Blue Collar to Code

https://assets.entrepreneur.com

If you ask someone to picture a coder, they think of geniuses such as Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs. However, most programmers are actually like Devon, who helps maintain a security software service in Portland. He works 40 hours a week, is well paid and challenged daily.  In an article by Clive Thompson, longtime write for New York Times and Wired, he illustrates the importance of changing to perception of coders to be more like those who had stable jobs in the blue collar field.

A change in perception of the profession also changes the training that individuals have had to receive. In the past, people have thought you need a high education to be skilled in the field of robotics. However, in Clive’s article he argues how we can have the power to train people what they need in coding. These coders don’t need to know wild algorithms of neural networks but rather just what they need for their individual job.

No doubt, blue collar sectors have been hit hard by technology.Because of contributions by coders and other sectors of the engineering workforce, blue collar jobs have been disappearing. They are quickly replaced by robots and other machines that can perform a task faster and more efficiently. If this is the case, we need to train more people to work in the technology sector. The money is there. The national average salary for IT jobs is $81,000. That number is more than double the national average for all jobs. The field is also to expand 12% in the next ten years.

Companies are preparing individuals to make the change from blue collar. Bit Source is a code shop that builds its workforce by retraining coal miners as programmers. Dev Bootcamp is a program that can prepare individuals to enter the workforce in a little more than a month. Yes society does need superstars in the coding sector, but it is built by the heroes who go to work everyday and turn out good stuff. This was true in the blue collar sector and soon to be in the coding sector.