How Long Does It Take to Learn Coding?

Although it might seem daunting, anyone can learn to code.

The International Society for Technology in Education asserts that elementary school is a great time to begin learning to code. The basic concepts are accessible to six- or seven-year-olds, which means they are accessible to you.

If there’s a voice in your head saying you can’t learn to code because you don’t have time or you’re not good with science, technology, or math… stop.

Instead, ask yourself:

If you answered yes to those questions, a coding bootcamp might be a great option for you. How long it takes depends on what you want to do!

There are three main ways to learn to code. You can teach yourself to code, go to college to earn a traditional bachelor’s degree, or attend a coding bootcamp through a university or another bootcamp provider.

Start by considering which coding languages you want to learn. Then, look for courses that teach coding for beginners with a focus on those languages.

Try to work through a single course from beginning to end rather than jumping from one course to another. Once you have finished the first course, pick another that complements it. In addition to working through the assignments, try creating your own projects for more practice.

Here are a few courses to consider:

A coding bootcamp teaches coding skills through intensive instruction during a concentrated period of time. One bootcamp can’t teach every coding language in a few months, though.

Often, bootcamps create their curricula around the language and skills needed for a specific field, such as front-end development, user interface (UI), or cybersecurity.

Full-time bootcamps typically run from at least 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with instruction and group work. There is normally additional individual work and study after class hours.

Part-time bootcamps may meet in the evenings or on weekends or run on a self-paced timeline. They typically take twice as long to cover the same material as full-time bootcamps.

Some programming languages, such as Python and JavaScript, are fairly easy to learn. Others, like C++ and C#, are more difficult. However, what is easy for any one person to learn may be hard for another. If you are willing to dedicate the required time to attend a bootcamp, take online courses, or pursue a bachelor’s degree in computer programming, there’s a good chance you will be able to learn to code.

If you are worried you might not be able to learn coding, start with one of the simpler languages. Once you have a firm grasp of your first programming language, you can move on to something more difficult.

Whether you need to know math depends on what you are coding. For a typical webpage, you don’t need math. You’ll be coding the page’s layout, including headers, paragraph breaks, and pull quotes. None of these tasks require math skills.

You may or may not need to know math for programming that uses algorithms. If you are using algorithms from a library, the math may already be done for you. However, if you are doing technical things with your computer program, you may have to write your own algorithms, which could require extensive math skills.

Your salary potential varies based on your job title, location, and experience level. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), web developers earned a median salary of $78,300 as of 2021. Computer programmers earned $93,000 per year, and software developers earned $109,020 per year.

Most coding bootcamps focus on web development. However, once you get your first entry-level web development job, you can work on building additional coding skills so you can move up to a higher-paying position in the future.

One benefit of learning to code is job security. A search for “web developer” on Indeed returned over 28,040 results as of April 2023. A search for “software developer” returned over 107,170 job listings. The BLS projects that web developer jobs will increase by 23% from 2021-2031. Software developer jobs will grow by 25% during the same time period.

Unfortunately, not all coding jobs are expected to grow. For example, the BLS projects that jobs for computer programmers will decrease 10% from 2021-2031.

Of course, you can! But if you want to learn to code in order to launch a career in tech, a bootcamp may be the better option.

Two key components you can’t get on your own are pair programming and career support. Most jobs require you to collaborate on code with other people. As a result, bootcamps build collaboration into their curriculum.

Most coding bootcamps also offer career services of some kind. Many offer one-on-one coaching from a dedicated staff member, resume review, interview practice, negotiation support, and more.