The software development market is only getting better for a few years now and the projection is for this market to grow even more in the upcoming years both in size and value.
If you are an experienced developer, recruiters come to you often to offer jobs and positions in both new and established companies.
The average salaries for developers are above the salaries of most jobs, and we have yet to consider that you don’t even need a degree to be a developer in many companies, as you can see in this article from the USA today.
US Bureau of labor statistics projects employment of software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers is projected to grow 22 percent from 2019 to 2029, much faster than the average for all occupations. These workers will be needed to respond to an increased demand for computer software, as seen here.
In 2021, according to US News "software developer" is ranked the 2nd best job in America and it was ranked the 1st in 2020.
I am not so old, but if you ask me, there has never been a better time in history to be a Software Developer than now.
In many parts of the world, a college education is either free or very affordable, unlike in the US where you have to pay a lot for a degree.
So, for Americans, being able to make decent money without spending tens of thousands of dollars is an even bigger advantage.
If we think in terms of opportunity cost, you can learn enough coding in a year to get an entry-level job or start freelancing.
Compare this to other professions that don’t allow you to do any kind of professional work without finishing the equivalent of a 4-year degree or more.
Of course, as more people get into this field, there will be a tendency of salaries to get lower, especially for beginners.
But I can say for sure that seniors and experts in more niche areas will always get paid well.
So if you start right now your career as a developer, in less than 10 years you will have enough expertise to be a senior in something and secure a good position.
As with any career, you have to face it as a marathon.
There is much to learn, and there is always more to learn.
While many will complain about how much they have to do just to keep up with the new trends, the optimistic will see opportunities for new ventures.
Not only that, but the need to keep improving all the time also works as a natural selection.
Many can start, many can take the path for some time, but not everyone will have the energy to keep going for too long, and there is where you can excel.
And, to conclude, if you ever have a good idea to start your own business, coding is like a superpower to start.
Of course, you will also need other skills like marketing, copywriting, and sales.
But if you excel at one thing, in this case, I’m advocating for coding, and you are average in marketing, copywriting and sales, you can go pretty far business-wise.