Characteristics of a Coder: 5 Traits That Will Take You to the Top

Finding a career path is hard. It’s even harder to find one in which you’ll thrive. A lot of times, our traits and personalities play a major role in guiding us in the right direction for happiness and success. While being a coder requires several specialized skills, it also helps to possess certain personal characteristics. It’s not just your programming prowess that will take you to the top, but also a unique set of attributes that will ensure your achievement. “I feel all the technical skills can be taught,” says Morgan Walker, M.S., Manager of Employer and Industry Engagement, “but there must be a strong foundation of important soft skills, such as problem-solving, critical thinking, strong attention to detail, and communication!”

There must be a strong foundation of important soft skills, such as problem-solving, critical thinking, strong attention to detail, and communication!

Senior Instructor Adam Jayne adds, “When I think of characteristics of a good coder, I think of three things. The first is curiosity. Questioning how things work, why things work, and what you can do with something brings forth an urge to find out, which perpetuates a trait of lifelong learning. Without it, a person cannot grow.” “The second characteristic I see is determination,” says Jayne. “A developer’s primary job is to solve challenges for companies or people. We live in a sea of error messages when things aren’t quite right, which is an integral part of the development process. A person is exposed to consistent failure, error message after error message. Being determined will keep you in the process, fixing errors, and finding other avenues to do a task effectively. Without determination to face these odds, one would feel the need to quit.”

Being determined will keep you in the process, fixing errors, and finding other avenues to do a task effectively. Without determination to face these odds, one would feel the need to quit.

“The third is humility. Teams are the backbone of a developer’s life, and understanding that teamwork makes the dream work will set all developers up for success,” he says. “We stand on the shoulders of giants in technology, to understand this is to understand what it takes.”Sound like you? Maybe a career in coding is the perfect fit! Learn more about the characteristics of a coder below and see if you are destined for coding greatness.  

Desire to Learn

Think of technology as a moving target. Just when you’ve mastered a skill, things change. A strong desire to learn will get you far in the coding world. Being a lifelong learner is critical if you’re going to keep up. Just as software and the tech industry are constantly evolving, you will need to as well. Tap into your thirst for knowledge to learn new tricks, skills, and talents to be successful.

Creativity

There’s more to coding than numbers. While you have to understand how all those ones and zeros work, it’s your creativity that puts them in action. Whether you’re working with motion graphics, crafting a memorable user experience, developing a game, or simply fixing a glitch, you’ll put your creativity to the test as a coder. Hone in on your originality and attention to detail on daily projects. You can even turn your inventiveness into a career with these creative coding opportunities.

Critical Thinking

Are you a master problem solver? A real critical thinker? If so, you’ll love using your brain in coding. Not only will you have to break down the issue piece by piece, but you will also have to logically put it back together. Your analytical skills will be working overtime as you turn code inside out, reason your way through a malfunction, or debug a problem. Critical thinking goes a long way as you learn the rules of coding and how to bend them to overcome obstacles.

Passion

Passion gives you purpose. It’s what pushes you to be better, to try harder, and to enjoy the process along the way. Sure, job stability and salary are nice perks of being a coder. However, if those are your only motivations, then you most likely will not live up to your full coding potential. Successful coders look forward to building, solving problems, exploring new technology, and using their logic and creativity to prosper in their careers. Without passion, why even become a coder?

Determination

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Sometimes it's sheer grit and perseverance that get coders through the long hours, frustrating tasks, and tedious work. Determination is being resilient when faced with coding challenges or ethical dilemmas. It’s what keeps you going and helps burn the midnight oil. Unlike a new programming language, determination isn’t something that can be taught. You either have it, or you don’t. It’s just part of who a coder is!While these five traits aren’t the only characteristics of a coder, they may be some of the top ones that drive success. Whether these characteristics make you more naturally-suited for coding or they help get you there, the future looks bright for coders! With the tech industry booming, the projected growth rate for computer science careers is much faster than the national average. In-demand and high paying, more tech jobs exist than students to fill them. Get ahead of the game at Eleven Fifty Academy. We’ll teach you the technical skills you need and refine the soft skills you already have in order to succeed! Click here to schedule a call with an admissions advisor today.