Everyone knows that they should teach their children manners, reading, math and plenty of other basic skills that can be applied to all aspects of life. Something many parents may not automatically think to include in these teachings, however, is coding and computer science.
Particularly in this day and age, coding is becoming increasingly more useful and even necessary skill. It is applicable in many career fields and even teaches additional skills that can be used in other areas of a child’s life that have nothing to do with computers.
Here are a few thoughts on the importance of including coding to your child’s curriculum, whether it be in school or as a supplemental activity.
Career opportunities
At the rate with which technology is being incorporated into virtually every field in the job market, it is unsurprising that computer science is a thriving and growing area.
It is estimated that by 2020, there will be one million unfilled positions in the computer science field.
This shows that coding is a skill both sought after and difficult to find, making it an excellent tool to develop when thinking of potential career options in the future.
Coding can also open up opportunities for your child in other fields that aren’t explicitly related to computer science or software design. The skills found in coding can be applied in pretty much any field since technology has become such an integral part of virtually every business, making coders highly needed and thoroughly sought after in pretty much any area.
David Dodge, CEO of CodaKid, states:
Every business is nearly every sector is becoming a technology company. In order to prepare our kids for the jobs of tomorrow, we need to teach the language of computation to every student as early as elementary school. Even students who don’t end up in computer programming will find these skills essential in tomorrow’s world.
SEE ALSO: Student developers know more Java than what employers require, report shows
Potential income
Aside from the fact that there will be plenty of positions available to individuals who excel at coding, there is also a great deal of potential income that comes with it.
The 2017 median pay of software developers comfortably sits in the six-figure range at $103,560 per year, or just under $50/hr. The typical entry-level educational background involves only a bachelor’s degree, a requirement that can be found across many other fields that pay far less.
Computer engineering jobs rank amongst some of the highest-paying jobs for recent graduates overall. This provides comfort and security not only for your child’s future overall but for the immediate moments upon graduation that may seem daunting and confusing (and that often bring about a great deal of financial hardship before a truly profitable and fulfilling career comes along)
Associated skills
Though computer fluency is an obvious skill that is obtained from coding, there are a number of other skills that typically come with it.
Communication and interpersonal skills are a good example. Developers need to give clear instructions and work well in teams to accomplish all that is required in terms of designing, developing and programming any software. Additionally, they must be able to break everything down into terms and language they can use with their customers
Creativity and problem-solving skills are also developed through coding. Software development requires both unique thoughts and ideas as well as an ability to work through any hiccups or errors that come up along the way.
Coders also have well developed analytical skills since they need to figure out the needs of their users and how to achieve these needs. This also leads them to focus on and give appropriate attention to all of the small details in their work that otherwise could be easily overlooked.
While all of these skills are critical in coding itself, they are also clearly transferrable and are applicable to all areas of life.
SEE ALSO: Top 10 growing IT career skills: Indeed report weighs in
Summary
It can be easy to overlook computer science and coding as skills to make sure your children learn and develop. They don’t fall under the traditional list of skills in academic, domestic or professional fields that parents typically teach their children, and we certainly didn’t have much exposure to it in our youth.
It is important to note, however, that these skills are crucial in the modern age. They offer excellent career opportunities both in and out of the field of computer engineering, they give the availability of a nice income immediately after college and throughout your child’s career and they have an extension of many other useful skills that your child will undoubtedly learn along with the obvious computer fluency.
It’s important to start your child in coding as young as an elementary school since it is essentially comprised of the same elements as traditional language learning, making it easiest to pick up in early childhood. Make sure to give your child an advantage through coding soon!
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Source : JAXenter
