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We know there are a number of programming language options out there today. So if you are just getting started with code, or if you are a career-changer looking to switch into tech, what programming language do you prioritize for learning - and why?
Please do leave us your thoughts and ideas in the comments. If you are an experienced developer, do leave your feedback on what you think a new developer should focus on learning (and why). In case useful, the GitHub Octoverse Report had this graphic showing the changes in rankings of popular languages over the years.
Top comments (25)
There's only one right answer and that's the language that you'll get work with. At the end of the day it's not about what you use or how you feel about a certain language, it's about solving problems and turning business requirements into solutions.
Thank you for this!! And yes, I do agree on aligning your learning to the work your are doing if you are already in the tech industry.
What would you advise a beginner or career changer who might be thinking of starting a developer journey into tech? Is there a particular language or target domain that makes more sense for their first foray into programming?
For first timers, I'd say any major OOP such as Python (always preferred because it's simple syntax and it's eco-system) and SQL are must learn languages.
I believe i would go with either GO or JS.
Golang because i want to learn about cloud native applications.
JS because it can be used to build any platform's application.
[ web apps - React, mobile apps - react native, Desktop software - electron and so many frameworks/packages are there ]
I agree with both those languages for one more reason - the community.
Go has one of the most beginner-friendly communities for someone starting out in tech and I love the tooling and ecosystem around it. Also Cloud Native apps are going to start growing, so it is a good skill to have.
And of course I am biased but JS is something that gives you a lot of flexibility in the types of apps you can build later (mobile, web, multi-platform) and there are a lot of resources for folks getting into web development.
Thanks so much for the response!
I prioritize JavaScript. It is the language I learned when I was starting learning how to code and is the one I see lots of curriculum organizations prioritizes when they teach coding for new devs getting started in tech. A lot of that is due to jobs and demand. In my area, I still see lots of job postings requesting devs know JavaScript. Another reason JavaScript is recommended as a good progamming language for newbies is the documentation. There's lots of documentation available to help new developers learn and use it.
I like to prioritize JavaScript because there's lots to do with it both on the front end and back end. I especially love how JavaScript is evolving. There isn't just basic vanilla JS. Now there's different frameworks that expand on JS even more so developers can have different paths to go on with JS.
I absolutely agree with you here - there is a broad scope for JS developers to apply their skills and the demand for these skills keeps growing. Thanks for the reply!
Definitely Rust. The language has some high learning curve but it pays off. Its a blooming language, has a friendly compiler, its memory safe. I can't predict the future but right now we can see how Rust keep growing year-to-year and sounds a solid choice to learn.
Rust has been on my #ToLearn list and the stats do show that it is on a growing trend for adoption! Thanks for sharing. And if you have resources that you find personally useful for this do share them! I hope beginners who see this post will find them useful as well.
Thank you for the response 🙏🏽
I'm learning JavaScript currently because I want to dive deep into web development and technologies.
I have learned GOSU, some Swift, a little Python and light Java in the past. I work for Guidewire Software at the present, but am looking for a change.
Looking forward to becoming much better with JavaScript/TypeScript!
Discord - alexbourlotos#7116
Do check out the series we did recently on SWA and PWA
dev.to/nitya/series/16849
aka.ms/30DaysOfSWA
Right now I'm focused on getting a good understanding of JavaScript. It's what we're focusing on in my coding bootcamp and it seems like its a language you need to know for many of the entry level jobs I have looked at.
-KJ
klove2016#6196
Totally agree!!
Check out the page here community.codenewbie.org/msusdevel... - for more resources to skill up in JS.
And let me know how your learning journey goes.
Javascript. I didn't exactly pick it, it's just what most full-stack courses offered. Having had to drag myself through learning Java a decade ago, I'm definitely having an easier time learning JS and I'm absolutely loving React. As a career-changer into tech, I think it's really important to see what's in demand for the jobs you want and to deep-dive into at least one. As the graphic above shows, JS seems like a smart choice!
Woot! I am in the JavaScript Advocacy team at Microsoft so I am definitely biased. This is amazing! What are you currently building with React? Have you tried Remix? Love that you are a career-changer. If you wrote up your experiences do share them with us!
I am currently learning python. A friend recomended I start with python because it doesn't require syntax technicalities. If anyone has any resources I would really appreciate it if you shared them with me! Loving Codeland so far!
Do check out the virtual Codeland Booth here - we just added resources for Python as well
community.codenewbie.org/msusdevel...
I enjoy programming in C#. It was the first language I was introduced to while in college during my IT days. I took some time before getting into developing and learning how the whole chain work but it lead to some funny coincidences here lately. I came up in code camps and self learning with tools and languages JS, Salesforce, Java and HTML/CSS . All confusing at the time for me, and was focused more on a web page or CMS interactions. I was more under the impression that I was not doing the right thing to make apps and games. I avoided Android studio Kotlin and iOS Swift, idk why, I guess. just wasn't a fan. Back to C#, I gained a lot of traction in that language especially with Unity3D Programming training, it was a easy way to grasp the concepts for me and I had a fairly decent OOP understanding by then. Once again , along came the web development thing with .NET and Razor ( A horrible attempt to consume Spotify API , that I still need to refactor lol ) I felt more comfortable with it and grew to accept it, even went down to learn JS more. Fast forward a few failed interview, painful debugging and fun laughs I get to toy with C#9 and 10. I have created games, prototypes, with Unity, have several tooling and framework options for various projects that reach out to my React and VUE (mainly for work), a lot of inter-op language options that so happen to align with languages and platforms I have used in the past ( I seen something about Rust to and a buddy has sparked my interest there!), and of course SaaS, PaaS, IaaS ( a solo dev dream) options with Azure. I came from AWS training and GCP self learning so it translated easily. The last connection was Microsoft, the computers I have used all my life, the gaming device I have played on all day long. And more recently the ones that now own my favorite gaming companies with plans to make them better ( I am a huge Diablo fan!) . C# is my jam all day, everyday, XML , XAML, JS and other markup and languages found in that ecosystem is just something I pick up on well, enjoy doing and not afraid to burn a few projects with a plan that was better on paper ! :)
Can I say I really loved your response. I almost wish this was a post in itself because you shared the details of your developer journey so well that I think it will resonate with others and maybe even inspire a few beginners to dive into C#. Thank you so much for taking the trouble to write such an amazingly detailed response!
Thank you !
Python. All the way. I've been interested in Python for years and now that I have started my coding journey I look forward to moving onto Python as the next step. I hope to find a career utilizing Python for web development.
Awesome Zoe! Looks like you are in Oregon correct? Ping me if so on Discord and I can send you a redemption code for SWAG!
I believe i would go with JavaScript since that what I starting learning in a coding BootCamp.
Nice!! Are you still in the bootcamp? What kinds of projects are you working on? Thanks for sharing!
Nope, I work for a web development company currently on the support team debugging site issues and implementing minor updates and changes.