On February 17th, Glassdoor released a report that touches the base of the most well-paid and in-demand professions. The report listed the jobs in Health Care, Science, IT, Engineering and Legal industry, however, most of them require in-depth programming skills and technical experience. Nevertheless, there are so many coding languages that it's not difficult to get lost in the woods when choosing the one to focus on. In order to help you narrow things down and figure out what programming languages suit your needs most of all, Program-Ace composed a list of most trendy, in-demand and valuable languages that have to be noticed. Probably, you find this list not too comprehensive, however, it provides you with a great piece of information about the coding languages you might want to learn. So, let's get straight to business.
First of all, I invite you to take a look at the rating of programming jobs ranked by the largest number of open positions in the USA. The data was captured with the help of Indeed.com.
That's a pretty interesting data, isn't it? Now, I think it's time to get to a brief description of what these languages are and why you should learn them.
#1 SQL
Structured Query Language or SQL is a special-purpose language designed for organizing, managing and keeping a huge amount of data. SQL technology has found its implementation in popular database management systems such as MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, SQLite, PostgreSQL and many others. The majority of them were designed to help great facilities, for instance, banks, hospitals, companies, and colleges keep their data in order. To be honest, every mobile or computer user faces with SQL every day, for example, iPhones, Android mobile devices, and their applications access SQLite, while applications such as Skype and Viber, browsers like Chrome and Safari, services like Dropbox and GitHub use SQL database systems directly.
To be honest, it's not surprising that SQL tops my list and has the biggest number of open positions. In fact, even if you decide to choose Java or Objective-C as your main specialization, in the majority of cases you will find the proficiency with SQL-based systems in a list of necessary skills when applying for a job.
Key Reasons To Learn SQL:
- it's widely used across all areas of life in a variety of flavors;
- easy to learn and interpret because it mainly consists of English statements;
- it is an industry standard.
#2 Java
More than twenty years ago Java was brought into the tech community. Today, Java became the most universally adopted programming language that allows applications to be created once and run on multiple platforms, devices, online services, etc. without recompilation. The number of developers that utilize this coding language amounted to nine million, while billions of devices internationally support Java. Furthermore, this programming language is used to develop all native applications for Android platform.
Java holds the leadership among object-oriented programming languages for the reasons it is simple and long-term compatible which also allows bugless running of older apps in new versions. Thus, Java is not going anywhere anytime soon because it's used to power famous website (Amazon, LinkedIn) and popular platforms (Android).
Key Reasons To Learn Java:
- Java code is extremely explicit, has English syntax and minimum special characters;
- it's platform independent;
- Java is implemented everywhere.
#3 JavaScript
Alongside HTML and CSS, JavaScript is one of the essential technologies used to create World Wide Web content. It is really powerful and popular programming language that allows websites that employ it to make pages interactive. For instance, JavaScript is responsible for pop-ups, special effects and simple games with basic functionality. This coding language has found its implementation into all modern browsers, including Chrome, Opera, Safari, and Firefox.
Increased demand for JavaScript developers has been contributed by growing popularity of this programming language as a tool for improving the user experience. Additionally, JavaScript grew into a foundation of server technology known as Node.js.
Key Reasons To Learn JavaScript:
- it's one of the basic programming languages in web development;
- JavaScript is relatively easy to learn and implement since its syntax pretty close to English one;
- as a server-side language, it's very fast and works on any type of the web page.
#4 Python
It's a high-level programming language that is focused on improving developer productivity and code readability. Python has minimalistic core syntax that allows developers to type fewer lines of code than in Java or C++. At the same time, the standard library includes a lot of useful functions.
Python is considered to be one of most secure, easy-to-learn and interpret languages suitable to begin studying programming. Furthermore, it has a great number of extension libraries so Python can be applied for multiple purposes.
For the last couple of years, Python started to gain serious popularity among educational facilities, science departments and international organizations. For instance, thanks to its security and reliability, this programming language has been chosen to power NASA website.
Key Reasons To Learn Python:
- Python is easy to understand, mainly because the syntax and functions look just like pseudo code;
- it's highly secure;
- it's a great starting point for beginners.
