Why Learn to Code Now and How? Top 4 Reasons To Learn

Why learn to code?  What’s the benefit of coding? Today, we’ll answer all such questions in this detailed article. We’ll unravel the top reasons why learning to code is a crucial 21st-century skill and how you can start your coding journey! Top Reasons To Learn To Code  There are many advantages to learning to code. Let’s discuss the top reasons. 1. You Can Work From Home The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how companies operate. Organisations worldwide adopted ‘work from home’ technologies and methods to help them function in these uncertain times. According to a Gartner survey, 80% of companies plan to allow employees to work remotely at least part-time after the pandemic ends. This means that even after the virus is gone, the work culture would remain changed. Working from home is very beneficial in some areas. First, you don’t have to face the commute and can easily save a ton of time. Second, you can work more comfortably and create your schedules. When you learn to code and become a technical professional, you can bag roles that offer remote work. In non-technical functions such as sales and management, your chances of getting remote work are much less than technical roles such as frontend developer or software engineer.  2. You will Develop Analytical Skills As you learn to code, you will develop logical thinking and analytical skills. Analytical skills are vital for any role as they help you solve problems quickly and advance your career. These skills will benefit you everywhere, from securing a job interview to facing a role’s day-to-day issues. Here’s how analytical skills will help nurture your: Critical thinking skills Critical thinking refers to the ability to evaluate a problem with a careful thought process. With this ability, you can break down issues or arguments into steps and assess them independently.  Problem-Solving Skills Problem-solving skills help you find solutions to upcoming and existing issues. Effective problem-solving skills will prepare you to face any work challenges, making you a valuable asset to your company.  Decision-Making Skills As you’ll learn to code, you’ll enhance your decision-making skills to select a course of action or object from multiple alternatives. Coding helps you become more efficient in analysing different strategies and choose the right course of action for a particular situation.  3. You can Get High-Paying Jobs Why learn to code? Because it offers some of the highest paying jobs on the planet.  The demand for skilled tech professionals is soaring, which is why there are many roles in this industry that offer six-figure salaries. Here are some of the highest-paid IT jobs in 2022. Big Data Engineer The median pay for big data engineers in the US is $166,500. Big data engineers transform large quantities of raw data into useful information. We generate tons of data every day. Big data engineers’ responsibility is to make this data useful for innovating, decision-making, and strategy-setting.   DevOps Engineer DevOps engineers earn a median salary of $120,000. They work across multiple departments and enhance their organisation’s productivity through improving their IT systems. DevOps engineers are adept at programming and have strong collaboration and problem-solving skills.  Data Scientist Data scientists earn a median salary of $129,000. These professionals use statistics and modelling to generate insights from complex data. Apart from being adept at using multiple programming languages and applying machine learning skills, these professionals must have strong communication skills to share their insights easily with others.  Cloud Engineer Cloud engineers are experts in networking and cloud systems (both hardware and software). They are responsible for running and maintaining the cloud services their organisation uses. The median pay of cloud engineers is $115,250.  These are only the tip of the iceberg. If you know to code, there are plenty of promising roles in the industry for you to pursue.  4. You Can Become your Boss or Earn a Side Income Maybe you have an entrepreneurial spark within you. Perhaps you don’t want to work for someone else and instead, want to work for yourself.  Even in that case, it would be best to learn to code. That’s because, with programming skills, you will have multiple options as an entrepreneur. We can divide those options into two broad categories: Become a Freelancer You can become a freelance professional in your desired domain and start offering services to companies. The gig economy has accelerated substantially after the pandemic, and the demand for freelance professionals is on the rise. As a freelancer, you’ll be working remotely and deciding who you want to work with. It’s an amazing way to become your boss.  Create a Product After you learn to code, you can become a developer and create software products or applications. There are many options in this field. For example, you can become an app developer and complete a time-management mobile application. On the other hand, you might become a web developer and create beautiful websites.  Another answer to the “why learn to code?” question is to start your own business with this skill.  How to Learn to Code? Now that we have discussed why learning to code is so useful, let’s discuss how to code. The best way to learn to code is by taking a professional course. A course will provide you with a structured curriculum and dedicated mentorship. Both of these advantages allow you to learn quickly and efficiently as you can resolve doubts without difficulty. Taking a course will provide you with the necessary qualification so you can apply for the jobs you aspire for right away.  At upGrad, we offer multiple courses that will teach you how to code and the required professional expertise to become a skilled programmer in your desired industry.  Following are the best courses if you want to learn to code:  1. Executive PG Program in Software Development This is a 12-month course and offers six specialisations: Full Stack Development Blockchain Development Big Data Cloud Computing DevOps Cyber Security This course offers 4-month content access in Data Science and Machine Learning for free. It offers more than 400 hours of learning content, and you’ll get to test your knowledge by working on 30+ projects and case studies. Read about software engineer salary in The USA. 2. Master of Science in Computer Science If you want to pursue senior roles in the tech sector, this is the perfect course for you. We offer the Master of Science in Computer Science program in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University and IIIT-B.  This course offers six unique specialisations: Full Stack Development Blockchain Development Big Data Cloud Computing DevOps Cyber Security Moreover, you will get more than 500 hours of study material and four years of unlimited content access. We offer a Software Career Transition Bootcamp for new coders and non-tech professionals with this program so you can kickstart your career easily.  3. Advanced Certificate Program in Cloud Computing Remember the cloud engineer role we discussed earlier? If you want to enter the cloud computing industry, you should join our PG Certification in Cloud Computing. You must have a bachelor’s degree for joining this program. The course covers 250+ hours of study material to help you learn all the necessary skills to become a cloud computing professional.  4. Advanced Certificate Program in Cyber Security You can enter the cybersecurity industry through our PG Certification in Cyber Security. This course lasts for 7.5 months and offers 250+ hours of study material. You only need to have a bachelor’s degree to be eligible for this program. No minimum work experience is required to join this program. Read about cyber security engineer salary in The USA. Additional Benefits of These Courses All of the courses we have covered above offer the following advantages that make them stand out:  Designed for Working Professionals All of these courses are 100% online. What does it mean? It means you wouldn’t have to interrupt your professional life to join these courses. You can learn to code and develop professional skills without leaving your job.  Dedicated Success Mentor and Career Mentor As a student of one of these courses, you’ll get a dedicated student success mentor and a career mentor. They will help you enter your desired industry, understand difficult concepts, and resolve your doubts.  Personalised Support You will get interview preparation and resume building support. We offer company and role-specific practice through mock interviews right before your interview. Apart from mock interviews, you will also get access to our carefully curated pool of interview resources. You will get to network with fellow students and professionals. Moreover, each of these courses offers enough scope for networking with alumni.  Start your Coding Journey Today! We hope you found our article on why learning to code and how to learn to code useful. If you have any questions or suggestions, do share them in the comment section below. We’d love to hear from you.   

