With quarantine keeping everybody inside, there is no better time to learn skills which can help you for the rest of your life, especially programming.  With an ever-rising reliance on software to run our daily lives, learning to program is a valuable skill.

Much like many professions, programming comes in many varieties and can work its way into practically any field. Therefore, even if you plan on going into some obscure field, programming likely can and does apply.  The fields of programming stretch far and wide, spanning from typical web development to data science. If you are already decided on going into a certain field of study, adding a programming language can do wonders to your resume.

Even within the programming itself, there are many choices that can be made.  According to The Language List, there are more than 2,500 separate programming languages.  What this means is while learning, if you find that the language you are learning is too difficult, or doesn’t apply to what you are trying to create, there are plenty of alternatives that will likely be able to suit your needs.

Furthermore, learning programming generates patience and critical problem-solving skills, skills that will be used regardless of whether you decide to pursue further education in computer science or software engineering.

In the case that you do decide to pursue higher education in a programming related field, the field is growing rapidly with an expected growth of 21% in Software Engineering jobs by 2028, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  Further, the average income of someone in these jobs is $105,590 a year, much higher than the US average of $48,672, according to the BLS.

Overall, learning to program is one of the best choices you can make in order to further not only your professional career, but also your personal one.  Learning programming allows you the flexibility to follow your interests while still building critical skills in the areas of problem-solving and patience.