Programming brings more equality to the world than you can imagine.
Starting point
Not everyone is born rich, not everyone is born in a rich country, not everyone has access to the goods we take for a grant, but there is one thing which does not depend on our precondition and environment, and this is curiosity. People of all nations, gender, colors, have some or no education, they all can be curious, can be intelligent, problem solvers. They all share something in common, and they have the potential to become IT engineers. Not all of them of course, do a study or show interest in the IT industry. Some people with a technical predisposition, never get into the tech jobs, some become another sort of engineers: electric, mechanical, etc. But currently, there is no higher demand for engineers, than for IT engineers.
Equal chance for everybody
Become an IT engineer was never easier! All sort of education material is available online you don't need to go into the traditional education system to obtain it. And guess what, IT’S FREE! You need some internet connection to obtain the amount of education material you won't be able to listen, watch and read for your entire life. You have to read it somewhere, and that’s your computer, tablet or phone, those devices never got cheaper as they are today, they are affordable to the wide range of the population. So you don't need to be born rich or having so many starting capital, you don’t have to put tons of money into the school system, you open a web page and learn.
No matter where you came from
Here is the point when you might better understand if you are coming from undeveloped countries than the folks from first world countries. Being a software developer not just come with an equal chance for learning, but also for earning. This brings a huge difference compared to the other professions. Software engineers can easily find a job, and they can work remote, which means they are competitive on the global market. If you’re competitive on the global market, your income does not depend on local standards and incomes. You become valued based on your skills, not based on your physical location.
There is no job in this world, currently, which gives fairer chance regardless of our starting points.
Top comments (4)
I love that idea!
Though in reality I'd claim, that having access to the internet and some kind of device to practice are not as affordable or even available as they should be and by far not everyone could really just do it.
Thanks for the feedback! I agree with you, that resources are still not accessible to everyone, but I also see things changes there. I would expect that the internet and mobile devices being more affordable with upcoming years. And of course I agree that there is no point to everyone just start programming just for fun, it definitely requires a set of skills plus mindset before you deep dive into.
Good valid points but the scenario is not as rosy as that. Self taught technologists still have it harder than folks who went to universities and got degrees. Have seen workforce be exploited in various ways because of their non-conventional backgrounds. Equal chances exist, but the right teaching also matters. As a teacher myself I know that the structure a rigorous High school program has is not the same as a free/paid online course. But the good news is that schools/colleges around the world are recognizing the worth of Computing and creating opportunities for more people to avail into it. So in the next decade a lot more innovative things may happen with how people get trained and recruited without conventional degrees.
Food for thought though. Thank you.
Hei Shashi, thanks for your feedback, and I really appreciate all the points you mentioned here. I was also a teacher for CS and I had experience, that kids/adults who were interested in the topic, usually invest their own time online to dig int it. That's how I discover that exist whole parallel universe of education online, coexisting with the traditional education system. I believe (and I guess you agree) that at one point this two universes will collide, and there would not be any diff if you got your certification in physical school or set of online courses.
I also wrote about IT education here, so please take a look if you have a time, and give me your opinion as a teacher, what do you think.
Failing IT education
Damnjan Jovanovic