Cybersecurity is one of the most trending career domains right now. Stats from the New York Times show that the cybersecurity industry would have 3.5 million unfilled jobs globally by 2021.  Many chief information insecurity officers across the globe are worried about the skills gap in cybersecurity. Around 58% of CISOs participating in a study believed that the issue of not having enough expert cybersecurity professionals would worsen in the coming years. While this is an imminent challenge for companies and organizations in the cybersecurity domain, it is also a fantastic opportunity for aspirants. Why, you ask?  When there’s so much demand for a specific skill, companies pay generously for qualified skills and talent. Cybersecurity is one such skill. With high market demand and a low supply of the right talent, cybersecurity candidates can bag well-paying job roles across different sectors.  Top Jobs with the Highest Cyber Security Salary in the US  As we stated, most cybersecurity roles are accompanied by hefty annual salaries. Here are some of the top positions in the field that you should look out for: 1. Cybersecurity Analyst  The average salary of a cybersecurity analyst in the US is $76,603 per year. Pay in this field starts from $53,000 per annum and goes up to $117,000. Shared profits for this role can go as high as $15,000.  Experience matters a lot here. Entry-level cybersecurity analysts earn 17% below the median, whereas early-career cybersecurity analysts 6% below the average. On the other hand, late-career professionals in this role earn 32% more than the average, while experienced professionals earn 48% more.  A cybersecurity analyst with less than a year’s experience earns $63,000 per annum on average. Similarly, those with one to four years of experience earn $72,000 per annum on average. Experts with five to nine years of experience earn $88,000 per year on average, while those with 20+ years of experience make around $114,000 per annum.  What does a Cybersecurity Analyst Do?  A cybersecurity analyst is responsible for protecting their organization’s systems and network from cyber threats. Thus, they must stay updated with all the industry trends and design contingency plans for different situations.  Cybersecurity analysts review suspicious activities, report security breaches, and train the organization’s staff members on best security practices to safeguard the company’s networks, servers, and systems.  2. Cybersecurity Engineer Cybersecurity engineers earn an average pay of $96,947 per annum. Their salaries start from $67,000 per year and go up to $138,000 per year. Shared profits for this role go up to $12,000, while bonuses may go up to $16,000, depending on various factors.  Entry-level cybersecurity engineers earn 22% less than the average, while late-career ones earn 22% more than the average. Experienced cybersecurity engineers earn 30% more than the average.  Popular skills for this role are security testing & auditing and security risk management.  What does a Cybersecurity Engineer do?  A cybersecurity engineer is responsible for designing and implementing secure network systems for their organization. They have to design solutions that match the company’s unique requirements and protect sensitive data/systems from cyber-attacks and threats. Cybersecurity engineers also have to test and monitor their implemented systems to ensure they operate optimally and protect the network from all the latest threats.  Due to the unique nature of their profession, cybersecurity engineers must continually upskill in their domain and get familiar with the latest developments in the industry.  3. Information Security Officer An information security officer earns an average pay of $92,573 per annum on average. Their salary starts from $59,000 per annum and goes up to $136,000 per annum. Bonuses in this field go up to $21,000 and shared profits go up to $9,000.  A fresher in this field with less than a year’s experience makes $67,000 per annum while those with one to four years of experience $77,000 per annum on average. Similarly, information security officers with five to nine years of experience make $92,000 per annum on average and those with 20+ years of experience make $116,000 per annum on average.  What does an information security officer do? An information security officer is responsible for implementing and monitoring the organization’s security policies, requirements, and compliance. They also oversee the training, policies, practices, and audits to make sure all the systems operate safely and securely. They identify risks by software, role, and information type to define the optimal mitigation strategies.  Information security officers must ensure that the organization’s data remains secure. Thus, they employ effective solutions that prevent hackers or any other malicious technologies from compromising the organization’s data integrity.  Information security officers have to create update schedules and configure the necessary scripts to make the deployment processes faster. They create security checks to help deter malware, spyware, and hackers.  4. Information Security Manager An information security manager earns an average salary of $117,217 per annum on average in the US. Their pay starts from $79,000 per annum and goes up to $152,000 per annum. Bonuses in this field go up to $24,000 while the shared profits can go up to $15,000.  Information security managers with less than a year’s experience earn $84,000 per annum on average while those with one to four years of experience make $94.000 per annum on average. Moreover, professionals in this field with 10 to 19 years of experience earn $122,000 per annum on average.  What does an Information Security Manager do?  An information security manager has to maintain security protocols in their organization. They have to create different strategies for their organization to increase their internet security. They might also have to handle the different cybersecurity implements of their organization’s various projects.  