Code for your Freedom
We talk a lot about the tech talent pipeline. The common statistic that is shared at any STEM education conference or info session about getting more people in the tech talent pipeline is that we currently have around 500,000 unfilled tech jobs and that number is expected to grow to over 1 million by the early 2020’s. A lot of people are concerned about filling these positions and getting more kids into computer science so they can become the workers of the future.
At SBCS, we often talk about how we get students more interested in coding. We also help with getting some of our older students placed into internships. One could argue that we are working to seed the tech talent pipeline, and we most definitely are. However, I think there is a big opportunity that is missed when we assess the power behind technology education from kindergarten all the way up through postsecondary education.
The opportunity that I am talking about is freedom.
Sure, coding is a valuable skillset. There are a lot of jobs that you can get and a lot of really great salaries you can make if you know how to code. This is part of the reason it is hyped a lot by workforce development groups. Let’s not get it twisted, getting work is great and earning a living is really great. Being able to successfully do both of those things is a huge deal and it should not be taken lightly.
All of that being said, I think that the real reason coding is valuable is the freedom it gives someone to build their imagination. How many other things in life allow you to create, innovate, start a company, help people around the world, or build services that support entire industries with little to no financial capital? Not many.
As we look for reasons to support computer science and showing youth the power of code, I feel it is important to highlight that there are many things beyond the tech talent pipeline that one can do with code and with life. It would be selfish of us to assume that today’s bright young minds might only want to fill someone else’s tech gap when they are capable of much, much more.
