Why is English so important in a developer's career?

Pedro Barreto — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 19:16:47 +0000

This is a very common issue in developer groups and often a subject of controversy. Therefore, I decided to do what we programmers love the most! I gathered data on the subject, and the results were impressive. Let's go through the main topics...

Programming Languages

Javascript, Typescript, Python, PHP... all the major programming languages in the world have something in common, which lies in their foundation: they were all written and designed in English.

Although this might seem simple and obvious, it makes a significant difference for learners, especially in high-level languages.

A practical example:

const product = document.getElementById('product');

Translated:
Constant (const) product equals document.getElementById('product');

Even if you have zero familiarity with programming, you can see how the code makes sense when translated into Portuguese.

Documentation

Every programmer knows how valuable good documentation is! That's why I surveyed the leading market documentation to see if they already have translations into Portuguese.

Officially translated documentation:

Javascript, Python, PHP, C#, React, Vue

No translation available:

Typescript, Java, Node, Docker, MySQL, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, Flutter, Swift

Despite the surprisingly high number of translations, it's clear that the number is still very limited.

Job Opportunities

Developers are in demand worldwide, which is no secret. However, what are the differences in the Brazilian market compared to others? I quickly researched on LinkedIn and was astonished by the results:

Let's see, the number of available positions for Software Development on LinkedIn Brazil on March 30, 2022:

Jobs available for Software Development on LinkedIn United States on March 30, 2022:

That's a difference of 221,843 positions 😱, comparing only to the American market. Imagine including Canada, Australia, Europe, and others. Moreover, thanks to remote work, it's increasingly common for Brazilian programmers to be hired by foreign companies, earning in dollars, without even having to relocate. But this isn't simple; we're talking about highly qualified professionals who speak fluent English.

But what if I don't know English? Can't I program?

Of course you can. The aim of this post was simply to highlight the advantages of venturing into English. However, nothing prevents you from starting to program today.

I've compiled some tips to help you learn to program and develop your English skills simultaneously.

Use your operating system in English

It may be challenging at first, but it'll greatly aid your learning process. To program, you need to get used to keywords like View, History, Config, Edit, Profiles, Debug, Console, Shell, which are present on all screens of your operating system, as well as in the programs you use daily.

YouTube is your greatest ally

Not just for learning English, but also for programming, cooking, everything 😆. The amount of free, high-quality content available is incredible.

Building on the previous point, in most programming tutorials and content, whether in Portuguese or not, the person producing the tutorial typically uses software in its English version. Therefore, using programs in the same language will make a significant difference in your learning.

English for Devs Club

A channel that offers an entire English course specifically for programmers for free. Unfortunately, it's in Spanish, but enabling Portuguese subtitles makes it easy to follow.

DEV Community: Pedro Barreto