Today we wanted to prepare an article for those who are looking to start studying programming languages and we’ve listed the most popular and promising ones you should check in 2021. Being a developer is the profession of the era, and, depending on the country and position, it can also earn you a lot of money. Various surveys and studies have made it clear in recent years which programming languages are the most popular and in demand, and it is a good time to find out how the current market is doing.
Especially since the pandemic has unleashed a clear boom in the use of all kinds of online services. Technology companies have become the most valuable companies on the planet, and all of them are based on the same fundamental pillar: the code of their applications and services. And that code is created and maintained by developers of all kinds.
The most popular and promising programming languages in 2021
To analyze which programming languages are most popular and demanded in the labor market, there has long been a series of indexes that try to measure this relevance.
They do measure it through surveys (StackOverflow), the aggregation of search engines (TIOBE), or the number of tutorials that can be found on Google about each programming language (PyPL).
According to the sources like IEEE Spectrum (July 2020), PyPL (January 2021), TIOBE (January 2021), Coding Dojo (February 2020), IEEE Jobs (July 2021) and StackOverflow (top paying jobs, February 2020), we’ve created a table showing the top 10 most demanded or most popular programming languages:
| IEEE SPECTRUM | PYPL (2020) | TIOBE | Coding Dojo | IEEE Jobs | StackOverflow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Python | Python | C | Python | Python | JavaScript |
| Java | Java | Java | Java | C | HTML / CSS |
| C | JavaScript | Python | JavaScript | Java | SQL |
| C ++ | C # | C ++ | C ++ | Go | Python |
| JavaScript | C / C ++ | C # | C # | C ++ | Java |
| R | PHP | Visual basic | PHP | JavaScript | Bash / Shell |
| Arduino | R | JavaScript | Perl | R | C # |
| Go | Objective-C | PHP | HTML | PHP | |
| Swift | Swift | R | Swift | TypeScript | |
| Matlab | TypeScript | Groovy | SQL | C ++ |
Python
Taking a look at all the indexes it is quite clear that there are three programming languages that are absolute protagonists. That particular podium is occupied by Python, Java and C, which are still the languages that dominate the industry.
This language has benefited from its gentle learning curve, it is very easy to start programming with Python and you can quickly start to see the first results.
Learning is within anyone’s reach even mobile applications such as Duolingo provide access to a unique way of taking those first steps.
Java and C are still very important, but their learning process is clearly harder and they are more complex for novice programmers.
In fact, it is becoming increasingly clear that Python is the basic language of our era. A study by IEEE Spectrum confirmed this by putting Python ahead of Java or the C.
Which programming language is the best one to make money?
It is interesting to see that Python has achieved something like this without having a direct focus on the world of mobile applications, although it is perfectly possible to create tools with this programming language for Android or iOS devices. Although it is not a go-to choice for those working with these platforms when it comes to developing native applications.
The truth is that the programming languages are in an absolutely golden age, the resources for learning are almost unlimited and it is perfectly possible to train for free (but there are also interesting paid alternatives).
Those who have done it in the past and are maybe a bit rusty but starting all over again is worth trying. Even for those who have never programmed, it is possible to learn programming with some time and will.
If you want to make money, Python may not be the best choice. While Python is certainly the most popular programming language among those who want to learn something new in this field, it is not necessarily the most valued language when looking for a new professional future.
In fact, according to the latest edition of the Stack Overflow survey -in which thousands of developers participate and which is usually considered a good reflection of this world- the most “profitable” language is Perl, followed by Scala, Go, Rust (which according to this survey is the most loved and appreciated by those who use it) and Ruby.
In this study, you can see how Python is quite high on the average salary axis (close to $60,000 per year in salary), and if we pay attention to this data it would be better not to choose PHP (apparently less and less popular) as a professional option.
The data seems to confirm again and again that if you want to make money out of programming, it is best to choose unpopular languages. In a previous edition of that survey, the most prominent choice was Clojure for example, while F#, Go, Scala, or Elixir were also very attractive for making money.
Despite their popularity, Python and JavaScript are not as profitable (even less so Java or C), proving once again that the popularity of programming languages is not directly proportional to the demand for professionals who know how to program in them.
What does seem clear is that it is an extraordinary time to learn to program and make a living out of it. The choice of the ideal language for each person is as always difficult and depends on many factors, but it certainly seems clear that those mentioned in this topic (Python above all, Java and C later) are especially valued in the various studies that have been made in recent months.
