Why Should You, in Fact, Become a Software Developer

I want to cover this quite differently from how most other people might answer this question because I want to emphasize that money should not be your focus when decided careers. I mean don’t get me wrong, money is important, but what is even more important is what you actually are able to do for yourself and for others when you decide your career. There are a million and two reasons why you should study computer programming but let’s break it down into four simple ones.

I want to cover this quite differently from how most other people might answer this question because I want to emphasize that money should not be your focus when decided careers. I mean don’t get me wrong, money is important, but what is even more important is what you actually are able to do for yourself and for others when you decide your career. There are a million and two reasons why you should study computer programming but let’s break it down into four simple ones.

As a beginner software developer, the world of coding can be very confusing. What programming language should you start off with? C++, Javascript, Python? Or something completely different? More importantly, WHY should you care to ever learn how to code or how to teach yourself code in the first place?

1. You Can Create Anything You Want

At its core, computer programming gives you the ability to digitize your ideas. Imagine being able to actually implement any idea that you could think about! You know that idea you have for an awesome app that would go viral once it was released out into the wild… Yeah that one – you could actually create that yourself.

Let’s face it, if you are like most people, you might not have a giant pile of cash stashed away to hire somebody to make that app for you because it can get very expensive, very quickly. On the other side let’s say you had some money put away in your account overseas in the Bahamas, it is very unlikely that the person you hire will implement your idea of the app exactly how you want.

Do you think Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook, would have ended up creating the same Facebook if he hired someone to do the work for him? Do you think that the hired developer would have ended up putting the same amount of heart and soul into the work as Mark Zuckerberg? Do you think if the person who came up with the idea of creating Twitter, if he did not have the ability to code, would Twitter still exist? The answer for both of these is probably a resounding “No!”. This is one good reason why you should learn how to program.

2. Instant Scalability

Scale Your Program To The World There is nothing else in this world that can scale its problem solving capabilities to the rest of the world like software development or computer programming can.

For example, if you create an application or a website that monitors someone’s heart-rate, lets them measure their caloric count, or tracks their spending, then all of a sudden hundreds of millions of people can have their fitness or finance related problems solved with the click of a button. You can use computer science to practically solve any problem! I mean think about Uber right… Someone had an epic idea and they set out to turn it into a reality. They set out to digitize their idea into a mobile application.

Video transcript

00:00- How much do you guys think a programmer makes?

00:04- One million dollars?

00:19- Hey guys, what is up, this is Qazi

00:22from cleverprogrammer.com and you are watching

00:25Interview Questions.

00:26So today we decided to go down to a mall and ask a bunch

00:30of people what they think computer programming is

00:33and first, I want you to take a look at their responses

00:36and afterwards, we're gonna go on to actually

00:38answer and address most of these questions,

00:41starting with the most important question,

00:44what is computer programming?

00:46We are here at Woodfield Mall.

00:50And we're gonna take you on the ride with us

00:52so let's get going, alright?

00:57(gentle upbeat music)

01:01- Hey everyone, my name is Tenzin from developertenzin.com.

01:04- Do you guys know what computer programming is?

01:07- It's where you put all the brains inside the box.

01:10- I mean, I don't exactly, but the whole software

01:13and stuff is done by coding, so, numbers and letters.

01:19- The engineer.

01:21- Computer programmer makes codes for different

01:24computer programs to operate systems on a computer.

01:31- How things work, like making something work,

01:34function correctly?

01:39- Essentially, at its very core, it's simply

01:42a way to digitize your ideas.

01:45This idea can be related to a field in biology

01:48related to a medical field.

01:50- I wanna go into the medical field.

01:52- Even in a lot of biology research,

01:54they can sometimes use computer programming.

01:55- Yeah, they do.

01:56- To an engineering field, or it could be related

01:58to whatever the heck you want it to be related to.

02:01- I wanna teach digital media, so there's probably

02:04some coding involved in that.

02:06- Probably video game design.

02:07- Sounds like a lot of coding there, or no?

02:09- A lot, yeah, definitely a lot.

02:13- Now let's talk about why it might be useful to you.

02:17Imagine you were trying to build a video game

02:20and you wanted to put it on an interactive website.

