What 49,000 devs said, what big brands actually run, and where the jobs really are.
The Stack Overflow Developer Survey just dropped, and it’s basically Spotify Wrapped for codebases. Python’s still sitting on the throne, JavaScript refuses to leave the room, and Java like that one coworker who never takes PTO just won’t die.
Every year, devs meme, argue, and swear eternal loyalty to their favorite syntax. But here’s the catch: what’s “popular” on Stack Overflow doesn’t always match what pays the bills at FAANG, your local bank, or that random SaaS startup running out of a WeWork.
TLDR: This isn’t a rehash of the survey pie charts. I’m going to break down what I agree with, what feels like hype, what big brands are actually running in production, and why the bottom of the list is secretly stacked with opportunity. I’ll throw in some personal preferences, dev-life stories, and maybe a little salt for JavaScript fatigue survivors.
So grab your ☕ (or your 3rd can of Monster), because we’re about to unpack the winners, the losers, and the weird gap between what developers say they love and what companies actually hire you for.
The winners: Python, Javascript, Typescript, SQL, Java
If the Stack Overflow survey is our yearly scoreboard, the usual suspects are still at the top. Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, SQL, and Java keep holding court like the Final Fantasy party you just can’t swap out, no matter how many shiny new characters show up.
Python: No shocker here. It’s the Swiss Army knife of programming. Data science? Check. AI/ML? Triple check. Backend? Sure, why not. I agree with Python’s dominance because if you’re anywhere near AI, you can’t dodge it. TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn pick your poison. Plus, it’s the only language you can pseudo-teach your non-dev cousin and they’ll actually get it.
Javascript/typescript: Every year, people scream “JavaScript fatigue,” and every year… it’s still the language of the web. And with TypeScript rising, the chaos has at least been nerfed. My personal take: TS is one of the few things that actually improved my sanity. Runtime errors dropping from “every deploy” to “once in a while” is like upgrading from Dark Souls I to Elden Ring. Still punishing, but now at least you can parry.
Sql: Quietly, SQL is like that healer in your raid party nobody respects until they’re gone. It never trends on Twitter, but the second your prod DB starts choking, you realize how little your React components matter without it. Companies love SQL because data is the business. Agree 100%.
Java: Now here’s where I disagree with the “Java is fading” narrative. Java is the undead king. It doesn’t trend, but it powers banks, e-commerce, Android apps, and most of Amazon’s backend. You might not love it, but it’s like taxes you deal with it because the world literally runs on it. I’ve interviewed with startups “all in on Node” only to find half their microservices quietly humming along in Spring Boot.
Big brands also keep these winners alive. Google cranks out Python for AI, Microsoft’s entire stack leans on C#/TS, and Netflix still mixes Java with Node. The takeaway? The winners on this list aren’t just survey hype they’re the languages keeping trillion-dollar infra alive.
Big-brand stack reality
The Stack Overflow charts show what devs click in surveys. But what actually runs under the hood at the tech giants? Spoiler: it’s not always the shiny stuff we argue about on Reddit.
Google: Everyone memes about “just learn Go,” and honestly, that’s not far off. Internally, Google runs Go, C++, and Python like a three-headed dragon. Want to write something for scale? It’s in C++ or Go. Want ML? Python. Sure, Dart exists, but outside of Flutter hipsters, you won’t see it at scale.
Meta (Facebook/Instagram/Whatsapp): Hack (their PHP mutant child) is still very real. Add React (their baby), Python for ML, and C++ for infra. If you thought FAANG engineers were writing Rust all day, surprise: they’re still patching Hack classes at 2 PM.
Amazon: This one’s funny. Everyone thinks AWS = cutting edge. But most of their backend is still good old Java. Sprinkle in Go and a rising amount of Rust for infra. If you’ve ever tried to debug Lambda cold starts, you’ll know why Go keeps sneaking in.
Microsoft: Predictable, but important. C# and .NET aren’t “cool,” but they’re bread-and-butter for Redmond. Add TypeScript on the frontend and Azure infra running on a mix of C/C++. Enterprises hiring for .NET? Still endless.
Why this matters: Survey popularity ≠ hiring popularity. When you peek at LinkedIn or Indeed job boards, it’s the same names over and over: Java, C#, SQL. Boring? Yes. But safe. Enterprises care about stability, not your weekend Elixir experiment.
Here’s the kicker: dev surveys capture vibes. Job boards capture money. If you want a career map, follow the boring stacks. If you want Hacker News karma, tweet about Zig.
The underdogs & gaps
Now let’s flip the chart and stare at the bottom, where the so-called “underdog” languages live. Ruby, Perl, PHP, and friends. They’re like the B-tier characters in a fighting game nobody brags about maining them, but in the right hands they can still wreck you.
Ruby: Rails isn’t dead. Shopify alone keeps it alive, and there are still thousands of SaaS apps running Rails quietly, printing money. The survey shows Ruby sliding down, but that’s not because it’s useless it’s just not hype anymore. Personally? Rails still feels like cheat codes for building MVPs.
PHP: Everyone dunks on PHP like it’s Nickelback. But let’s be real: WordPress powers around 40% of the web. That means PHP runs in more production sites than all the “cool” languages combined. You won’t see FAANG listing PHP roles, but small-to-mid businesses? Constant need for devs who can wrangle it. It’s a job-rich niche if you can tolerate the syntax quirks.
Perl: Okay, this one… yeah, Perl’s mostly holding on in legacy scripts and dusty enterprise setups. It’s the “grandpa with war stories” of languages. If you know it, you’re probably paid well to maintain ancient but mission-critical systems nobody dares touch.
