There are lots of benefits to being a web developer or software engineer! This article will go over the benefits of learning to code. See real-world outcomes of people who have made a career change and have become web developers.
High pay
Being a web developer is consistently one of the highest paid jobs you can have. In the US it's quite reasonable to expect to earn six figures as a web developer. For instance, Kenneth Cassel was earning $115,000 in Fort Worth, Texas after 3 years working as a web developer. Kenneth wasn't even working in a high-pay location like San Francisco or Palo Alto and he wasn't working for a big tech firm either.
Check out our survey on entry level developer salaries
Read our guide to Tesla Software Engineer salaries and Uber Software Engineer salaries
There are lots of web developer jobs
As many smart people have said, "software has eaten the world". Whereas we used to go to Blockbuster to rent videos, we know watch Netflix. We used to go to shopping malls and buy CDs but now we stream our music on Spotify. Just about every sector has been affected by the increase of software. There is still lots of innovation to come.
Unfortunately, this threatens lots of jobs, especially working class jobs. One way to avoid the job losses that will come from automation is to learn valuable skills like web development. There's always going to be a need for people to can code and design software. The biggest growth areas in the global job market are consistently based around software development.
Tae'lur Alexis was working as waitress after college but was determined to get a better career. She learned to code in her evenings and weekends and became a developer over 8 months.
There's lots of intellectual stimulation
When you commit to being a web developer you commit to a lifetime of learning. This can be a double-edged sword of course! If you don't want a career where you need to learn new things then web development probably isn't a great fit for you.
The technologies that developers are using are always changing. The last few years have the seen rise and dominance of modern JavaScript libraries like React whereas in the past it would have been sufficient to know an easier library like jQuery.
Most web developers though are keen to learn whatever is best to get the job done. The good news is that once you learn to code with one language, you know the basic principles. So you just have to learn the quirks of other languages, frameworks or libraries.
Enyel wanted to make a career change from being a teacher as he was bored of not learning anything new. So he learned to code and become a developer.
The bottom-line is if you love learning more, you'll love web development as a career.
You do not need a degree to be a web developer
One of the best things about being a web developer is you do not need a degree to enter the field. Lots of web developers nowadays have learned to code on their own using online courses or YouTube. Many software engineers are also entering the profession by going to coding bootcamps.
So the fact you don't need a university degree means web development is a career field open to everyone. I've interviewed lots of people who dropped out of high school and have become web developers. Where there's a will, there's a way!
Ahmad Rusdi dropped out of high school but became a developer with JP Morgan Stanley.
You can work remotely as a web developer
Remote work has been growing in popularity for the last 5 years but the Covid 19 virus has changed things completely. Now most companies offer at least the ability to work remotely part of the week, while lots now offer 100% remote working. This has been benefits for web developers as you no longer have to live in extremely expensive cities like San Francisco or London.
You can save lots of money and retire early simple by living in a low cost location. Lots of companies like Buffer are also 100% remote meaning you could move to an ultra low cost location like Thailand while still earning a six figure US salary.
Another fact is that with pandemics like Covid 19 you are much safer if you are working a job that you can do safely at home. Unfortunately many job sector such as retail or hospitality have a much higher risk factor as you are working with people all day. Working on a computer at home is therefore much safer.
Josy became a developer and got hired by video software company Veed while travelling around Vietnam.
You are more likely to work a 4 day week
The tech industry has been at the fore-front of shifting towards having a 4 day week. This is where you either work 32 hours instead of 40 hours a week or you compress all of your work into just 4 days. This increases your weekend by 50%! Software engineering dominates the 4 day week at the moment and companies like Buffer have led the way in pioneering this more flexible work pattern. You can find 4 day week companies and jobs on the 4dayweek job board.