02:23Using programming, you could build your very own game

02:27that nobody has built in the very specific way

02:29that you want it built, and you could put it

02:32on your very own interactive, fun website.

02:35Now let's talk about maybe more practical ways

02:37for some of you people who are like,

02:39"I wanna make that money," right?

02:42Business intelligence, it helps you make better and more

02:46informed decisions not just based on your intuition,

02:49sometimes intuitions are good, but you need it

02:52backed up by evidence and data, which programming

02:55will allow you to do, and the field of data science

02:57and data analytics is all based on computer programming.

03:01It helps you take a lot of these features

03:04that you can't process all at once

03:06and let's the computer decide for you

03:08what decisions to make, how powerful is that?

03:11And you can generate more leads and more money

03:13for your business.

03:14But Qazi, why do I need to have myself learn how to program,

03:18why can't I just have anybody else digitize my idea for me?

03:22Imagine Mark Zuckerberg.

03:23The idea, the specific idea that Mark Zuckerberg had,

03:27a lot of other people had similar ideas

03:29how to create social media, but his idea was the key,

03:34so a lot of you folks, who have these brilliant ideas,

03:38you wanna be able to execute them.

03:40So yes, you can hire somebody to do it for you,

03:43but I promise you it's not gonna be as good

03:45as if you did it yourself.

03:48If those weren't reasons enough for you,

03:50let's talk about instant scalability.

03:53Any idea that you digitize and that you create on your own,

03:56you can scale it infinitely.

03:59Imagine you create an app that solves some kind of problem.

04:03Maybe it's a fitness-related issue

04:04or a finance-related issue like a budgeting app

04:07or like a working out app, all of a sudden

04:10with the click of a button, thousands and millions

04:13of people are having that problem solved

04:15'cause they're able to download your app

04:17or go on your website and use what you've created.

04:21What other medium allows you to scale

04:24at that level and so fast?

04:26There are not many that I can think of.

04:27Like, when you think of a computer programmer,

04:30what do they look like to you

04:31and what do you imagine in your mind?

04:34- An overly-smart person dressed in skinny jeans

04:40and a tight button-up shirt.

04:42- Okay.

04:43- Probably just an average guy, probably wears glasses.

04:47- Like this guy. - Like that guy, okay?

04:50- Yeah, yeah.

04:51- Okay, pretty shirt, well-dressed, skinny pants

04:55and with some dress shoes on, brown dress shoes.

04:58- You have to look nice, yeah. - Right, right, right.

05:01- I just imagine a nerdy guy at a computer just typing,

05:05I don't know.

05:06- That's funny, my husband owns his own computer business

05:08but he just wears like a polo shirt

05:11and nice shorts or pants.

05:14- I met a lot of computer programmers,

05:16so they're actually not close to the stereotypes at all,

05:20like they were nice suits and stuff, well-off men.

05:23- Alright, now let's talk about the job market.

05:27Okay so, so far you've been following me along,

05:29you're like, "This is great, Qazi, I wanna do this!"

05:31Whatever this very thing is, so let me give you

05:34a little bit about what kind of jobs you can get.

05:38The job market for a computer programmer

05:40looks pretty fantastic.

05:43Now, don't get me confused by thinking that it's instantly

05:48easy to become a programmer, it's not, I personally, myself,

05:52have failed a tremendous amount of times, you guys,

05:56while I was trying to become a computer programmer,

05:58and even to this day, I fail over and over again.

06:01Anything that has a true value,

06:03you know from personal experience that it's hard.

06:06There are 1.4 million job openings for computer programming

06:09every single year, however, the number of college

06:13computer science graduates is only 400,000,

06:17which means money money for you.

06:20How does it translate to that?

06:22There's a one million people per year window

06:25open just for you.

06:27Compared to all other jobs or most other jobs,

06:30the job of software technology is growing

06:33at a 17% rate every single year.

06:36So the growth, the projected outlook,

06:40all the way up to 2024 is only growing.

06:44Now let's talk about the money you can make

06:47from computer programming.

06:51- What do you think computer programmers make annually?

