Don't Forget The Closing Tag: Learning HTML
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<h1>He Has History</h1>
Before my two hours of learning how to code on Monday night, my experience with coding was limited. I remember in high school there was a worldwide initiative, encouraging people to engage in an "Hour of Code". The goal was to peak people's interests in STEM fields. I forgot everything.
<h1>He Has Skill?</h1>
In my two hours of learning how to code on Codecademy, I realized that I am very good at the basics. Well, they were the basics for me. What I did in two hours would probably take an expert four seconds.
Formatting the basic information site (about Brown Bears) and the Blog (about New York Fashion Week) were the most straightforward to me. Once I learned where to put each symbol or space and once I learned that “/” must be used in every closing tag, I was good to go. To be completely honest, emphasizing words (<em>) or making them bold (<strong>) was pretty fun. Although it was two hours of lots of starts and stops, I did well for the lack of knowledge that I had going into it.
The real challenge arrived when I moved from embedding links to table building. During the third unit, I began to frequently find my way around obstacles, but then quickly encounter new ones and stall for a little while. At the tail-end of my two-hour trial, tables proved to be the real challenge for me. Coding is deceiving because the concept, at its core, is simple. However, the specifics and technicalities make it much more challenging than it seems. For instance, when inserting videos into your code, you must add a "</video>" tag to the end of your video link. Images are self-closing, so they don't require a closing tag.
<h1><em>Others</em> Have Skill</h1>
If anything, this brief exposure gave me an abundant appreciation for people who make their livelihoods doing this work.
One of the most challenging parts of the exercises was formatting everything to the HTML coding standards. Since it was challenging for me to understand the code format that I was working with, even on the simple things that I was working on, I can’t image how difficult it is working with super complex code and getting lost in the multiple lines.
<h1>Get Some Skill</h1>
It’s important for marketers of any kind to have a basic understanding of coding, as it enables them to better work with or manage their team. Coding is more technical than artistic, and it requires far more objective knowledge than other types of marketing. T-shaped marketers should have a basic understanding of the ins and outs of coding so they can be self-proficient in their day to day tasks.
It is crucial to go beyond the visual and data-driven aspects of marketing campaigns and understand how coders who engineered the ad made it look that way. For purposes of time management and budget, it is smart to know the basics of what your team is creating. Also, in day-to-day operations, being self-proficient and solving small problems yourself allows others to focus on their own jobs.
The high value in coding ability has been recognized by college graduates who are entering the workforce, as well as the employers who evaluate them.
Coding Academies have increased drastically in popularity because of the universal skills with which they equip people in any field. According to Bloomberg, it is evident that students who have Ivy League degrees in applicable fields are struggling to get the jobs for which they apply. Fields involving programming are growing drastically. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates a 24% growth from 2016-2026. Additionally, typical programmer positions only require a bachelor's degree.
So, if your current bachelor's degree isn’t working for you, try taking a Coding crash-course. Have a college degree? You're not alone. Seventy-percent of people enrolled in these crash-courses hold a different college degree while enrolled. If you have $12,000 burning a hole in your pocket, gaining this knowledge and applying to programming positions could yield results.
<h1>The Bottom Line...</h1>
As a marketer, it is valuable to be proficient in anything that will help you understand what propels your field, company, or team. Having an advanced understanding of only one emphasis, such as SEO, does not give you a very clear picture of the breadth of marketing. Accompanying any interest with a knowledge of coding makes job candidates much more valuable.
WBL | RWT-Teacher Academy Teacher-Coordinator | B.E.S.T. Mentor | Grow Your Own Recruitment and Support
6 年This is the best one yet! With your permission, I would like to use this as an example of excellent blogging (something I am planning to add to my curriculum this Fall). ?Thanks, Mr. Micah!
Executive Assistant, Inclusive Experiences & Technology
6 年So fun!