ReadWrite's Lauren Orsini provides an excellent summary of how, in 2013, more people flocked to Web-based resources to learn the basics to coding. Not just that, Orsini says, "Demand for developers continues to rise, so this trend isn't showing signs of peaking yet." We should expect to be hearing even more initiatives to get people of all ages, backgrounds, and locations on board with programming. These skills can come in handy in nearly every industry, even traditionally offline ones, and the message is loud and clear: Coding is cool.
As Orsini notes, technology is pushing everyone to explore possibilities and to expand their personal horizons. But that's not just true for coders. The same case can be made for other areas of study and interest. For instance, we keep on hearing about how the future is in social, the future is in mobile, the future is in video, and so on, and perhaps all of these are true. And more. When we peer into the crystal ball, what do we see? That's a question everyone should be asking himself or herself as we anticipate what our industry (and career) will look like five or 10 years down the line. Now's the time to invest your time into developing new skills that will make you more valuable, and, inevitably, more profitable, in the years to come.
Continuing education and professional skills development are essential, whether for coding or another knowledge base. Online training is easy to find, work with, and master. As you look ahead at 2014, it's a good time to consider taking on one new skill. There's so much to choose from between design skills, management skills, video skills, or something else.
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