Information security managers are responsible for creating and executing policy, auditing plans, and identifying the security risks their organization faces. They lead the security training procedures at their company and are responsible for communicating the cybersecurity policies.  Information security managers have to help migrate information assets into secure and compliant systems. They also oversee the company’s security testing platforms.  5. Chief Information Security Officer The most revered career in the cybersecurity industry is CISO, also known as a chief information security officer. It is a dream role for many.  The average pay of a CISO in the US is $165,391 per annum. Their pay starts from $105,000 per annum and goes up to $229,000 per annum. CISOs with less than a year’s experience in the field earn $106,000 per annum on average. On the other hand, a chief information security officer with one to four years of experience earns an average salary of $123,000 per year. Those with five to nine years of experience in this role earn $130,000 per year while those with 20+ years of experience make $180,000 per year on average.  What does a Chief Information Security Officer do?  A chief information security officer oversees and monitors the complete cybersecurity infrastructure of their company. They maintain standards, policies, and procedures to protect the integrity and privacy of the organization’s data. CISOs are also responsible for evaluating, reporting on, and suggesting new ideas for safeguarding the company from any potential security threats.  CISOs usually work with a team of cybersecurity professionals to develop the necessary solutions to protect the organization. They also create contingency plans for managing any data or security breaches. In addition, CISOs supervise the development and implementation of security protocols and procedures.  How to Start a Career in Cybersecurity?  If you’re interested in earning a cybersecurity salary, it would be best to enrol in a cybersecurity course. Since cybersecurity roles are highly specialized ones, each with its unique job description and skills, a professional certification program will help you become a job-ready cybersecurity expert. Plus, completing a cybersecurity course will give you the upper hand over your non-certified peers.  The course lasts for 7.5 months and, in the final four weeks, includes a capstone project so you can understand the applications of the skills you learn during the program. You’ll learn the fundamental and advanced concepts of cybersecurity implementations during this program directly from industry experts. This course provides you with 250+ hours of study material and offers 1:1 mentorship sessions with experts.  At upGrad, we offer the Advanced Certificate Program in Cybersecurity in partnership with the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore. We take pride in the fact that our learner base includes over 40,000 paid learners hailing from 85+ countries. Hence, if you opt for this global course, you will enjoy the experience of peer-to-peer. Not to forget, the course will make you ready to explore job opportunities in the international market.  Conclusion The global demand for cybersecurity professionals is rising because companies are migrating to the cloud and are using more digital technologies to optimize their operations. If you’re interested in pursuing a career in this field, be sure to check out the course we mentioned above.  Although it may seem daunting, bagging a lucrative role in cybersecurity isn’t rocket science. All you need is a passion for upskilling and a little professional guidance from industry experts and mentors. Once you master the fundamentals of the domain and gain the requisite skills, you will have a much better chance of becoming a cybersecurity expert at a reputed organization. 

HashMap is a collection class in Java. You can use it to store key and value pairs. Its performance depends on the initial capacity and the load factor. HashMap has various methods that allow you to use its hash table data structure.  In the following article, we’ll explore what HashMap is and learn about its various constructors through examples.  What is HashMap? HashMap is a collection class based on Map. We use it to store Key & value pairs. You denote a HashMap Java as HashMap<K, V>, where K stands for Key and V stands for Value.  HashMap is similar to the Hashtable class. The difference between the two is that HashMap is unsynchronized while Hashtable isn’t. Also, unlike Hashtable, HashMap allows null values and the null key.  Since HashMap isn’t an ordered collection, it doesn’t return the keys and values in the order you insert them. Also, HashMap doesn’t sort the stored keys and values. If you want to use the HashMap class and its methods, you’ll have to import java.util.HashMap (or its superclass). HashMap gives you a simple implementation of Java’s Map interface. You can access the key-value pairs you store through HashMap by using an index of another type (such as an integer). Keep in mind that if you use a duplicate key, it replaces the element of the relevant key. Also, you can only use one null key object; however, there can be any number of null values.  HashMap implements Cloneable, Serializable, Map<K, V> interfaces. It extends the AbstractMap<K, V> class, and its direct subclasses are PrinterStateReasons and LinkedHashMap.  Features of HashMap  Following are the primary features in HashMap:  It is a component of the java.util.package. You can use duplicate values, but HashMap doesn’t allow duplicate keys. It means one key can’t have multiple values, but multiple keys can have a single value.  You can use null keys only once, but you can use various null values.  HashMap provides no guarantees regarding the map’s order. So, it doesn’t guarantee if the order will remain constant.  HashMap is very similar to Hashtable, with the only difference being that HashMap is unsynchronized.  HashMap implements a Serializable and Cloneable interface.  