Coding is a profitable profession and a full-time occupation that pays top dollar especially when you are very good at it. But how would you, a beginner, earn some good money too? As a top boarding school in Nigeria, Premiere Academy, Lugbe, encourages secondary school students to not just be experts of books, but of skills as well - important skills such as coding.
Get started with coding while earning money at the same time
The learning process takes time without a doubt. Although some students have a natural knack for it and can build websites or apps after a few weeks, others need a lot more support. However, no matter how smart a programmer you are, everybody starts out earning zero. But with some coaching and tips, you can start to reap financial rewards from coding even during your time in high school.
The following are five ways we at Premiere Academy, Lugbe, Abuja have taught our students how to earn with coding while still chasing their academic goals.
1. Make Apps
The skill level needed nowadays to develop an app is not as much as many might think. In fact, certain software allows you to build apps without any programming skills. The quickest way to become a programmer is to start learning Swift or Objective-C, and you'll be able to program simple iOS applications within hours.
Building a useful, marketable app on your own for free, launching it on the App Store, and selling it to the public is a simple way to make money. All for a mere day's effort. Try using PhoneGap, Appcelerator, or Apache Cordova if the million-dollar app ideas keep flowing within you. The automatic coding apps can make the process of creating a mobile app much faster, but they can’t and should not replace your actual process of learning to code.
2. Work for Locals
Companies need the most skilled programming when it comes to startups and large businesses. However, small businesses generally only need the simplest apps or websites. This means that they often want simpler, cheaper solutions. Your skills are that solution!
If you can convince them to give you a chance and you actually deliver quality work, local business owners will be delighted to hire you. The only downside is that you're unlikely to get rich this way but the experience counts. You can also gain experience with real-world projects instead of just creating stuff for yourself, and you might even find yourself back in the industry.
To get a foot into this market, try asking around your neighborhood, telling your friends at school, talking to the teachers, advertising your services locally, and see how the demand for programmers is.
3. Run Tutorials
For every professional coder out there, there are probably ten or more who would like to learn. They learn with online tutoring platforms and free tutorials. Quickly turn any easy-to-follow project into a tutorial, by recording your screen and adding a voiceover. That’s it! You've got your own set of tutorials! It’s really that simple.
Try to also blog about coding. Your money will fill up slowly but surely if you start your own site with some tutorials and good quality content. For this, you'll also have to understand Search Engine Optimization [SEO], creating content (technical writing skills), designing websites, and knowing a lot about marketing. It’s all part of being a good developer or programmer. You might be surprised to discover that it is also quite enjoyable.
4. Enter Coding Contests
Yes, there are coding competitions out there with cash prizes. With over a million members, Topcoder is the biggest and most popular of these sites. There are three competition categories; design, data science, and development.
Participants in each competition take part in real-world challenges created by 2000 global clients and also participate in Single Round Matches that emphasize fun and skill acquisition. It’s a very interesting and collaborative community to join, and no matter what your area of expertise is, you’re guaranteed to learn something new.
5. Build a portfolio and work on open-source projects that will pay off in the long run
Many people will not consider open-source projects as a means of monetizing their skills. You are making an open-source contribution, and you probably won't get paid for it (unless you do it as a core development team member for an open-source project that gets paid).
But it is profitable in the long run. By building open-source projects, you are building an online presence and this is the most important thing you will do as a beginner. Open-source projects make your online presence a lot easier to recognise. You can also advertise your open-source projects to maximize your time invested.
Invest in a better future by continuously learning new technologies
It is crucial to learn constantly when you are a beginner. Learning new skills will allow you to monetize your skills, move up the career ladder, and stay relevant regardless of what technology you are using. Once you master the skill of non-stop learning and development, many career and income opportunities become accessible to you.
Conclusion
So, now you know more about how to start. The paths for beginners are different, as you can see. There is no shortage of opportunities for software developers, front-end engineers, technical writers, and teachers. Just keep pursuing what interests you the most until you succeed.
We hope that all of the following points will help you achieve your best. If you think any important points were left out, make us aware with your comments below.