If you want to advance in your career you can develop skills in a number of ways, whether you are entering the workforce for the first time, making a career switch, or further developing your current career. Part of it is the mindset of continuous learning and having the internal motivation to guide you. The other part is finding what you want to learn. If you’re being practical, a prime example of one such skill is coding. Both a highly learnable and transferable skill, learning to code presents an entrance ramp to a highway of opportunities in the entrepreneurial, industry, and personal contexts. But how do you get there?


ACT | The App Association members put in the work themselves to develop coding skills and generously sat down with us and the Congressional App Challenge to chat about how they got to where they are today as coders and entrepreneurs.

You can watch the full webinar at this link, but here are some key takeaways from our members:

It Seems Elementary, but Employers are Looking For Problem Solving and Communication Skills:

  • Greg Haygood of Southern DNA offered the following advice: “I didn’t go out and solve my own problems, we started solving other people’s problems. That’s even more gratifying than getting the code right, helping people solve problems.”
  • Building on to that sentiment, Qyana M. Stewart of GlobalForce Tech Consulting said, “Part of solving problems is listening to the client and understanding what the problem is. Working to guide a client to a solution means being an active listener.” She added, “Also make sure you’re keeping communication open. Build strong teams and consider people and who they are as you’re building a team.”
  • Having a ton of coding experience isn’t a requirement to work in tech. Kaity Miller of SC Codes elaborated that, “Yes companies want to see technical skills, but they can teach you that. How you work with others, who you are as a worker is equally important” and “If you can figure out the problems you want to solve and figure out how fix them through technology, you’ll set yourself up for success.”

Being a Developer Is a Rewarding Career Because the World’s Challenges Can Be Met Through Technology:

  • Chris Sims of Sigao Studios in Birmingham, Alabama, said, “Smaller communities are now able to get in and participate in global commerce. Being a developer in the app economy has opened the door to the rest of the world.” In particular, “COVID-19 presented a huge challenge when it came to teaching Scrum. It’s such an in-person, hands-on way of learning. But we pressed through and, like Qyana said, had the right people and right team to cross the finish line.”
  • Qyana found self-empowerment in her career and lifted Black and Brown women along with her: “I started thinking about the challenges that Black and Brown women face as they enter the workforce and did something about it.”

If You Knew Then What You Know Now, What Would You Have Told Yourself When You Were in High School/College?

  • Kaity: “As a non-techie, I would have told myself ‘LEARN TO CODE.’ It’s a skill everyone should have.”
  • Qyana: “Develop a self-care plan. Also, not to listen to folks who said I was too much of something. ‘Too bossy’ or too ‘whatever’—I’m proud to be the boss. Turn the negative constructs into something positive.”
  • Greg: “Don’t be afraid to take risks. I took a long time to leave the 9-5 thing before realizing I could create a career on my own. I wish I would have made that move 10 years sooner!”
  • Chris: “Keep yourself open to new experiences and learn it’s OK to be terrified. That is where you grow. Seek out those opportunities and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something.”