HashMap Constructors There are four constructors in HashMap: 1. HashMap() HashMap() is the default constructor that creates an instance with a load factor of 0.75 and an initial capacity of 16. Example:  // Showing how HashMap() constructor works  import java.io.*; import java.util.*; class AddElementsToHashMap {     public static void main(String args[])     {         // You don’t have to mention the         // Generic type twice         HashMap<Integer, String> hm1 = new HashMap<>();         // Using Generics to initialize HashMap         HashMap<Integer, String> hm2             = new HashMap<Integer, String>();         // Use the put method to add any element         hm1.put(1, “A”);         hm1.put(2, “B”);         hm1.put(3, “C”);         hm2.put(4, “D”);         hm2.put(5, “E”);         hm2.put(6, “F”);         System.out.println(“Results of hm1 are : “                            + hm1);         System.out.println(“Results of HashMap hm2 are : “                            + hm2);     } } Output:  Results of hm1 are : {1=A, 2=B, 3=C} Results of hm2 are : {4=D, 5=E, 6=F} 2. HashMap(int initialCapacity)   HashMap(int initialCapacity) would create an instance with load 0.75 and a specific initial capacity.    Example:   // Showing how HashMap(int initialCapacity) constructor works     import java.io.*; import java.util.*; class AddElementsToHashMap {     public static void main(String args[])     {         // You don’t have to mention the         // Generic type twice         HashMap<Integer, String> hm1 = new HashMap<>(10);         // Using Generics to initialize HashMap         HashMap<Integer, String> hm2             = new HashMap<Integer, String>(2);         // Use the put method to add any element         hm1.put(1, “A”);         hm1.put(2, “B”);         hm1.put(3, “C”);         hm2.put(4, “D”);         hm2.put(5, “E”);         hm2.put(6, “F”);         System.out.println(“Results of hm1 are : “                            + hm1);         System.out.println(“Results of HashMap hm2 are : “                            + hm2);     } } Output:  Results of hm1 are : {1=A, 2=B, 3=C} Results of hm2 are : {4=D, 5=E, 6=F} 3. HashMap(int initialCapacity, float loadFactor)  HashMap(int initialCapacity, float loadFactor) generates an instance with a specific load factor and initial capacity. Example: // Showing how  HashMap(int initialCapacity, float loadFactor) Constructor works import java.io.*; import java.util.*; class AddElementsToHashMap {     public static void main(String args[])     {         // You don’t have to mention the         // Generic type twice         HashMap<Integer, String> hm1             = new HashMap<>(5, 0.75f);         // Using Generics to initialize the HashMap         HashMap<Integer, String> hm2             = new HashMap<Integer, String>(3, 0.5f);         // Use the put method to add elements         hm1.put(1, “A”);         hm1.put(2, “B”);         hm1.put(3, “C”);         hm2.put(4, “D”);         hm2.put(5, “E”);         hm2.put(6, “F”);         System.out.println(“Results of hm1 are : “                            + hm1);         System.out.println(“Results of HashMap hm2 are : “                            + hm2);     } } Output:  Results of hm1 are : {1=A, 2=B, 3=C} Results of hm2 are : {4=D, 5=E, 6=F} 4. HashMap(Map map) HashMap(Map map) would create an instance with the same mappings as the map you specify.  Example: // Showing how HashMap(Map map) constructor works  import java.io.*; import java.util.*; class AddElementsToHashMap {     public static void main(String args[])     {         // You don’t have to mention the         // Generic type twice         Map<Integer, String> hm1 = new HashMap<>();          // Using Generics to initialize HashMap         HashMap<Integer, String> hm2             = new HashMap<Integer, String>(hml);         // Use the put method to add any element         hm1.put(1, “A”);         hm1.put(2, “B”);         hm1.put(3, “C”);         hm2.put(4, “D”);         hm2.put(5, “E”);         hm2.put(6, “F”);         System.out.println(“Results of hm1 are : “                            + hm1);         System.out.println(“Results of HashMap hm2 are : “                            + hm2);     } } Output:  Results of hm1 are : {1=A, 2=B, 3=C} Results of hm2 are : {4=D, 5=E, 6=F} Learn more about Java Java has many classes apart from HashMap. Learning about the nitty-gritty of each of those classes, their uses, and integration in Java by yourself is pretty challenging. The best way to go about this process is by taking a computer science course. Taking a professional course will enable you to master the necessary skills and concepts through a structured curriculum. Furthermore, such courses offer an immersive learning experience facilitated by videos, live sessions, and online lectures that make it easier for you to understand theoretical fundamentals. You can check out our Master of Science in Computer Science program offered in association with LJMU (Liverpool John Moores University, UK) and IIIT-B (International Institute of Information Technology, India). The course covers 500+ hours of content, 10+ live lectures, and 30+ case studies. This 19-month course promises a highly value-oriented and global learning experience. The biggest value addition lies in the fact that you get to connect and engage with peers from across the world. upGrad boasts of having 40,000+ paid global learners spread in over 85+ countries.  As a result, you are exposed to new cultures, new opinions, and new perspectives that broaden your overall outlook. Not just that, you are trained by expert mentors from LJMU and IIIT-B who deliver dedicated and personalized assistance to help resolve your doubts.  Along with these advantages, this program will provide you with 360 degrees career assistance that includes industry mentorship, networking opportunities, and much more.  Conclusion In this article, we learned what HashMap is, its different constructors, and how you can implement them through examples. HashMap has a ton of applications in Java – you can use HashMap to add items, remove them, and manage them as required.  What are your thoughts on this guide on HashMap? Share them in the comment section below. 

