Are you pursuing a career in programming? One of the main dilemmas is deciding which languages to master. To help you make an informed decision about your future career path, you must grasp the differences, potential and purposes among the panoply of the most popular programming languages.

There is no doubt that you must follow your passion. But there are a few technologies you can learn to boost your prospects of landing a promising and high-paying job. Therefore, in this article, we’ll address the top 5 programming languages to learn this year.

Keeping pace in the fast-changing world of technology

Technology is evolving at a faster pace than ever before. Actually, as reported by Edelman Trust Barometer 2020, 61% of the participants surveyed stated the pace of change in technology is too fast. In fact, keeping pace with technology developments takes time, investment… and the right talent onboard.

The 21^st century has seen rapid changes as every day brings new technological updates. Consequently, organisations that keep pace with digital transformation, invest in their future. All of this results in the need to hire the best tech talent the world has to offer. The future is bright for those interested in the universe of coding.

Organisations want versatile techies but also specialized ones. More than academic degrees, organisations will prioritize the right skills and attitude.

Aside from your own preferences, if you’re going to invest your time and effort at learning programming languages, take into consideration the most in-demand jobs, trends and future developments.

Exploring a plethora of LinkedIn and Indeed job postings (including their salary!) across Europe and the United States of America, CodingNomads – an international technical training program – identified trends and established the most popular programming languages to help you frame your future.

Best programming languages to learn

Python – nowadays, the most widely used general-purpose programming language, ranging from machine learning to web development, from elementary to advanced tasks.

Ryan Desmond, the Cofounder and Lead Instructor at CodingNomads observed that “the demand for Python skills will continue growing exponentially thanks to its use in the booming industries of data science, machine learning and AI. In addition, Python is considered one of the easiest, most powerful, and most versatile languages to learn, making it popular amongst companies, developers, and aspiring developers.”

Java – a respected object-oriented programming language. This long-time champion is known as a WORA language (“Write once, run anywhere”) due to its versatility and compatibility. “Providing the reliable platform upon which many services and applications are built”, Java is used in web and development, mobile application, artificial intelligence, big data… and applied in several industries. This programming language is fairly easy to learn.

JavaScript – according to Statista, this has been the most used programming language among developers up until 2021. JavaScript controls the dynamic elements and their interaction, adding personality and dynamic content through automation and animation.

Contrasting with Python and Java (languages that play a role behind the scenes/server-side), JavaScript is primarily a front-end language. If you consider yourself creative and would consider a career as a future UI/UX designer, JavaScript is the go-to option.

C++ – attention here: an almighty general-purpose, object-oriented programming language. C++ was developed to improve upon the C programming language and can be used in software engineering, operating systems, internet browsers, machine learning, game development or animation. Google, Facebook, YouTube and Amazon use C++ for their backend code and dynamic content. This programming language his known for exceling at delivering performance.

C# – an object-oriented programming language developed by Microsoft in 2000 as an extension of C. Also known as C sharp, it is fully integrated in the .NET framework. This programming language is also popular for developing games, as well as web and desktop applications.

In the remarkable world of coding, you have countless coding languages to choose from. The next move is to start learning!