Popular media has given audiences the perception that coders are mega geniuses, sitting in a basement, locked away from the rest of the world as they type away furiously in a stained t-shirt.

For the most case, this isn’t true… In all reality, computer programmers and the other people who use coding on a daily basis are just like you and me. They got to where they are by taking the initial steps necessary to develop coding skills, and in the process become a smarter person.

So how does coding make you smarter?

You Get Better at Math

For students in school, math is either one of two things; the best friend your report card could ever have, or the most vile, evil force on the planet. For those who love math, they discover just how much power lies in its tech applications. Those that hate math learn that, well, he’s not such a bad guy. Over the course of your coding education, you will be exposed to many situations that require basic arithmetic. The more you practice coding, the better you’ll get at math; that’s what we call a “win-win” situation.

You Improve Your Analytical Skills

Since much of coding requires handling language that really doesn’t make sense to the average person, it will require a fair amount of attention to detail. Your ability to read a line of code and determine where there’s an error, or how to manipulate the code in your favor, says volumes about your analytical skills. Once you have practice with analyzing often confusing and nonsensical code, you’ll do better in classes like English that involve heavy reading comprehension.

You Get More Creative

You will do a lot of problem solving when you learn and work with code. In fact, many of the jobs that are performed by coding professionals involve solving problems in some way or fashion. But, as the technology we use evolves, so do the problems. Therefore, the solutions for problems that arise will not always work, and new solutions will continuously have to be developed for us to move forward. Learning new ways to solve problems makes you a more creative person, and it’s that creativity that allows coders to continue changing the world we live in.

You don’t have to be a straight-A student to learn coding, you just need to take an active interest in the material. As we’ve demonstrated, coding can have life changing benefits for those who learn to wield its power. Don’t be surprised when your new coding skills begin to have a positive effect on your grades, and you become that straight-A student after all.