06:55- Okay I know that women make a lot more money in the field

06:57because they don't have a lot of women in the field

07:01right now, so I'd say maybe like 70,

07:05starting maybe 60, I don't know.

07:08- So if you're a girl,

07:10you know what you need to start doing.

07:13- 80,000.

07:14- Probably like 70 to 90,000.

07:18- Well a lot, it's a really good skill to have.

07:21I'm guessing around 50,000, maybe more.

07:25- $50,000. - 92.07:28- 92, very specific.

07:29- So at this point, you're like, "Oh yeah, I'm excited."

07:33So let's talk about it.

07:352015 statistics show that the average

07:39median salary is $100,490.

07:46That is a pretty good median salary, right?

07:49Not many jobs might start off with that.

07:52Glassdoor.com that say if you look at a specific area

07:55like Chicago, the median salary

07:57might be $85,000, give or take.

08:00Now why is the range so different,

08:03it depends on where you live.

08:04If you live in the Silicon Valley, the heart of technology,

08:08you are going to be getting paid more

08:10for the jobs, most of the times.

08:12If you're living in other places, like Chicago,

08:15it might be a little bit less than the top, the $100,000

08:18that you could potentially be making.

08:20Why you might actually really enjoy your job more than just

08:22the money is the amount of impact that you're making.

08:25Most of the programmers are able to work

08:27either from their office or remotely.

08:29This means you get to spend more time with your family,

08:33you get to spend more time with your friends.

08:35So if you're working with, let's say,

08:38a company like Microsoft, you're effecting and influencing

08:40the lives of millions of people.

08:42So your role in the society is very important

08:45and as one of my really smart friends once said,

08:49"Your rewards in life are exactly proportional,

08:53"no less and no more, than the contribution

08:55"you make in your society."

08:58Did you let that sink in?

08:59Good.

09:00Because programming allows you to make a tremendous amount

09:04of contribution to the society, simply 'cause it lets you

09:07scale instantly, so that great amazing idea that you had,

09:11yeah, now everybody is using it

09:14and it's changing their lives.

09:15Okay guys, so at this point, I think that hopefully

09:18this video has blown your brains to bits

09:21and you're like, "This is fantastic,

09:23"What can I do to get started?"

09:25You're looking for that sign-up button for success.

09:29Unfortunately, I don't have a sign-up button for success

09:32but I do have a button to subscribe, so click that,

09:36stay tuned for my videos because not only will I make

09:39videos based on entertainment and how fun programming is,

09:42but a lot of them are based on tutorials

09:44so watching these tutorials, you yourself can learn

09:48how to program and how to get started in it

09:51and if you're worried and you're not ready

09:53to make that dip into majoring in computer science

09:56and paying a heck of a lot of money

09:58for something that you can maybe learn on your own

10:01or at least get your feet wet and see what it's about,

10:04check out my tutorials, if you don't like it,

10:07well just stop watching the video and leave the channel,

10:10it's as simple as that, right?

10:12But if you do like it, stay by, watch more videos,

10:14you're welcome to be here, it's mi casa, su casa, right?

10:18My house is your house, as they say in Spanish.

10:22Anyways, it's been really exciting, guys,

10:25thank you so much for watching this video,

10:27please like it if you liked it,

10:29other than that, I love every one of you guys,

10:31I will see you in the next video.10:35Boom!

10:37Do you enjoy it or is it something

10:39that you're just like, "Meh, it's okay."

10:44- No enjoying it.

10:46- You don't enjoy it?

10:47- Yes, no.

10:50- Are you okay with this being on YouTube?

10:51- Yeah yeah, that's fine.

10:53- Yeah definitely.

10:53- Can I put this on YouTube?

10:57- Okay, yes.

10:57- Last question, very important,

10:59can we put this on YouTube?

11:01- Most certainly. - Yes.

11:03- And this last thing, is this okay

11:04if we choose to put it on YouTube?

11:07- Go for it.

11:08- Is this okay if we put this on YouTube?

11:11- Yes, I am fine.

11:12- Can we put that on YouTube?

11:13- Yeah, yes.

11:15- Amazing, Ruby, nice to meet you.

11:17- Where do I find you guys?

11:20- The channel name is called cleverprogrammer.com.