Web and mobile developers, along with user experience/interface (UX/UI) designers, are in high demand across virtually all US industries, and each earn more than $80k per year on average. Nontechnical and creative employees, such as data scientists and content strategists, serve as essential support to these roles—and can also immediately increase their own earning potential by pursuing a deeper grasp of technical tools and processes.
If you are looking for a creative way to earn a competitive salary and raise your quality of life, consider furthering your education through code. In whichever industry you choose to pursue, you’ll find technologies that combine design, code, and mobile data to help brands meet the customer where they are.
Food
The process of researching, purchasing, and reviewing food has been radically altered by mobile data, and user experience is a key differentiator in the age of food trucks and all-hours delivery. Take the “create your own pizza” application of a major US pizza chain: it’s a data-rich solution for popular ingredients, time-of-engagement, and much more—that also improves the entire customer experience (no more drawn-out, confusing phone calls to the pizza joint). Functionality is ensured by mobile designers, who work with their nontechnical colleagues to analyze which toppings and layouts perform best.
Cars
Through investing in web development, auto manufacturers are attempting to disarm the high-pressure, plaid-suited sales experience that can sometimes accompany buying a new car. Millennials spend more than 17.6 hours on average shopping online before making their new car purchase, and are already comfortable buying directly from the internet.
International and domestic automakers are placing a greater emphasis than ever before on enrapturing new buyers through the web—and as cars continue to become more connected to the cloud, software will be needed to support each subsystem within construction, sales, and operation of new vehicles. Tesla has grown 15-fold since 2010, with its sales process supported almost entirely by the seamless, low-pressure online marketplace. This success has been possible through developers—not dealers.
Art
The Guggenheim’s online collection presents a searchable database of over 7,000 selected artworks that users may browse by artist, date, medium, movement, and more (including all major acquisitions of the foundation since its inception in 1937). The Rhode Island School of Design’s online museum is another artistic treasure trove made possible through code.
These creative and intellectual venues hybridize the creation of technical and non-technical thinkers, who use code to create a contemporary, beautiful space in which to appreciate art. The museums, libraries, and private collections of the future are sure to reflect the broader market demand for technically-enabled curators, who are enthusiastic about providing digitally interactive options for patrons and donors on the go.
As industry becomes more dependent on the processes, designs, and audiences that web and mobile data enables, employees with a fundamental background in (and understanding of) technology will continue to out-earn their less-technical counterparts. Being competitive in web development demands basic experience in HTML and CSS; responsive web design; and a programming language like JavaScript, Ruby, or Python.
Learn more about the specific expectations of software developers in Code 101, a one-day workshop covering what life as technical employee looks like in the years to come.