The job role of a Scrum Master started gaining prominence from 1992 onwards when Jeff Sutherland and his team coined the term. From then to now, Scrum Master has established its importance to organizations across the globe and has grown to become one of the higher paying and most promising jobs in the current times.  In this article, let’s look at a Scrum Master’s salary along with the factors that affect this salary range!  Factors influencing a Scrum Master’s salary range Here are some factors that go on to determine your salary as a Scrum Master:  1. Years of Experience  This is easily one of the most important criteria that influence the final salary that you’ll draw as a Scrum Master. With experience, the job roles and responsibilities taken by Scrum Master increase, and so does the salary figure. Here are some things that Scrum Masters learn with experience, that influence their salaries:  If you’re aiming to bag a higher-paying Scrum Master job, it’s recommended that you work as a Scrum Master for a minimum of one year and apply different Scrum practices, theories, and principles.  Understanding leadership principles, facilitation, conflict resolution, situational awareness, continual improvement, and more.  2. Level of Skills and Responsibilities Required for the Job A Scrum Master’s job isn’t bound to a particular designation. The more experienced you are (and if you have considerable experience working in agile teams), the better idea you’ll have about the latest Scrum strategies around problem-solving. These approaches include XP, Crystal, Kanban, FDD, etc. If the job role requires you to handle multiple tasks using different technologies and strategies, you can expect a higher salary package.  To get better job opportunities, it is preferred to have knowledge of different successful Agile techniques such as: TDD ATDD Continuous integration Continuous testing User stories Automated testing Pairing Agile games  3. Applicable Knowledge of the Underlying Technologies An organization is likely to offer you higher salaries as a Scrum Master if you have a working understanding of the technology that powers their business. That’s simply because if you’re aware of their technologies, they won’t need to spend time, effort, and resources in helping you train in that particular technology – and that way, they’ll be in a position to offer you higher salaries.  4. Knowledge of Appropriate Patterns and Techniques A professional Scrum Master always utilizes various well-documented techniques and patterns for filling in the intentional gaps left in the Scrum approach. These approaches include things like various retrospective formats, burndown technologies, handling bugs, and more. If you’re aware of these techniques and have a working knowledge of them, you’ll find yourself in a position of demanding higher salaries.  5. Location of the job This one goes without saying. The final salary that you’re offered for the Scrum Master role by any organization depends largely on where the job is located. If it’s a city with high living standards and a dense population, the salary offered is generally higher as compared to if the job is in a remote city with lower living standards.  Salaries Offered to Scrum Masters According to Payscale, the average salary for entry-level Scrum Masters in the USA is $79,309 per year. This figure goes on to touch the six-figure mark of $107,957 in some organizations and roles. However, with more experience and skills, the salaries become increasingly better. Payscale indicates that a Scrum Master with 3-5 years of experience in the USA can, on average, earn $103,566 yearly, with this figure reaching as high as $134,203 yearly for some organizations. If you have over 5 years of experience and possess the latest industry skills required to work in an agile team, your salary range will increase inevitably. With 5+ years of experience, Scrum Masters in the USA can on average expect a salary of $140,000 yearly. This figure only goes higher from here with your experience, expertise, and skillsets.  Below mentioned are statistics from Payscale: Scrum Master Experience/Country USA Entry-Level Scrum Master $79,309 p.a. ($107,957 highest) Mid-Level Scrum Master $103,566 p.a ($134,000 highest) Experienced Scrum Master $140,000+ p.a. A 2019 research conducted by Glassdoor revealed that Scrum Masters are among the highest paid professionals in the USA with the overall average salary being $98,000 and the number of vacancies as high as 1,896. In terms of job location, cities such as Atlanta, NYC, Charlotte, Richmond, and Charlotte are among the best to be working as a Professional Scrum Master.  One more factor that goes into improving your Scrum Master salary is the certifications that you’ve done. In that regard, here are some popular Scrum Master certifications and the average salaries that you can draw yearly after completing that certification.  Certified Scrum Master – $89,000 Professional Scrum Master – $90,000 Agile Certified Practitioner – $105,000 Agile Scrum Master – $110,000 Scrum Master Certified – $110,000 SAFe Scrum Master – $115,000 Top Companies that Hire Scrum Masters Scrum has become increasingly popular in the past few years, with a greater number of software industry leaders adopting its techniques for solving their day-to-day challenges. According to the Scrum Guide, most software development companies across the world use Scrum strategies in some shape or form. Before reaching the software development industry, Scrum had already been adopted for industries like operations, education, marketing, manufacturing, and others.  If you have the required experience and expertise to deal with conflicts and are a proven facilitator, you’ll find many top companies hiring for the position of Scrum Master. According to Glassdoor job results, here are the major companies hiring Scrum Masters in the USA, along with the average yearly pay that you can expect at these organizations:  TransUnion – $104,000 Thomson Reuters – $103,000 UnitedHealth Group – $97,000 Ciber – $97,000 IBM – $94,000 J.P. Morgan – $92,000 Capital One – $87,000 AT&T – $85,000 The past few years have seen the pay structure of Scrum Masters increase at a rapid pace. Even today, the popularity of Scrum Masters continues to increase. So, if you like working in an Agile environment as in situations of conflict resolution, you might be just the right fit for working as a Scrum Master. The job role is broadly all about using Agile-Scrum techniques to take the projects to completion on time without compromising on the quality of work.  Why is Scrum Masters so Highly Paid? Scrum methods have brought revolutionary changes in the way project management was accomplished in various organizations. Problem-solving and conflict resolution have been simplified beyond measures by deploying Scrum methodologies. This reason alone is enough to justify the high salary that Scrum Masters tend to draw.  We’re living in the digital age where products and software need to be delivered on time after continuous feedback, revisions, collaboration, and so much more. To keep all things in control and ensure that the product rollout happens on time, it’s essential for all the different teams to work in sync. That sounds easier than done – and that’s why Scrum Masters are there to keep everybody on the same table while working towards a common goal.  Companies today, regardless of their domain of operations, are highly aware of the importance of an Agile workflow and a Scrum Master. Scrum Masters can take any team and convert it into a self-organized, productive unit by following Scrum practices, and that is what makes them unique and indispensable for any organization.  In Conclusion Scrum Masters are professionals that are paid handsomely no matter the organization they work for. If you look at their roles and responsibilities, this will make complete sense to you.  After all, they’re responsible for seamless end-to-end project management in the most efficient manner.  The good news is that becoming a Scrum Master is not that difficult. If you’re inherently a curious person with an inclination towards conflict resolution, this is just the perfect job for you, and with just a little bit of guidance and support, you’ll be on your way to working as a Scrum Master in an organization of your choice.  So, if you’re a beginner in this Agile world and are looking to get yourself a solid foundation, we recommend you check out the Master of Science in Computer Science course. Whether you’re a fresher or a mid-level expert or a senior-level professional – this course is designed to offer something to everybody. Check out the curriculum and know more for yourself! If you’re looking for a career change and are seeking professional help – upGrad is just the upskilling platform for you! We are proud to have a learner base spread across 85+ countries, 40,000+ paid learners globally, and 500,000+ happy working professionals. Our 360-degree career assistance, combined with the exposure of studying and brainstorming with global students, allows you to make the most of your learning experience. Reach out to us today for a curated list of courses around Data Science, Machine Learning, Management, Technology, and a lot more! 

