If Hollywood is to be believed, coders are the next class of superheroes. They hack their way into foreign governments to save us from terrorist attacks, they use code to track serial killers and they use their savvy skills to create their own billion-dollar tech empires.

You’ve been seeking a new career direction for a while, and it’s no surprise that computer coding continues to be at the top of your list. Who wouldn’t want a high-powered, in-demand career like this?

一种s much as you’d love to take steps toward a coding career, you’re not sure you fit the bill. You’re not exactly the eccentric technical-genius archetype found in television. What if you don’t have what it takes to be successful in this field?

编码是一个值得追求的职业，但它可能不是无法进入或恐吓as Hollywood makes it seem. In fact, some have dubbed coding as the下一个“蓝领”工作。

You need the real scoop on coding before you take steps toward this new career. We’re answering the question, “What is coding?” and debunking the Hollywood myth that it’s off-limits to the average Joe.

无论如何，什么是编码？

Put simply, code is a series of commands or instructions written for computers to produce a desired output. These commands can be simple, like “Hello World“, or complex enough to give cars the ability to drive themselves. Coding is just the act of writing these commands.

Computer programmers are the specialists who use编程语言to code just about everything in our technology-driven society. Code is used for everything from building websites and keeping the internet functional to developing new apps and software. Programmers can find themselves working innearly any industry，包括医疗保健，技术初创企业，金融，保险和制造。

计算机是我们日常生活的不断发展，这意味着各种与编码相关的职称高需求。劳动统计局（BLS）项目增加17％软件开发人员工作和27％的增加Web开发人员工作到2024年。这是平均国家增长率的两倍。

这些编码专业人员也适用于他们的技能。有关2016年有各种职称的编码人员，请参阅这些中位数年度工资：

• Computer programmers: $79,840¹
• Web developers: $66,130¹
• Software developers: $102,280¹

将这些与2016年的全国平均水平相比为37,040美元，您可以看到该领域的乐观盈利潜力。

Coding is not just for tech geniuses

“Computer programming is not that hard. It just requires a little logic and problem solving,” says Matt Watson, founder and CEO ofStackify。“This is a skill thatevery kid should learn。解决问题是人们可以使用的东西，无论他们对自己的生活做些什么。“

"Our economy is rapidly digitizing, and so should our workforce."

如果流行文化是您唯一的参考点，您可能希望所有编码器都是疯狂的孩子们在白板上疯狂地涂上数学方程，因为它们解决了世界革命技术的问题。实际上，许多编码职业更接近可靠，稳定的职业，而不是即时名利和财富的票。

一种最近有线文章pointed out that only 8 percent of United States coders are employed in Silicon Valley. The vast majority are regular people working a typical 9–5 job in companies across a variety of industries—much like blue-collar workers of past generations.

“我们的经济正在迅速数字化，我们的劳动力也应该如此，”Sylvain Kalache（联合创始人）说Holberton School。“昨天的汽车，零售和制造业的行业领导者现在必须与Ubers，亚马逊，谷歌和Facebook竞争数字人才。”

The result is stable, secure programming jobs steadily growing in industries like healthcare and finance, not just progressive tech companies.

The “blue-collar” job of the next generation

编码确实需要培训和特殊技能集，但它不需要仅仅是超极客和潜行的领域。现实是，作为技能的编码将需要越来越多地访问，以便工人能够跟上雇主需求。

“我们需要数百万人帮助做大量相对简单的编程任务，”Watson说。

"We need the perception of becoming a programmer to be more open and not just thought of as something for eccentric geniuses."

这些日常任务可能是调整网站，测试新程序和修复错误的东西，如图所示布尔斯。这些工作都在境内的平均值，日常编程人员可以预期。

The glamorous Hollywood portrayal of brilliant hackers has some business owners worried that potential programmers won’t pursue a coding career because they think it’s out of their league.

“We need the perception of becoming a programmer to be more open and not just thought of as something for eccentric geniuses,” Watson says.

随着数字技术越来越纳入日常生活中，吸引传统蓝领工作的人可能需要在其职业生涯中展望下一个自然步骤。

“随着工厂线路的工作继续被机器人流离失所，这些工人将需要恢复未来，”卡拉奇说。“这些新的工作将是工厂界工厂，零售店职员，飞越居民，因为工作将到处。”

Talent needed at all levels

That’s not to say that talented tech wizards won’t have their place in the digital workforce.

“在软件开发方面，随着软件开发，”沃特森说“将始终存在复杂程度。”

While some may be tasked with solving lofty problems or tackling complex theoretical computing issues, many coding positions will handle more straightforward tasks. To make a parallel to the construction industry—we need our fair share of architects and engineers, but we also need the people who put those plans into action.

虽然有些人可能会激怒编码的思想“blue-collar” work, the focus is not on labels, but truly on re-positioning coding careers as a viable option for more people. Many industry experts agree that changing the perception of coding is a positive long-term development.

“我肯定有利于改变年轻学生的角度，如果它意味着更多地进入行业，”Kurtz，创始人兼首席执行官KurtzWebtek。

Educating the next wave of coders

除了害怕好莱坞的编码人员的写照外，许多人的程序员被大学教育所需的时间和金钱吓倒了。

Viewing coding as a “blue-collar” career opens up doors for a different perspective when it comes to education. We used real-time job analysis software to examine nearly 900,000 coding job postings.²数据显示，90％以上的雇主都在寻求至少一些大学教育的候选人。

如果雇主正在努力填补编码工作，他们可能会与这些要求变得更加灵活。与此可多同，可以为助理学位，认证或编码“训练营”体验带来更多机会。

“I think this could bridge the gap between your four-year college-bound students and those looking for a shorter-term commitment to develop only core skills needed in the workplace,” Kurtz says.

Could coding be the career for you?

现在我们已经回答了这个问题，“什么是编码？”您可能会在全新的光线中看到这个技术驱动的职业生涯。普通人比最初想到的人更易于使用编码工作，但肯定需要教育和培训。

不要让感知成为你可以实现的障碍。了解有关各种编程职业的更多信息，您可以选择与我们的文章一起追求，“9编程鉴赏鉴赏型职业。“

相关文章:

• 8个标志，您应该考虑成为软件开发人员
• 儿童编码：开始计算机科学教育的好处
• Is Computer Programming Hard? Not if You Have These 6 Characteristics

¹工资data represents national, averaged earnings for the occupations listed and includes workers at all levels of education and experience. This data does not represent starting salaries and employment conditions in your area may vary.
²Burning-glass.com（分析897,380个与合作职位发布，2016年5月1日 - 2017年4月30日）