The UK is facing a severe shortage of workers with digital skills, such as computer coders, cybersecurity experts, and data analysts, who are all in high demand.
This issue isn't limited to the UK: globally, two-thirds of technology firms are experiencing a lack of skilled workers, according to a recent report by recruitment firm Harvey Nash.
Their survey of 2,100 firms also revealed that the proportion of women in technology teams has been increasing very slowly, currently at only 25%, with just 12% of top technology executives being women.
Given these startling statistics, I decided to explore how easy it would be for a woman in her 30s to learn to code in Python.
In case you're wondering, Python is a powerful, general-purpose coding language and is often the first language taught to undergraduates in computer science courses.
Getting started
Currently, if you want to learn to code, you can pay for a class, teach yourself using online resources, or find a community willing to help you for free.
I thought I might have a bit of an advantage since I taught myself languages used to build websites back in the early 2000s.
So, I assumed I could teach myself Python. But I quickly realized I was in over my head—I had no idea how to use the software that came with the tools.
Switching tactics, I tried Codecademy, a popular online platform that is free.
However, I found it intimidating. I was faced with an empty black prompt window that simply said, "Type Hello World."