miracle coder
Howdy folks!
Today, I want to explore the question of what is one of the most satisfying careers for an introvert. You might have guessed that my answer to that question already. I feel that coding is the most satisfying an introvert could have. I am an introvert myself and I would like to share with you the reasons why I feel coding is a satisfying career for an introvert.
Low barrier to entry
It is very easy to get started with coding especially with the abundance of resources available online for free! Heck, you do not even need a degree to get started. I first got an introduction into coding in my late teenage years when I joined a local high school competition for the best Lego soccer robot.
Now don’t get me wrong, it felt intimidating especially since I knew nothing about coding when I joined the competition. The soccer robot I built does not look as fancy as the one above and I did not end up winning the competition. However, I successfully built and coded the Lego soccer robot from scratch and had a lot of fun doing it! All it took was a healthy dose of curiosity and the ability to problem solve. This leads me to my next reason on why I believe coding is a rewarding career for an introvert.
Being able to utilize skills that comes naturally as an introvert
Coding is a career that prizes skills like knowledge, research and involves a lot of writing. These are skills that comes naturally to me as an introvert. If you prefer writing more compared to talking as a medium of communication, you will want to consider coding as a career. It will not be too far of a stretch to say that a career in coding is essentially a career in writing. Coders are writers, the only difference is that coding is writing with a focus on computers. Writers write books and articles for people to read. While coders write instructions for computers to read. Writing code is an art in and of itself and you can read more on this topic in this article.
Moreover, as an introvert, I enjoy opportunities for self-reflection and research. You will find that coding is a career with abundant opportunities for doing a lot of researching. Often, I find myself daydreaming and thinking things out in my mind long before I write any code. My first plan of attack is to come up with a plan on how I am going to write my code. This starts with researching (a.k.a Googling) best practices, any gotchas to watch out for, relevant design patterns, etc. A lot of problems in the coding industry are solved problems. So researching is very important, since it makes it a lot easier to write the code for the problem that you are trying to solve.
Flexibility and freedom to be independent
In addition, coding is a very satisfying career for an introvert due to the fact that there is a lot of flexibility to choose the kind of jobs that is the most interesting to you. Since technology is so pervasive, there is a lot of demand for people that can code. You can choose to work in a wide range of industries: healthcare, gaming, finance, retail, education etc. This is cool because it allows you to choose jobs that gives you a lot of freedom to work independently.
I feel that the most appealing aspect of a career in coding as an introvert is the freedom to work independently. This is especially true if you decide to go the route of a freelancer and work alone. Even when you work with a team, there is still a lot of freedom to work independently with minimal oversight.
Currently, the most popular software development approach in the coding industry for teams to adopt is the Agile methodology. Agile methodology is a software development approach that focuses on adaptability, flexibility, and fast delivery times for releasing software. The reason I bring this up is because with the Agile approach there is a heavy focus on allowing software developers to be as productive as they can be. Which means that most of the time you will be given the space and time needed to work alone to be productive.
Being able to do work that is meaningful to you
To feel that your career is satisfying as an introvert, you need to be able to find meaning in your work life. Being an introvert, I find that I need to feel that the work that I do is not only paying the bills but also contribute towards making a positive impact in my life. I have been able to do work that is meaningful to me since I decided to take up coding as a career. For example, I have been able to work in finance and healthcare which are industries that I care a lot about because there is a lot of opportunity for coding in these industries.
Another area of coding that allows me to find meaning in my work is that it is a type of work that is very favorable to experiencing “flow”. Flow was first researched by positive psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Csikszentmihalyi describes flow as a state of heightened focus and immersion in activities such as art, play and work. He proposes that flow is the secret to happiness. This aligns with my experience with a career in coding. This is because coding is a type of work that naturally encourages you to be focused and shielded from distractions. Our current society is becoming an increasingly distracting world and coding is a career that will help you to stay away from distractions. Thus, allowing you to experience flow and by extension happiness more often in your career.
Feel valued, acknowledged, and rewarded as an introvert
Furthermore, coding is a career where you can feel valued, acknowledged, and rewarded as an introvert. We currently live in a society that increasingly reward extroverts and the introverts among us tend to get overlooked. However, this has not been my experience with coding. The reason is due to the Agile software development methodology that I brought up earlier. With Agile, there is a process known as a retrospective where each member of a software development team is given a chance to voice out things that have gone well and things that have not gone well. This ensures that everyone gets to be acknowledge for their accomplishments and supported if they are facing any obstacles.
In addition to that, it is no secret that coding is a career where you can get paid very well. The average salary for a software developer is currently at $106,133 per year in the United States according to indeed.com. Hence, you have a good chance of also being rewarded financially if you decide to start a career in coding.
TLDR
The fact is coding is one of the most satisfying careers for an introvert. Coding is a career with a very low barrier to entry. All you need to have is a healthy dose of curiosity and an interest in problem solving. I am an introvert myself and I find that these are skills that comes naturally with my personality. The coding industry prizes deep knowledge, research and writing skills. As an introvert, you will be able to easily use these skills to thrive in a career of coding.
Additionally, there is a lot of choice and flexibility to pursue a coding career in any industry since there is a lot of demand for coding skills in any industry. This allows you to choose jobs that will most fit with your values as an introvert. You will also find that you have a lot of freedom to be independent, do meaningful work and feel values as an introvert with a career in coding.
