Why I Left Learning How to Code

In the era where tech means power

Tech is the future.

Careers in tech earn more money.

STEM is the thriving field to pursue.

My previous company which is thriving in e-commerce laid off thousands. Guess the segment which did not get laid off? Tech. This automatically makes you believe that unless you pursue a degree or online course in tech, your skills aren’t savy enough.

I felt this too especially during the pandemic when Linkedin was bombarded by 2 types of updates:

1. People putting up certificates of online courses
2. People expressing their dismay over being furloughed

For months I have seen this information every day so I too decided to pursue a renown course on Data Science. I kid you not, it looked beautiful! I even told my close friends and family that I’ll become a Data Scientist.

You do not need past experience in coding or math. Data Science jobs are only filled by 20% people and will only increase. The opportunities are high in demand and your horizon to earn will be limitless. It is one of the highest paying jobs in the world.

Long story short — I was sold. This is exactly what I wanted to do.

Hard work (and scholarships) poured in

I needed 9 online courses to be finished to attain this certification. The first one finished in 1 week. The second, third and fourth also finished with a lot of enthusiasm.

To add to that, I got scholarships for all these courses because of my efficiency and saved on hundreds of dollars. The scholarship board was convinced that I am worth being excused because of my determination towards learning.

I started to wake up early and study before I start my workday. I spent the first 60–90min in the morning to get upskilled. I made notes of everything I read online. I even colour coordinated my notes. My level of enthusiasm was like going back to school.

I started learning how to code on another website side-by-side to brush up my coding skills. You see, I wanted to do this and be excellent. I started dreaming about getting a job in a different country because I would be a skilled worker and get a job anywhere. That's the power of tech today, don't you know?

Attracting excellent job opportunities

I am a strong believer of the universe and the law of attraction. I set my Linkedin job settings to notify me once a week of my dream jobs in my dream destinations.

All the jobs seemed to be interesting, all of them needed the exact skills I was learning on my online course. I really was pumped up. This is my time, I’m going to make it big!

The computer algorithms were reading me all this while too because all the ads I saw were about tech and success. Selling me courses, blogs, everything. My brain was only getting more and more conditioned due to my environment’s influence.

Feeling at the top of the world

I have a bachelors majoring in Economics, Psychology and Sociology and a Masters in a field of business. I nearly flunked math in school and everything to do with numbers went over my head.

My best friend saw my hard work and enthusiasm and looked up to me. His belief in me pushed me, even more, to believe in myself. Who doesn’t want to feel like they’re inspiring someone?

I thought of how my friends will react a year later when I make to big. I started to think of my family who will be so proud of me. I started to think of my old boss who told me I’m good for nothing and how I’ll prove it to him that I’ve mastered the most in-demand skill.

I was learning to code for success and money, period.

If you want to code because of the reasons I have mentioned, it’s not for you.

I was not learning to code because I enjoyed it. To compare, when I write for hours on Medium it does not feel like work. When I learnt to code for 30 minutes it felt long and undoable.

On my fifth course, I couldn’t finish my assignment. I didn’t know how to do it. Moreover, I did not want to learn how to pass it either. I let it all go.

I had been trying to code because the world told me to do so, and I believed them. Honestly, I sucked at it. I was so terrible at problem-solving. I could hardly answer complex issues without glancing at the solution to find a hint.

This made me realise what I actually want to do

Find what you’re good at, and kick-ass out of it.

The above statement is by one of my friends who’s a techie at the leading e-commerce firm.

I have always been a writer. I wrote poems at 7, edited school newsletters at 13, ran a blog at 19 and stopped believing I’m good enough to make a living out of it at 20.

In this process, I kept trying to find inspiration in different things. I thought coding will be the superpower which will help me make it big.

Whatever you’re good at, will ultimately help you make it big when you put your energy into it.

Should you code?

• Does problem-solving excite you?
• Do you enjoy numbers?
• Do you get driven when you read job descriptions of tech jobs?

If your answer is yes, my answer is hell yes!

If you want to do it because it’s trending, has an abundance of future opportunities and will give you a 6-figure income straight away — that’s a wrong guiding motivation, not just for coding but for everything in life.

But what about my dream of becoming successful and wealthy?

This world doesn’t need more people doing the same thing, it needs more people bringing something new to the table.

Adding value is what matters. You won’t get paid for the things 95% people are doing but you’ll get paid extremely well for only you can deliver.

Whatever your streak is, wherever it lies, hone that craft. Invest in learning more and practice your skill. You may not be in silicon valley earning 80k a year but you’ll be whatever it is that makes you happy and earn a lot more money.

Go out there and get it.