nomad lifestyle. Entering this career path means that you’ll discover cultural differences without leaving your own country. Your work colleagues may turn out to be very inspirational as well. People from this environment tend to have free time to develop their side projects, hobbies, and lives. Does this perspective excite you or make you feel uneasy?

You Want to Automate Some of Your Daily Tasks

The development of technology means that the most repetitive and mundane jobs will finally disappear. However, coding can also bring improvement to your daily life. Once you understand the logic of software programming, you will start seeing new possibilities for automation. For example, writing reports in Excel may prove easier when you have experience with Python scripting.

The benefits of a career in coding are far bigger than financial security. In that sense, many people will find fulfilment in choosing this path. Nevertheless, it definitely tests our technical skills and analytical thinking.