Young woman coding on laptop and table at desk near sunny window

Why It's Important for Students to Learn How to Code

Even if you're not planning to be a Science major, coding is an incredibly valuable skill to learn before heading off to college. Here's why!

Do people really understand the value of learning to code? Unless you’re already a science enthusiast, it’s not likely that you’ve thought about the benefits, skills, and knowledge that coding could bring. And the bigger picture here? You should be developing coding skills before high school graduation, as they will provide you invaluable insight into other areas of your education throughout college. Coding is a computer science skill that is extremely vital because it teaches you how to logically solve problems, open your mind to unlimited creativity, and allows you to compete for jobs and careers that are constantly changing with technology. Let’s explore why these three things are so important to foster through learning how to code. But first…

What is coding?

The computer science term coding is the process of using a programming language to get a computer or similar device to perform how you want it to. Each row of codes tells the computer to do something different, and a full page or document of rows with coding is called a script. Each script is planned to carry out a specific task. This job might be to rotate an image on a website or to cause a box to pop up on the side when you visit a certain page. Coding allows an individual to highly personalize websites and put unique stamps on the technology they use. But why is coding so beneficial to you in the long term?

You’ll develop problem-solving skills

Coding isn’t just typing random letters, numbers, and symbols. It teaches students how to be resilient, encouraging them to continue to try after failed attempts. It also teaches you how to identify a problem, examine the problem on a larger scale, and reduce it down to smaller pieces to generate an effective solution. When this skill is practiced consistently in school, students become computational thinkers. This allows you to decompose, identify patterns, understand the abstract of a pattern, and comprehend algorithms. As Chief Technology Officer of SongKick Dr. Dan Crow explains, “Computational thinking teaches you how to tackle large problems by breaking them down into a sequence of smaller, more manageable problems.” This is a skill that everyone should learn as it is adaptable to any career or field of work.

Related: The Top 10 Hard and Soft Skills All Employers Want

You’ll enhance your creativity

Can you imagine having endless possibilities to make a piece of technology perform specific jobs? Well, you do! At a very young age, we’re taught to use our imagination in writing or listening to stories—crafting whole worlds in our brains about legends and superheroes. Coding opens a different kind of creative pathway that allows students to perform all types of experiments by assessing various ideas. Going through this process gives them full control of their own exploration of a preconceived thought. In the real world, job and careers require creativity to progress projects and to prove your worth in order to advance to higher positions. Maria Klawe—a mathematician, computer scientist, and President of Harvey Mudd College—believes that “coding is today’s language of creativity. All our children deserve a chance to become creators instead of consumers of computer science.”

You’ll have opportunities for computer science careers

It’s evident that coding and technology is disrupting the workforce. Companies like Radio Shack, Yellow Cab, Toys “R” Us, Payless ShoeSource, and many more were forced out of business because they couldn’t keep up with changes in technology—unlike bionic companies such as Uber, Amazon, online e-commerce stores, and others. It’s important that students are taught skills that will allow them to compete in a tech-driven workforce—whether their actual job is in a science path or not—because coding with technology will continue to advance based on human demands. According to the 2018 STEM Education Report Card by the Washington Student Achievement Council, it’s projected that between 2020 and 2025, only 35.7% of total annual job openings in computer science will be filled by graduates who will be prepared for the jobs. Students who take an active approach in gaining STEM skills are likely to have a lot of opportunities in front of them.

Related: Top 10 Reasons to Major in Computer Science

Learning how to code before graduating high school teaches students how to expand their creativity, view problems differently and generate solutions using computational thinking, and—most importantly—compete in a constantly evolving workforce that is heavily reliant on technology. At every high school in the country, students are required to show proficiency in certain subjects to graduate—there should be a push to include computer coding, and STEM education in general, as one of those subjects now more than ever.  

Did this article spark an interest in STEM education? Even if you’re not interested in it as a major, use our College Search tool to find summer programs or individual classes you could take in the sciences!

Like what you’re reading?

Join the CollegeXpress community! Create a free account and we’ll notify you about new articles, scholarship deadlines, and more.

Join Now

Tags:

Join our community of
over 5 million students!

CollegeXpress has everything you need to simplify your college search, get connected to schools, and find your perfect fit.

Join CollegeXpress
Mimi

Mimi

High School Class of 2022

CollegeXpress has provided me with tips that were for college students, but as a high school junior, they were still very useful. Not only that, it also gave me an idea of what to expect when it comes to going to college or already being in college. I want to say thank you to CollegeXpress, and I hope you continue the wonderful tips until I hopefully get into college and throughout my college journey.

Amelia

Amelia

High School Class of 2023

CollegeXpress helped open me up to many colleges that fit my interests. I’m only a sophomore in high school, so I like having a lot to look at, and CX does a great job of picking colleges that meet my wants. It's a great website that I'll continue to use until it comes time for me to apply for colleges. I also like that it notifies me through email with options to look at. Thanks CX!

Jada Bohanon

Jada Bohanon

High School Class of 2021

CollegeXpress has helped me find scholarships for the colleges I applied to. It was very hard for me to find scholarships in the beginning that I was qualified for. My teachers recommended this website to find some, and not only did I find some scholarships but I also got to look into some schools I hadn’t heard of before. I was very happy to have discovered this website, especially with the coronavirus spreading all over as I can’t really go visit many colleges.

Farrah Macci

Farrah Macci

High School Class of 2016

CollegeXpress has helped me in many ways. For one, online searches are more organized and refined by filtering scholarships through by my personal and academic interests. Due to this, it has made searching for colleges and scholarships significantly less stressful. As a student, life can already get stressful pretty quickly. For me, it’s been helpful to utilize CollegeXpress since it keeps all of my searches and likes together, so I don’t have to branch out on multiple websites just to explore scholarship options.

Wendy Thompson

Wendy Thompson

Owner, Westport Educational Consulting

I just discovered your site and LOVE it—fun, interesting, full of incredible information you can’t find anywhere else, and a godsend for those of us in the college counseling business. I am a fan!

College Matches
X

Colleges You May Be Interested In

Charleston Southern University

North Charleston, SC

Oklahoma State University

Stillwater, OK

SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Utica and Albany, NY