10 Best Programming Languages to Learn in 2020 for Jobs and Future
This list of the top 10 programming languages — — compiled with help from Stack Overflow’s annual developer survey as well as my own experience — — should help give you some ideas, particularly if you are looking for a job in big investment banks like Goldman, Citi, Morgan, JP Morgan, Barclays, etc or on service sector companies like Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant, Luxsoft, etc, which mainly work for these big financial organization.
Note: Even though it can be tempting, don’t try to learn too many programming languages at once; choose one first, master it, and then move on to next one.
1. Java
Java is the most widely used language in Investment banks. Go to any job search websites like Monster.com or eFinancialCareer.com and you will find most of the job listing for banks like Goldman, Morgan, Citi, and others require Java Skill. Java is used everywhere and across different parts of the bank, but mostly for creating server-side applications running on Linux.
One of the major reasons why Investment banks prefer Java is its concurrency features. Java has in-built support for multithreading which is needed for performance-intensive, mission-critical applications on banks. So, make sure you spend a good amount of time mastering Concurrency in Java.
2. C-Sharp
C# and .NET are also popular on Investment banks, particularly for creating client-side GUI. Earlier it was Java Swing but C# and .NET is now preferred for any windows based GUI application. If you are thinking about GUI development for PC and Web, C# is a great option. It’s also the programming language for the .NET framework, not to mention used heavily in game development for both PC and consoles.
3. C/C++
C++ is another major language that is used on Investment banks and other buy-side firms. It’s used heavily on creating low latency trading applications where performance is critical.
Both C and C++ are evergreen languages, and many of you probably know them from school. But if you are doing some serious work in C++, I can guarantee you that your academic experience will not be enough.
4. Javascript
Whether you believe it or not, JavaScript is the number one language of the web. The rise of frameworks like jQuery, Angular, and React JS has made JavaScript even more popular. Since you just cannot stay away from the web, it’s better to learn JavaScript sooner than later.
It’s also the number one language for client-side validation, which really does make it work learning JavaScript.
5. Python
Python has now toppled Java to become the most taught programming language in universities and academia.
It’s a very powerful language and great to generate scripts. You will find a python module for everything you can think of.
6. Kotlin
If you are thinking seriously about Android App development, then Kotlin is the programming language to learn this year. It is definitely the next big thing happening in the Android world.
Even though Java is my preferred language, Kotlin has got native support, and many IDEs like IntelliJ IDEA and Android Studio are supporting Kotlin for Android development.
7. Golang
This is another programming language you may want to learn this year. I know it’s not currently very popular and at the same time can be hard to learn, but I feel its usage is going to increase in 2019.
There are also not that many Go developers right now, so you really may want to go ahead and bite the bullet, especially if you want to create frameworks and things like that. If you can invest some time and become an expert in Go, you’re going to be in high demand.
8. Swift
If you are thinking about iOS development like making apps for the iPhone and iPad, then you should seriously consider learning Swift in 2019.
It replaces Objective C as the preferred language to develop iOS apps. Since I am the Android guy, I have no goal with respect to Swift, but if you do, you can start with the iOS 13 and Swift 5 — The Complete iOS App Development Bootcamp.
9. Rust
To be honest, I don’t know much about Rust since I’ve never used it, but it did take home the prize for ‘most loved programming language’ in the Stack Overflow developer survey, so there’s clearly something worth learning here.
10. PHP
If you thought that PHP is dead, then you are dead wrong. It’s still very much alive and kicking. Fifty percent (50%) of internet websites are built using PHP, and even though it’s not on my personal list of languages to learn this year, it’s still a great choice if you don’t already know it.
These are some of the best programming languages to get a Software developer job on big Investment banks like Goldman, Morgan, Barclays, or HSBC. Yes, it has those usual suspect but Java and C++ are the top 2 languages to get a developer job in these big financial giants. But in competitive programming competitions which are like code jam, codeforce, CodeChef, Google Kickstart, Hashcode, etc. I recommend you to engage with C++ for those competitions.
