Should I Code for the Money? ??
Late last night I came across an extremely interesting video while I was browsing YouTube right before getting ready for bed. It was titled, “You Shouldn’t Learn to Code for the Money”.
The video’s creator Dorian, a self-taught web programmer, emphasizes the importance of not taking other people’s perspectives on learning to code as the law, one of which is–you guessed it— “don’t just code for the money.” I thought about it for a minute and paused the video. After about two minutes to hash it over, I understood exactly what the dude was telling his viewers. In a way it made sense. Why would any of us programmers do it without the money? We want to do it for the money. We solve extremely difficult problems some days, and we want to be paid well for that (I know I do!).
Dorian summarizes this perfectly: “If I found out that coding would only pay me twelve bucks an hour, I probably wouldn’t have done it.” Right on, brother.
Because look at it this way: Why would anyone not want all their bills paid and then some? Depending on where you live, twelve bucks an hour in 2022 will not do that for you. Not completely anyhow.?
Having said all that, I am a prime example of pursuing coding not for the money.?
Passion can definitely be a factor in learning how to program. The first week it came into my head as a possibility, I knew that I had already written down some great inventions and technology ideas that I had kept bottled up in my brain for so long. I was not even aware that bootcamps existed. I didn’t even know how well software developer jobs even paid. I just knew that maybe I could possibly learn how to code. If I could learn how to code, I decided, I could be the one who could get a jumpstart on all the ideas I had to build them into reality.
?I vividly remember that the day after I signed up for bootcamp almost a year later, and the first few hours I was literally going, Oh crap. What did I just do?! My heart was in my throat. But a short time later, I grew ecstatic. I was so excited at the knowledge that would soon be at my fingertips. I was excited knowing that the skills I would learn there would soon change my life as I knew it. And it was around that time I started seeing and hearing all the stories of making six figures as a programmer. Right after that, I plowed ahead at full speed.
Personally, it was passion that got me going to get started, and it was the appreciation of the money that kept me going (Dorian says a very similar thing in the video, which I linked below as a source). Passion and money combined are the reason why I haven’t given up on coding yet, and why I still continue to make plans and brainstorm ideas.?
“So Marie”, you ask. “If someone tells me that I should only code if I really love it and not for the money, what do I do?!”
You wanna know what I would say to that? Do it for both.
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Because let’s be honest, I have days where I sometimes believe that I hate it. I run into bugs every. single. day. I still cry in the shower when it takes me longer than twenty-four hours to fix something. I still want to destroy my computer when no code seems to be working in my favor.
I honestly think sometimes that there are some people, especially those who have no experience in or exposure to the tech field, are more inclined to say things like “don’t do it for the money”. I will never know the exact reasons why they say this, but one theory might be that this phrase translates to “if it isn’t fun don’t do it” or “don’t sign up for something that could make you miserable and hate your life”. And honestly, the people saying these things probably have good intentions. Burnout can definitely happen, and it sucks when you stay in the burnout hole for an extensive amount of time. But then again, why did I put myself through five years of absolute misery in the restaurant industry? I did it for the money. I learned to be a great server and the strongest manager I could be at that young age. I outworked every other manager on the tier except for one. I did it all for the money, I got great, and unfortunately, I hated every minute of it.
Fast forward five years. I still have bad days. Tears are shed. But I am not miserable. Learning to code doesn’t make me hate it. I will still need to put a project down for a day or two and look at it later that week to freshen my perspective.
If coding is something you absolutely are certain you will hate, then it could very well be that it’s not for you. That’s okay! I’m not judging you ??
Then again, if you don’t particularly love it yet you have a deeper reason, a hunger that drives you to make more money and learn new skills while doing so, then why not give it a shot? Only when you spend an extended amount of time on it will you make the decision. Go with your gut! And I definitely do not want to sound like I am advising anyone to put themselves through coding the way I put myself through restaurant life. I hated it. So please, unless you truly don’t care, please don’t feel like you have to hate tech and yet continue to push yourself through it aimlessly simply because Marie said so, or because this dude on YouTube told you to.
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