Have you ever wondered how our phones or computer work, or even how to build an app? The technology behind is called coding (developing) and it’s a computer language.

According to Computer Science Degree Hub, “Coding is basically the computer language used to develop apps, websites, and software. Without it, we’d have none of the most popular technology we’ve come to rely on such as Facebook, our smartphones, the browser we choose to view our favorite blogs, or even the blogs themselves. It all runs on code.”

To get a better understanding of what coding truly is, I asked Joachim Ngabo, a 24-year-old, diploma graduate from Damelin private college. Joachim works as a full-stack developer for a waste management company.

What would you say are some of the skills required to become a coder?

So you need to be someone who has an interest in solving problems. You need to have the ability to pay attention to details really quickly. Without the love for it, then there’s no point. 

Also, just be organised. Because when it comes to coding, you definitely can’t be messy, make a little mistake and you could make the whole thing crash.

When it comes to other skills, then you obviously need to be good in Maths, or in Physics and English. Yeah, those are the requirements that they asked for when I was applying.

What career opportunities are there as a coder?

You can work as a front-end developer. So that’s just you dealing with the front-end part, the look and feel of the software of the website. Or you can work as a back-end developer, dealing with the back-end operations of software. This includes databases, API’s which is application programming interfaces.

You can work as a full-stack developer. So that’s my position where you develop the front-end, and you develop the back-end altogether. 

What companies would a coder typically work for?

As a developer, you can work in medical companies, you can work in hospitality companies. For example, I’m not working in a tech-based company, I’m working in a waste management company. 

You are pretty much everywhere because most companies, these days, are led by technology, and they always need developers, they need their business’s operations run on software. 

For me, working in a waste management company, they need software that’s going to be able to allow customers or clients to request a waste management service to come and collect their waste from home or from a construction site. Collect the waste, and then dispose of the waste. So, they needed a website where they could market their services. And then, they need an app that users can use and book their services from them. 

So we are pretty much everywhere. I can work in any field in any company. 

What advice do you have for someone who would like to take up coding as a career?

Well, first of all, they need to like it. So I’ll advise them to make sure they actually have a passion for developing software, for developing websites and applications. 

From there – just keep practising. You know, coding is like math, the more you practice, the better you get at it. And then the second piece of advice, is to always polish your skills, and keep up to date with the technology, because, what you learn today might not necessarily be what they (companies) need tomorrow.

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All this talk of coding got me curious as to what it looks like and if I would be able to do it. So I downloaded a coding app on my phone, called Grasshopper. I started at the very beginning since I had no previous knowledge of coding.

At first, it was a little confusing, but as I went along, I got the hang of it.  I just had to read carefully and think.

In the images below, I was given instructions, and I had to type the simple code, in the “Your Code” section, and I managed to copy the Gabon flag!

Here are a list of places where you study:

If you are a problem solver and have a passion for technology, why not think of studying coding because the career opportunities are endless!

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Tell us: Would you consider studying coding as a career? Why or why not?

Read more here on how to become a data analyst.