What is React? React is an open-source, component-based JavaScript library used to create quick and interactive interfaces or UI components for users for web and mobile-based applications.   Ever since its release in 2013 by Facebook, React, a JavaScript library used to build web applications, has consistently witnessed an upward trend. It is now the most-used JavaScript library alongside the likes of jQuery, Vue, and Angular. It is a declarative and highly accurate library that provides reusable code, which enhances the efficiency and flexibility of single-page applications.  Its key features are SX and Virtual DOM, which set it apart from other JavaScript libraries. Popular companies like Facebook, TripAdvisor, and Airbnb are users of React. Key Highlights of React The component-based, front-end library optimizes the page loading speed and efficiency of single-page applications. React helps in generating easy-to-use interactive UIs. It is used to design comfortable and interactive views for every state in the application. It offers on-time updates that help users to receive relevant components required when data changes. React breaks the UI into smaller individual components, enabling users to simultaneously work on each component resulting in faster app development. Why does React have the edge over other frameworks? React has a lot of efficient features that make the library stand out against other libraries. The following is the list of powerful features that have catapulted React to the numero uno position: Effective DOM Manipulation DOM (Document Object Model) is a crucial part of the web application, as it represents the web page of a document, generally HTML. DOM manipulation has become the latest trend in modern applications as they require numerous animations, state transitions, impactful effects, and so on:  The Virtual DOM is a virtual model of the actual DOM tree with each branch ending in a node that contains objects. The feature enables the users to update only the necessary parts of the DOM tree instead of re-rendering the entire UI. The whole process of implementing a virtual DOM is faster as it stays only in the memory without providing access to the user. JSX The JavaScript’s syntax extension is merged with React to clearly define how the user interface (UI) is supposed to look. JSX can be used to write HTML structures in a file that has JavaScript code. By doing this, the code becomes easily understandable as the process avoids complex JavaScript DOM structures. More functionality with lesser code React facilitates the simple and quick generation of dynamic web applications as it requires less coding against JavaScript that involves complex coding. Quick application development Components are the foundation of any React application. Most apps require a lot of components to control each task in app development. React components have a wide range of logic and controls that can be reused because of which the applications can be developed at a quick pace. Easy error debugging In React, the child components are placed inside the parent components, and so the data flows only in one way. The single direction of data enables the app developers to identify the exact location of the error in an application resulting in faster debugging. React components are designed based on the Separation of concerns principle, according to which a computer program is separated into smaller sections, each of which addresses different issues. Use of UI component library A set of ready-made components that provide the necessary blocks of code for developing apps constitute the UI component library. The use of the UI library, Kendo React, brings in a lot of advantages like greater compatibility, better accessibility, speed, and easier handling. For instance, the Create React app is used at the beginning stage of React app setup. This enables the developers to start using the React app with a single command.  Redux Redux is a popular state management library used in React. It places all the data inside a store such that each component has access to the store. The two powerful concepts of Redux are actions and reducers.  Actions are the events that transfer the data, and reducers are functions that perform a task corresponding to the data and return it to a new state. Easy to learn It is easy to learn React as it is an amalgamation of HTML and JavaScript concepts with some add-ons. Use in developing mobile apps  React is known for its effectiveness in web application development but is not limited to only that. React Native, an immensely popular framework of React helps in developing mobile applications.  Chrome extension to debug React applications Facebook has come up with a chrome extension that is exclusively used for debugging React applications. This makes debugging simpler and faster. The above features make React one of the most-used JavaScript libraries, which are preferred by a huge number of businesses over the likes of jQuery, Vue, and Angular.  In addition to this, React does not insist on strict code conventions or file organizations, unlike other frameworks. This helps developers to have their convenient conventions and use React in any way they like. React can be assigned to handle a single button, a few interface pieces, or an application’s entire user interface.  Prerequisites for learning and using React The following list will help developers who have just started using React determine if they are ready to take the plunge: A basic understanding of HTML, JavaScript, CSS, Babel, and Package manager: Front-end developers should know how to generate CSS selectors, HTML tags and to develop applications using HTML and CSS. A good grip on ES6, JSX, and their features: In React, the developers need to use JSX that gives the flavour of HTML JavaScript. A complete understanding of how to use JSX is mandatory to learn React. Understanding of how Node Package Manager (NPM) works: A basic understanding of installing packages using NPM, finding required software from the NPM registry is indispensable for developing React apps.  React Vs. Angular and Vue Angular, developed by Google in 2010, is a TypeScript based framework. Two versions of the same were released in 2016 (Angular 2) and 2020 (Angular 11). Vue, a.k.a Vue.js, was released by Evan You in 2014. The latest version of Vue was released in September 2010 (Vue 3.0), which has its own GitHub tool.  Let us compare the key aspects of the three frameworks.  Key features React Angular Vue Year of release 2013 2010 2014 Website Reactjs.org Angular.io vuejs.org Latest Version 17.x 11 3.0.x Leading companies using the framework Facebook, Uber Google, Wix Alibaba, GitLab Number of Contributors 1533 1352 382 Number of jobs in LinkedIn 70963 72747 11590 Future Scope of React in the Industry With growing patronage from new-age developers, React has become a top trend in the front-end development industry.  