Should You Learn To Code?

Teresa Torres, after returning to coding for a product launch following five years away, argues that product managers and designers do not strictly need to code today, but that everyone should learn the basics. She contends that understanding technology demystifies it, opens up new possibilities, builds empowerment and credibility with engineers, and may soon become a baseline job skill. She also stresses that coding is enjoyable and recommends concrete starting points for each role, from startup founders to designers and PMs. The piece matters because it reframes technical literacy as a practical lever for better collaboration and product judgment.

01Key takeaways

• Learning basic code demystifies technology and reduces the fear of the unknown.
• Knowing how things work helps you spot possibilities and think like a maker.
• Being able to build gives you the confidence that you can prototype when needed.
• Coding literacy earns credibility and a shared language with engineers.
• Building one small product end to end teaches you why engineering estimates are hard.
• Use structured beginner resources and community help like Stack Overflow when you get stuck.

02Key sections

Launching what you built

Torres describes the satisfaction of shipping a product she both defined and coded herself after a long break. She acknowledges the snags of relearning a new language and a changed web landscape.

Why basic coding literacy helps

She lists reasons to learn: demystifying technology, opening new possibilities, feeling empowered to build, and gaining credibility with engineers. Each reason is tied to how it changes the way you see and work with products.

Coding as the arithmetic of tomorrow

Torres predicts that basic coding skills will eventually appear in job descriptions even for non-engineering roles, much as arithmetic became a baseline skill.

Advice by role

She gives tailored guidance: founders should learn basics, designers can start with HTML and CSS then JavaScript, and PMs should build a product end to end to appreciate engineering estimates.

Resources and getting unstuck

She points to beginner resources such as Code Year, Codecademy, Khan Academy, and Stack Overflow, and encourages asking for help when stuck.

03From the post

“I'm launching a product today. I forgot how exciting it is to launch something that I made, from concept to launch. In this case, I didn't just define the product, I also wrote a good amount of the code. I haven't written code in five years, and”

Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.