The gap: Here’s where it gets interesting. While hype languages dominate headlines, the underdogs quietly fuel stable careers. There’s less competition, too. Everyone wants to learn Rust, but very few are learning COBOL even though banks pay six figures for it. It’s not sexy, but it’s rent money.
My take: The bottom of the chart isn’t the graveyard; it’s the hidden job board. If you’re strategic, picking up one of these “uncool” stacks can be the ultimate power move. You might not get Twitter clout, but you’ll get career security.
Hype vs adoption
Every year, one language gets crowned “most loved” in the survey, and in 2025 that’s still Rust. If the survey were Tinder, Rust would have superlikes stacked to the moon. But when you hop on LinkedIn or Indeed, reality hits: the number of actual Rust job listings is closer to “secret rare” than “common drop.”
Rust: Developers adore it. Memory safety, zero-cost abstractions, blazing fast performance Rust feels like upgrading from a beat-up Honda Civic to a Tesla Plaid. But companies move slower. Amazon, Cloudflare, and Microsoft are sneaking it into infra projects, yet it’s still nowhere near Java’s scale. It’s the language you learn for fun or open source cred, not guaranteed rent.
Zig, Elixir, Crystal: Twitter devs love to meme these into relevance. Elixir’s Phoenix framework is a joy, Zig feels like “C but without the pain,” and Crystal looks like Ruby cosplaying as C. But outside indie shops and passionate side projects, adoption is tiny. I once had a friend go all-in on Elixir loved every minute, until the contract market dried up and he went back to Spring Boot. Painful but real.
Adoption lag: Enterprises don’t switch stacks overnight. A trillion-dollar bank won’t rewrite its systems in Rust because Hacker News upvoted it. They’ll wait years for tooling, talent pools, and corporate-proof safety nets. That’s why surveys spike with hype while job boards lag.
My take: Learning hype languages isn’t a waste it keeps you sharp and future-ready. But if your career plan is “pay rent reliably,” mix hype with boring. Rust might be the future, but right now, Java and C# are still the paycheck.
Agree, Disagree, Surprise
Scrolling through the survey always feels like opening a loot box some pulls are obvious, some are trash, and once in a while you get a weird shiny. This year’s results had all three.
What I agree with: Python and TypeScript deserve their thrones. Python is the duct tape of modern computing (AI, data, scripts, you name it), and TypeScript saved JavaScript from its own chaos. Honestly, shipping production JS without TS today is like playing Elden Ring with a Guitar Hero controller possible, but why punish yourself?
Where I disagree: Go still feels underrated. The survey puts it below Java, but in the trenches? Google, AWS, Cloudflare, even scrappy startups are quietly cranking out Go microservices like there’s no tomorrow. It’s not “sexy” like Rust, but when your infra team needs reliability, Go gets the call way more often than the survey suggests.
The surprise factor: C++ still hanging in the top tier. I expected it to keep sliding, but nope game engines, embedded systems, and high-performance infra won’t let it die. Also, Kotlin charting lower than expected is odd considering Android runs half the planet’s phones. Surveys skew hype-heavy, but the hiring market has its own gravity.
And that’s the thing: surveys capture vibes, not receipts. Job boards tell the harsher truth.
Survey hype vs hiring reality (2025)
My verdict: I’m with Python/TS on top, I’ll die on the hill that Go deserves more love, and I’m side-eyeing Kotlin’s low placement. But when you put survey hype next to hiring reality, the table says it all: learn one “boring paycheck” stack and one “fun hype” stack if you want both rent money and bragging rights.
The career playbook
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: what’s fun to code in isn’t always what companies pay for. If you only chase hype languages, you risk becoming the dev equivalent of a speedrunner who’s amazing at a niche game nobody streams anymore. Cool skill, limited audience.
Rule of 2: My personal approach is simple: learn two languages at any given time. One “boring but employable” stack (Java, C#, SQL) and one “fun or future-looking” language (Rust, Elixir, Go). The boring one pays rent. The fun one keeps you sharp and lets you stand out.
Real story: I know a contractor who picked up COBOL just to keep a bank’s systems alive. The money was so good he basically funded his side hustle in Rust with it. It wasn’t glamorous, but it bought him freedom. That’s the play balance paycheck stacks with passion stacks.
Career meta: Recruiters still want boring: Java, .NET, SQL. Startups still want hype: TS, Go, Python. The sweet spot? Know both. That way, you can survive enterprise interviews and ship your side project in the hot new stack.
My take: don’t treat the survey like gospel. Treat it like a vibe check. Then look at job boards for reality, and split your energy between the two. Boring + fun. Rent + joy. That’s the real dev meta.
Conclusion
The Stack Overflow survey is always fun to scroll through, but it’s just that fun. It tells you what devs say they’re using or loving, not necessarily what big brands are hiring for or what keeps the lights on in billion-dollar companies. Popularity ≠ paychecks.
My slightly spicy take: Stack Overflow charts are vibes; careers are receipts. If you want to get hired, look at LinkedIn job boards. If you want to win Hacker News karma, learn Rust and tweet about it. Ideally? Do both.
Looking forward, I think Rust and Go will keep climbing. They’re too good at solving infra problems to stay niche forever. Kotlin should also get more love it’s absurd how central Android is yet how low it charts. And honestly, AI codegen may flatten a lot of language barriers anyway. If the machine writes 40% of your boilerplate, suddenly “what language” matters a little less than “what ecosystem.”
So yeah celebrate your favorites, roast the ones you hate, but don’t confuse hype with reality. Pick your boring stack for rent money, your fun stack for joy, and let the survey fuel your Discord debates.
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