React developers are better compensated than other web developing frameworks. According to PayScale, the average salary offered to developers in React.js is $92,341 per year. Compensations increase as you level up in your career — L4 Lead Front End Engineers are paid a high base salary of $115,862 per year. It is widely preferred by many companies owing to its simplicity and quick pace and so React developers have a huge demand in the market. Many leading companies like Facebook, PayPal, Instagram, UBER, and Airbnb use React for their web development. Therefore, React developers have a potential future as the technology is used in a wide range of industries. Ever since its release in 2013, React has been consistently growing in demand and popularity and Facebook adding many advanced features to the tool is making it more desirable and stronger in the market. ReactJs has completely revamped the front-end handling making it faster and easier by addressing its view issue and providing a UI view and storage layer. Let us look at the key parameters of React that show its current trend in the market: Key Parameters Figures of React Number of Watchers 6,700 Number of Stars 16,400 Number of Forks 32,900 Number of Contributors 1,533 React is also comparatively easier to learn and has a wider community than other libraries like Angular or Vue. The job market for React developers looks very promising.  The following table shows the number of positions available for React developers: List of job portals Number of Vacancies LinkedIn 70963 Indeed 14595 Simply Hired 10508 Dice 3529 AngelList 4383 Hired 9 Remote 1136 To Conclude The path to learning React might take time, but it is certainly worth the effort and time given its popularity as the most-used JavaScript for developing modern applications. The powerful and efficient features of React and the ease of handling them make it unique from other libraries and frameworks. The tools introduced by React like JSX, DOM, and reusable components have completely revolutionized and simplified the process of app development.  All the above features make ReactJs an indispensable tool in web development. Developers who look beyond Angular and Vue find React as their one-stop destination. According to The State of JavaScript 2020 survey, React tops the list of most-used JavaScript libraries, which proves that this framework is here to stay for a long time. 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The United States has the largest number of software developers specializing in technologies like Python. If you want to be one of them, it is best to start with the fundamentals. We have compiled a Python cheat sheet below to kickstart your learning journey! Applications of Python As a leading general-purpose programming language, Python is used for a wide range of industry applications.  Here are some of its popular use cases: Web development is backed by frameworks like Django, Pyramid, Flask, and content management systems such as Plone. Scientific and numeric computing powered by SciPy, Pandas, IPython, etc. Desktop GUIs enabled by toolkits like Livy, wxWidgets, PySide, and GTK+. Software development, including build, control and management, and testing. Programming-related education and training, both at the introductory and advanced levels. Business applications encompassing ERP and e-commerce solutions. Examples of enterprise application platforms include Odoo and Tryton.  In terms of technical skills, Python lets you master two coding tasks at once, i.e., server-side development and machine learning. It is open-sourced, equipped with extensive libraries, and supports user-friendly data structures. Moreover, you can easily find a Python cheat sheet pdf online to clarify the basics.  The following Python cheat sheet will familiarize you with the data types, math operators, strings, functions, lists, and tuples. We have also included Regular Expressions (Regex) information to give you a well-rounded view of the programming language.  Getting Started with Python The first step is to check whether your computer has pre-installed Python. You can do so via the Command Line search. After that, you can begin writing your code in any text editor and save the file in .py format. You would then be able to run the code in the Command Line prompt.  However, this approach is suitable only for straightforward, non-data science tasks. You might want to switch to IDE or IDLE if you want to interpret your code. If you are a beginner in python and data science, upGrad’s data science online courses can definitely help you dive deeper into the world of data and analytics. IDLE stands for Integrated Development and Learning Environment. Every installation comes with a Python IDLE that highlights relevant keywords or string functions. Shell is the default mode of operation that lets you test various code snippets via the following tasks:  Read statements Evaluate results Print results on the screen Loop to the next statement  Data Types in Python A Python value is termed an “object.” Every object has a particular data type. Here is a list of the most-used data types with examples: Integers: Represented by keyword (int), it includes integer numbers, such as -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, etc. Floating-point numbers: Non-integer fractional numbers denoted by (float). For example, -1.5, -1, -0.5, 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5 Strings: Sequence of characters that cannot be changed once defined. For example, “hello”, “hey”. Typically, single, double, or triple quotes are used to create a basic Python string.  Whichever option you choose, keep it consistent throughout the program. Here are some other things to keep in mind: The print() function would output your string to the console window.  You can apply join() or replace() to modify these strings but cannot rewrite the original.  Lists: Ordered sequence of elements that keep the data together so that you can perform operations on several values at once. Each value is termed as an “item” and placed within square brackets. The items can be changed once stored. Consider the examples below. one_list = [1, 2, 3, 4] two_list = [“b”, “c”, “f” “g”] three_list = [“4”, d, “car”, 7] Tuples: Similar to lists, but the stored values cannot be changed. You can create a tuple as follows: new_tuple = (5, 6, 7, 8) my_tuple[0:5] (2, 3, 4) Dictionaries: Indexes that hold key-value pairs. It can include integers, boolean, or strings. For instance, Buyer 1= {‘username’: ‘john doe, ‘online’: true ‘friends’:150}  You can use the any of these two options to create a dictionary: my_dict = {} new_dict= dict()  Let us now look at the common practicalities of these data types.  