Tres BienAs I become more confident in JavaScript, I feel the time quickly approaches that I should start coding projects in other languages. But picking which ones to start learning is a little daunting due to the large number of languages there are to choose from!
So, how best to narrow down this mountain of options?
A pretty obvious answer occurred to me, let my Career interests guide me! By researching job listings, I can get a good idea of what would be beneficial to learn.
Now, there are a LOT of companies out there. More than the number of coding languages. But of the “Big Tech” companies, there is a “Big Five” and I figure that the skills they require of employees would be beneficial to a LOT of companies.
Job: Software Quality Assurance Engineer
I’ve mentioned being interested in QA work a few times before, but I don’t think I ever explained why. There’s two main reasons:
1) I really dislike when the applications I use don’t work. I’m sure most people feel the same way, but it REALLY gets under my skin. In QA , I have a way to alleviate that irritation by hunting down bugs and what causes them so they can be exterminated!
2) I like having a sneak peak at what new features an application will have. It’s fun to see what devs are working on before it gets out to the public, like keeping a surprise party a secret.
Alphabet - Google
Founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1998, this is a leading American technology company, specializing in search engines, online advertising, cloud computing, and AI. Google has a huge range of digital products, including Gmail, Android, YouTube, and Google Maps, and has a strong presence in various sectors like cloud storage and smart home technology.
Languages mentioned across multiple job listings:
C, C++, Java, JNI, & Python.
Python & Java were listed more than others, but Python was listed the most.
Amazon
Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, Amazon began as an online bookstore and has since grown into a global tech giant. Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer and marketplace and deals in digital-streaming, e-commerce, cloud computing, and more digital services.
Languages mentioned across multiple job listings:
C, C#, C++, Java, JavaScript, Perl, & Ruby.
Java was mentioned more often than others.
I also find it interesting that I saw multiple listings that didn’t specify any language, they just required “Experience programming with at least one software programming language”.
Apple
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in 1976. Known for its innovative products like the iPhone, Mac, and Apple Watch, Apple also offers software and services such as iCloud and Apple Music. The company, based in Cupertino, California, nearly went bankrupt in the 1990s but was revived under Steve Jobs with the launch of the iMac and iPhone.
Languages mentioned across multiple job listings:
Bash, C, Java, Perl, PHP, Python, Swift.
Python was mentioned the most, but not by much. A few listed no specific languages, just that the applyer needed knowledge of test automation frameworks and/or scripting languages.
Meta - Facebook
Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and his Harvard roommates, Facebook is a social networking service now owned by Meta. Originally exclusive to Harvard students, it quickly expanded and is now open to anyone over 13, with almost 3 billion active users as of 2022. Users can share posts, photos, and connect with friends, with Messenger as an integrated communication tool.
Languages mentioned across multiple job listings:
C, C#, C++, Java, PHP, Python, & Ruby.
C, C++, Java, PHP, & Python were mentioned in nearly every job listing, but Python was listed a few times more.
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology company founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Known for its Windows operating systems, Microsoft 365 suite, and Azure cloud platform, it has become one of the largest software companies in the world. Under CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has shifted focus to cloud computing and gaming.
Surprisingly, there were not many QA Engineer listings when I was doing research. But of the ones I found, these were the listed languages:
C, C#, C++, Java, & Python.
Conclusion
From my snooping, it seems that the most mentioned languages are:
C and Java, with C++ and Python right behind them.
To get a truly accurate polling of what skills are desired the most, I would need to have checked a MUCH larger number of job listings over a longer period of time. But these still seem like a good place to start! Perhaps I can even write something in those 4 popular languages that will fetch more accurate statistics?
