When people hear “coding”, they often picture someone building a mobile app or working at a big tech company. But coding isn’t just for developers in hoodies. It turns up in jobs you’d never expect. From artists to analysts, more people are using code to do their work better.
Let’s look at five careers where programming plays a part—even if it’s not the whole job.
1. Digital Marketers: Modern marketers do more than write copy or run ads. They use code to track campaigns, measure engagement, and build email workflows. Knowing how to read or tweak HTML and JavaScript can make a campaign more efficient. Automation tools like Zapier or Google Tag Manager rely on scripts.
2. Game Designers: These aren’t just artists sketching levels. They work with game engines, define interactions, and sometimes even write code. Even basic scripting helps designers prototype quickly. This is especially true in small studios or solo projects where wearing multiple hats is common.
Studying a degree program for game designers is a good way to learn how code and design mix in the gaming world. Students can learn to build real games and gain coding experience alongside creative skills.
3. Data Journalists: Newsrooms increasingly hire people who can work with data. These journalists scrape websites, analyse datasets, and build interactive graphs. Tools like Python and R are common here. They write scripts to pull in large amounts of information and use code to clean or visualise it.
4. Healthcare Analysts: Hospitals use tech to manage patients, track medication, and measure outcomes. Analysts use code to sort through records and make predictions. This helps doctors improve care and reduce risk. Knowing a bit of SQL or Python goes a long way in this field.
5. IT Support and Systems Technicians: Not all IT jobs are about fixing printers. Many roles require writing scripts to automate backups, control access, or monitor systems. This means knowing how to work with code—even if it’s just simple shell scripts or batch files.
If you’re looking to start an IT career, there are a range of University IT degrees that teach coding that can help prepare students for these kinds of roles. They focus on core skills like networking, software, and tech support, while also introducing scripting and system logic.
According to a report by the National Skills Commission, tech jobs in Australia are growing faster than most others, with demand in nearly every industry. It’s no longer just the “tech sector” hiring coders. It’s banks, hospitals, retailers, and media companies.
What makes coding useful in unexpected careers?
- It saves time. Repetitive tasks can be automated.
- It helps with data. From Excel macros to full scripts, coding makes sorting easier.
- It improves accuracy. Well-written code doesn’t make typos.
- It opens doors. Employers see it as a bonus skill, even if not required.
If you’re curious about tech but don’t want to become a full-time developer, you still have options. You could be a marketing expert who can edit landing pages. A journalist who scrapes databases. Or a designer who codes interactive elements.
Learning to code doesn’t mean giving up creativity. In many roles, it expands what you can do. The right course can help you get started, whether you want to jump into gaming or just understand how systems work.
As workplaces continue to evolve, having tech literacy—even just basic coding—gives you more control. It lets you solve problems in smarter ways. And in some cases, it may even lead you into a new career entirely.