The number of job offers in 2022 in IT increased by almost 100% compared to the previous year. Such data is provided by the No Fluff Jobs website, which publishes job offers in IT. Experts also observed an increase in wages, regardless of the type of contract. The conclusions are obvious – learning to program is an extremely useful skill that can help us get a well-paid job. However, many people contemplating a programmer career wonder where to actually start. In this article, you will learn why you should start programming and how to start learning from scratch to make it quick and efficient.
IT specialists wanted
According to the ABSL report, Sector of Modern Business Services in Poland 2022, entrepreneurs are mainly looking for specialists who can boast both technical and business skills. According to respondents, the most developing skills for the company are in the field of predictive analytics (56.1%), knowledge of technology (46.3%) and leadership skills (43.9%). These were followed by language skills (42.1%), emotional intelligence (37.8%), programming skills (36.6%) and managerial skills (23.8%). Among soft skills, employers mainly mention flexibility, creativity, action-orientation and the ability to work in a team. As you can see, today employers are looking for specialized programmers with high technical and managerial competencies.
Hiring specialists is four times more difficult
The ABSL report also shows that hiring programmers and other IT specialists is now four times more difficult than in 2021, which is particularly beneficial for people who want to start a career in this sector. As many as 85% of the surveyed entrepreneurs in the recruitment process consider looking for employees outside the borders of large cities, and 54% outside Poland. As many as 88% of entrepreneurs are open to the possibility of remote work, which is great information for people who prefer this mode of work.
High earnings in IT
Of course, the high demand for IT specialists translates into earnings. According to the No Fluff Jobs report, wages are increasing by a dozen or so percent year by year. The website analyzed the changes in the median of the lower and upper salary brackets in specializations related to programming, i.e. Backend, Frontend and Fullstack. In the case of Backend and Frontend, there was an increase in wages. In the Fullstack area, the lower brackets limit remained unchanged, while the upper one slightly decreased. The programmers working on a B2B contract and dealing with Backend can count on the highest wage.
Employees who do not deal with coding can also count on high earnings. Project management specialists specializing in Big Data receive one of the highest salaries.
Why is it worth learning to program?
Learning programming can give us a great start in the IT industry. Programming is the greatest strength of most companies involved in this sector. The ability to code allows you to enter the new world of technology, which gives us great opportunities for development. Thanks to this, we can create websites, applications or software. The job of a programmer provides us with high wages, stable employment, and the possibility of remote work from anywhere in the world. The profession of a programmer opens up many amazing opportunities for us.
How long does it take to learn programming from scratch?
It is difficult to give an unequivocal answer to this question, because the pace of learning largely depends on its form, our individual predispositions, time that we can devote to it and internal motivation. It is worth noting, however, that coding is hard to learn in a few days. Typically, learning to program from scratch takes at least several months, and in the case of very advanced skills – even several years.
If we start from scratch, learning to program can take us about 300-400 hours. By spending 6 hours a day on it, we can acquire this skill in just 2 months. If, on the other hand, we have limited time resources and we can devote only 2 hours, it may take us a whole year to acquire these competences. However, in each of these cases, inner determination, patience and persistence are very important.
Which programming language is the best to start with?
There are many programming languages, more or less advanced. At the beginning of your career, it is worth asking yourself – what interests me the most? In what direction do I want to develop? What kind of software do I want to master? And on this basis, make a choice.
If you want to progress towards Frontend, it makes sense to start learning with JavaScript or CSS. It is a great choice for people with an aesthetic sense and would like to see the results of their work right away. These programming languages are considered to be the most popular and the easiest to learn at the same time.
For those interested in Backend, Python is the best choice to start with. Here, the most important skills are the ability to think analytically and logically, as well as meticulousness. Working in this sector involves creating algorithms and many logical challenges.
If our future is related to creating computer games, knowledge of C++ or C# may be necessary. Java and Swift turn out to be the most useful for creating mobile applications. Knowledge of Java may also be necessary when working with corporate systems. The ability to use this language allows you to cooperate on advanced software projects, where what counts is persistence, patience and independence in carrying out complex tasks.
Get yourself a great start in IT
Just like the knowledge of foreign languages, programming is one of the skills most desired by employers, not only those operating in the IT industry. Demand for people with both competences in this area and the ability to manage projects and human resources continues to grow. It is also worth noting that the programmer’s work provides us with many challenges and gives us an amazing field for the development of competences. In such work, we will certainly not complain about boredom, and the problems that we can solve are an excellent training for our mind. So if your interests go in this direction, it is worth opening the door to a prospective and financially profitable career in the IT industry that can change your life!