String Concatenation & Replication Concatenation involves adding two strings together with the “+” operator, as demonstrated below. my_string = “I love” other_string = “reading books” final_string = my_string + other_string Notably, concatenation is only possible for the same data types. If you try to use “+” for a string and integer, you will encounter an error in Python.  The replication command lets you repeat a string using the * operator.  ‘Alex’ * 4 ‘AlexAlexAlexAlex’ print(“Alex” * 4) However, this only holds true for string data types. When * is applied to numbers, it acts as a multiplier, not a replicator. Math Operators You can apply several math operations with numbers via specific operators. For reference, let’s examine this list: To return an exponent, use “**” (2 ** 4 = 16) To multiply numbers, use the single asterisk sign, “*” (2 * 2 = 4) To get the quotient in integer division, use “//” as the operator (20 // 8 = 2)  For the remainder, apply the “%” symbol (20 % 8 = 4) For the floating point number, apply “/” (20 / 8 = 2.5) For subtraction, “-” is the standard operator (6 -2 = 4) To add numbers, use “+” (3 + 3 = 6) Functions in Python Functions are blocks of coded instruction capable of performing particular actions. Python has some built-in functions, namely:  Input(): Prompts the user for input, which is further stored as a string.  len(): Finds the length of strings, lists, tuples, dictionaries, and other data types. filter(): Excludes items in iterable objects, such as lists, tuples, or dictionaries.  You can also define your own function using the def keyword followed by name():. Here, the parentheses can either stay empty or contain any parameters to specify the purpose of the function.  Performing Operations with Lists  The list() function provides an alternate way of creating lists in Python. The statements mentioned below illustrate this option.  my_list = list ((“1”, “2”, “3”)) print(my_list) The append() or insert() functions are used to add new items to a list. Functions like remove() and pop() let you remove items from a list. Alternatively, you may try the del keyword to delete a specific item. The “+” operator combines two lists, and the sort () function organizes the items in your list.  Working with ‘If Statements’ Python supports the basic logical conditions from math:   Equals: a == b Not Equals: a != b Less than: a < b Less than or equal to a <= b Greater than: a > b  Greater than or equal to a >= b  You can leverage these conditions in various ways. But most likely, you’ll use them in “if statements” and loop. The goal of a conditional statement is to check if it’s True or False. if 5 > 1: print(“That’s True!”) Output: That’s True! You can know more about Nested If Statements, Elif statements, If Else Statements, and If-Not statements in any Python cheat sheet pdf.  Creating Python Classes Every element, along with its methods and properties, is an object in Python, considering it is an object-oriented programming language. Classes are blueprints for creating these objects. While a class is manifested in a program, objects are the instances of the class. Suppose you have to create a SampleClass with a property named x. You will begin with: class SampleClass:  z = 4 In the next step, you will create an object using your SampleClass. You can do so using p1 = SampleClass(). You can further assign attributes and methods to your object with a few simple steps.  Python Exceptions (Errors) Here is a list of some common errors that pop up while using Python.  KeyError: When a dictionary key doesn’t feature in the set of existing keys. TypeError: When an operation or function is inapplicable to an object type. ValueError: When a built-in operation or function gets an argument with the correct type but of inappropriate value.  IndexError: When a subscript cannot be detected, being out of range.  ZeroDivision: When the second argument of a division operation is zero. AttributeError: When an attribute assignment fails. ImportError: When an import statement fizzles in locating the module definition. OSError: A system-related error. For troubleshooting these errors in Python, you can use exception-handling resources — try/except statements.  Python Regex Cheat Sheet Regex is an integral part of any programming language. It helps you search and replace specific text patterns. In other words, it is a set of characters that lets you remember syntax and how to form patterns depending on your requirements. So, let’s look at some useful regex resources for Python.  Basic characters ^ matches a string expression to its right before the line break $ matches the expression to its left before the string experiences a line break xy matches the xy string. a|b matches the a or b expressions. b is left untried if a gets matched first.  Quantifiers + matches an expression to its left once or more than once. * matches an expression to its left 0 or multiple times. ? matches an expression to its left between 0 and 1 time.  {p} matches an expression to its left not less than p times. {p,q} matches an expression to its left between p and q times.  {p,} matches an expression to its left p times or more than p times.  {,q} matches an expression to its left through q times.  Module Functions re.findall (A, B) returns a list of all instances of expression A in the B string.  re.search (A, B) returns a re-match object of the first insurance of expression A in the B string.  re.sub (A, B, C) replaces A with B in the C string.  You can find more regular expressions on character classes, sets, and groups in any Python regex cheat sheet available online.  Summing up In this blog, we detailed the foundational steps of working with the Python programming language. We covered everything from IDLE to integers, strings, lists, dictionaries, tuples, and math operators. We also learned how to define a function and discussed examples of different statements and errors. By no means is the above checklist complete, but it can definitely help you get the hang of Python. Once you are through with these nuts and bolts, you can increase your speed and productivity with regular practice.  Additionally, Python’s active support community and advanced online courses can help you stay updated. Check out upGrad’s Executive PG Program in Software Development and other programs in technology, data science, and machine learning. The platform allows the flexibility to learn at your own pace, a benefit that is celebrated in over 85 countries. upGrad courses have transformed the career trajectory of more than 40,000 paid learners and 500,000 working professionals globally. Perhaps the above Python cheat sheet would fuel your curiosity to explore and upskill!