Learning to code for financial independence: Build a high-paying career in tech
Discover how learning to code can lead to financial independence. Explore lucrative salaries, high demand, remote work options, and flexibility through freelancing, making coding an ideal choice for a better work-life balance and financial security.
When thinking about your next career move, there are often many different considerations to make. Will it give me time with the family? Will I have to sit at a desk? Will I need to be in an office every day?
What it ultimately boils down to, however, is will it pay me well enough to have a good life? We don’t, and can’t, work for free, so how will this career change make me better off financially?
Here, we’ve broken down the many ways that a career as a software engineer or front-end developer will lead to financial independence, and that quality of life you’ve been looking for.
Written by
Adam is a Marketing Executive at Learning People, specialising in software development and data with a background in tech and project management.
Salary
Coding, and the wide array of sub-sections this covers, offers very lucrative salaries from the get-go. Starting salaries typically range from £28,000 up to as much as £40,000 depending on your location and specialisation.
The mean salary for a coder is £61,689, a long way above the mean national salary of £38,701. It’s a stark difference not only as a statistic, but also to your bank account. This almost equates to an extra £23,000 a year, or nearly £2000 a month. Imagine what that would mean to you in such a short space of time!
Demand
Whilst the dramatic demand for developers that came off the back of Covid has slowed, it still hasn’t dropped, according to Adzuna. 2024 to date has continued to be stable, with over 100,000 unique positions advertised.
The need for certified and well-trained software engineers and developers drives their salaries up, as employers contend with one another for the best new talent. Getting into a career in coding now will give you the skills you need to expand out into a myriad of roles that will continue to remain relevant and highly sought after.
Hybrid & Remote
With almost 60% of roles in the coding sector being hybrid and remote, it’s a great career to move into to achieve that work-life balance we all look for.
Yet, from a financial perspective, it’s the money you’ll save that will make the biggest difference. Even after you consider the thousands of pounds a year you’ll save from commuting and not buying a Pret lunch, there’s the huge costs of nursery fees, car maintenance, and train station parking.
Not only will you get to spend more time with the family, but you’re spending less of that bigger salary.
Freelance & Contract
So, you want to go on holiday? Or travel the world? Or you can’t find a part-time role that’ll give you the freedom to care for the little one on your terms? You don’t need to sacrifice your finances to be able to achieve these!
With around 15% of coding job roles described as contract or freelance in 2024, of more than 100,000 unique jobs listings, there are a multitude of positions out there for someone who wants the kind of flexibility that’s usually rare to find.
This means that you can continue to earn one of the highest mean salaries in the UK whilst still taking care of the family or taking that sabbatical you always wanted.
Everyone needs coding
Literally every single industry in the world needs coding in one form or another. Whether it be web design for a small business, databases for the NHS, algorithms for a finance company, or the operating system for a car, at the fundamental level, they will be using your skills to function.
This means that whatever expertise you have, whether it be retail, engineering, gaming or sports, you can transfer these skills to a career in coding and stay in the sector that you enjoy. Alternatively, if you want to move into a different sector, your salary won’t take a hit!
Gaining financial independence and being able to rely on your own income, without loans or family support, gives an exceptional level of accomplishment and freedom. This has never been truer than in the recent cost of living crisis, so finding a job that not only gives you a salary high above the national mean as well as enjoying it at the same time is a gift.