#5 C-Sharp
As a representative of Common Language Infrastructure (CLI), C-Sharp or C# can be used across multiple platforms without a necessity to be rewritten for a specific environment. C# is object-oriented, portable and relatively simple. It was designed in 2000 by the Microsoft Corporation as a part of .NET initiative.
This language is specially created for enterprise applications and has been used as a basic programming language in a variety of serious programs like Microsoft Visual Studio and Unity game engine.
Key Reasons To Learn C#:
- it's a part of standardized open specification - CLI;
- C# is used in a variety of programs which opens a whole new world of opportunities;
- C# is a safe-type, cross-platform and easy-to-develop.
#6 C++
C++ is a general-purpose coding language widely used for software development, being one of the most popular programming languages. The area of applying includes the creation of operating systems, a variety of applications, device drivers, apps for embedded systems, high-performance servers, as well as entertainment applications and games. There are a lot of C ++ implementations, both free and commercial for a variety of platforms that involve a broad range of Microsoft and Adobe apps and the main part of Mac OS X.
Key Reasons To Learn C++:
- by learning it you can master complex programming concepts and algorithms;
- C++ allows creation of real-time computer systems with quick response time like OS or even game engines;
- it's an ancestor of any other object-oriented language.
#7 Objective-C
Objective-C which originates in C (C++) is a compiled object-oriented coding language mainly implemented by Apple Inc. for OS X and iOS operating systems. Furthermore, this programming language is fundamentally simple because it has straight and small syntax. In addition, Objective-C is well-organized that greatly simplifies programming efforts.
Key Reasons To Learn Objective-C:
- if you are planning to create applications or programs for Apple devices, Objective-C is mandatory;
- the syntax is relatively easy to read, understand and implement;
- it can be an excellent base for learning Swift.
#8 PHP
PHP (originally known as Personal Home Page Tools, now PHP stands for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is a server-side scripting language, extensively used for web application development. PHP is one of the leading languages used to create dynamic websites currently supported by an overwhelming majority of hosting providers. Since PHP code may contain any type of data, in the majority of cases, it works in a combination of various web frameworks or can be integrated with HTML web pages.
Key Reasons To Learn PHP:
- it's easy-to-use and beneficial for both beginners in web programming and experienced developers;
- PHP is a basic language for web development;
- it can be directly embedded in HTML.
#9 Swift
Swift is a relatively new language invented by Apple Inc. that is positioned like "Objective-C without C". Thus, a lot of concepts and features of this general-purpose coding language are familiar to those who faced with C++ or Objective-C. One of the main reason for the creation of Swift was reducing the amount of repetitive code and its complexity. Furthermore, the new language should have been easier to read and maintain. Today, Swift met all those expectations and became much safer and comfortable alternative to Objective-C.
Key Reasons To Learn Swift:
- it's the future of iOS and OS X development;
- Swift is the simplest of two languages that allow creating of Apple products;
- it's suitable for app development for Apple wearable technology.
#10 Ruby
Ruby is a high-level object-oriented coding language that can be used for general purposes, however, best known as a web programming language. Ruby-On-Rails is a framework that provides the default structure of web pages, servers, web services, and databases. It can be used in a combination with other web languages such as HTML or JavaScript for the creation of UI. Usage of this framework doesn't require much code and facilitates the development process itself. Moreover, it's compatible with a broad spectrum of third-party libraries. The most well-known users of Ruby that implemented it in at least one app are GitHub, Crunchbase, Slideshare, Hulu, Zendesk, and Twitter (web version).
Key Reasons To Learn Ruby:
- it has very simple and straight syntax that simplifies the learning process;
- it's good for beginners thanks to a friendly community and a variety of educational resources;
- mastering Ruby allows you to cover both front-end and back-end.
Conclusion
Of course, since each development case has specific needs and requires different programming languages, there is no universal panacea. Each of them is an excellent choice for a particular situation. For that reason, it's a good practice to be involved in learning and mastering a few programming languages at the time. Besides, you should be ready to continue your education throughout the career to keep up with innovations and new trends.
