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Ask HN: How do I encourage my wife learn to code?

9 points by rahul0611 ↗ HN
My wife is currently pursuing master in information systems, but she does not have much interest in coding. How do I make sure she knows the joy of coding and how it will impact the career? How do I explain in storytelling fashion about coding/programming - she is from MBA(finance) background ? Did anyone motivated here motivated someone who is from different background ? If yes, how did you approach ? Is there a service which invoke the interest in coding ?

18 comments

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mooreds
I showed my SO Zapier. It let her automate some tedious tasks. She got really excited. I don't know if it will encourage her to learn coding (doubt it) but it definitely gave her insight into the rigors of software development and debugging.
inphovore
Not everyone is into the “joy of coding.” There is much to do in IT that isn’t coding. That said, I’ve gotten past INTERESTED gf’s into coding by a) most nightly nerd conversations have to do with tech; b) taught base conversion and Boolean math; c) show how easy it is to copy and paste a real working (and necessary) code solution.

I can make a fun game out of MIT’s scratch language in ~15 minutes. Try that as an evening exercise.

If she doesn’t like it, don’t push it. She could teach you the joy of responsible finance instead ;)

joshxyz
I myself even refer to it as discovering pain in coding.

Pain as we are solving problems.

Pain for other users as they encounter bugs from our work, haha.

smt88
Start her out on something like Retool and help her hack together tools that she would find useful.
kinj28
Why retool? That’s way too complex for someone who can’t code. Better start with something more NoCode and then figure a way to move to low code
smt88
I think no-code tools end up teaching people a new, crappy programming language expressed via UI. It's a coding alternative, not coding appetizer.

Retool is very low-code if you're mostly hitting APIs and/or have someone to help you with initial transformational, and it ultimately using text/code to wire things together.

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giantg2
Why is she getting an MSIS? If she isn't interested in coding and already has an MBA with finance background, then what does she plan to do here - change careers, just credentialing, or work in an area unrelated to coding?
Woadray
You finding joy in it, does not mean everyone does. She is not interested, drop it and respect her choice.
tcbasche
You can motivate someone to get into a genre of film or music, but to get them into such an intense hobby seems like a recipe for failure. Especially if your motive is “well I like, why don’t you?”
kazinator
While you are totally right: non-coding master of information systems? I see the point.
junon
> How do I make sure she knows the joy of coding and how it will impact the career?

You don't "make sure she knows" anything, if you respect her.

GoldenMonkey
Why does she need to code? If she pursues management, she will never need to code. And she will get paid more than most coders.
kleer001
Has she tried it and just doesn't like it?

Has she tried it and doesn't think she's good at it?

Or does she entertain some sort of nerdy stigma against it?

It's difficult to give actionable advice without word from both parties about their attempts and motivations.

kazinator
Are you saying your wife's master's program in information systems has zero coding in it? If so, that's amazing. I think I probably wouldn't be able take a "master of information systems" entirely seriously if they couldn't code.

Information systems is something like a synonym for "computers and stuff"; if you're a master of "computers and stuff", you should know how to code.

I mean, imagine a "master of information systems" being embarrassed when they can't understand Python or Javascript written by their nephew or niece in fifth grade elementary school. Yikes!

If the program contains required courses involving coding, then that is covered. She will have to go through that, and then will either see the beauty of it all or not. In any case, you will be there for help or insights/perspectives.

joshxyz
Well it's either 1. Beneficial for her career-wise or business-wise, 2. She sees it as a mutual learning experience where you can bond together, or 3. She is naturally curious and passionate about it and just needs some guidance.

Can lead the horse to water, but cant force it to drink ;)

shheldon
> How do I make sure she knows the joy of coding

Stop having coitus with her. That's what my wife did when I was having too much joy just in coding.

Jugurtha
>she is from MBA(finance) background ?

Start here. Find something menial she does but hates, do it in front of her with coding. Show, don't tell.

Zed Shaw had a great passage to this point:

>People who can code in the world of technology companies are a dime a dozen and get no respect. People who can code in biology, medicine, government, sociology, physics, history, and mathematics are respected and can do amazing things to advance those disciplines.

As programmers, we do things to save us time without even thinking about it. Friends coming to pick me up and there's a webpage for a job offering with a disappearing Apply button? Quickly write a script that pulls that page every minute, checks if the button is there, and sends me a notification on my mobile. I didn't even think about it, really. Trivial to do while they're on their way, but science fiction for most people.

Writing code so we can be humans and spend time with loved ones as opposed to waste time doing meaningless tasks is what programming gives you.