Why not everyone should learn how to code

Code is no longer the best way to build software. At least, not always.
We are used to a world where it’s the only way to build apps — in 2019, code runs almost everything. As a result, learning to code presents itself as a worthy investment of time, a way to create things while being essentially guaranteed a well-paying job on the other side. Yet, whether or not it’s the best path depends a lot on your motivations for considering it. If you want to learn to code because you love getting into the technical weeds of a problem, then everything I’m about to say need not concern you. But if you’re looking at code as a means to bring your dream app to life, or as the solution to your career woes, well, at least let’s have a conversation about no-code first.

Getting apps built is expensive

The code-based web development industry is booming, but it’s creating a lot of inefficiencies along the way. Learning to code is a bit like learning how to make an elephant do tricks. You slowly pick up on how to communicate with one another, you tell it to do stuff, you get confused when it doesn’t respond, and you panic when it starts running out of control. All of this is of course is a messy process, full of late nights and headaches, and it takes time. And unfortunately the speed at which people are learning to be coders is a lot slower than the speed in which businesses can find them.
In business, as we all know, things that take time usually also take money. Learning to build web and mobile applications in code takes a lot of time and dedication, and like any highly skilled profession, developers can charge accordingly. Ideas for this or that app are abundant, but so are the stories of entre and intrapreneurs, who have spent tens of thousands of dollars on development agencies in an attempt to bring their dream app to life, not to mention the thousands more on revisions and new features. Read more...