Hey you aspiring developer! About to kickstart your career in software development soon? Congratulations, you have picked one of the most demanding but highly sought-after professions among both small and large corporations. But are you getting a headache just thinking on where to begin?

We can’t blame you – there are over hundreds of programming languages in widespread use to choose from, each of them uniquely designed in its own complexities and suited for different projects. How do we decide which ones to master?

Fret not – we have compiled a list of top programming languages worth your time arranged in an ascending order according to its popularity, technological opportunities that lies ahead and productivity.

No. 6: PHP, Solid Option for Freelance Web Developers.

This scripting language has taken the world by storm by powering at least 83 percent of websites like Facebook, Wikipedia and Yahoo. It is useful in creating dynamic web pages, handling WordPress content management system (CMS) and hosts a number of strong frameworks such as Lavarel and Drupal that helps build faster, more robust applications.

No. 5: Swift, For Upcoming Apple’s Mobile Developers.

Formed in 2014 by Apple, this relatively new programming language is responsible for constructing powerful, high-performance, native iOS, macOS and Linux apps. Swift is intended to be faster, more streamlined and easier to debug than Objective-C. Many high profile organisations also thrive on this language such as Amazon and Walmart.

No. 4: C/C ++, The Oldest and The Most Commonly Used.

Though introduced in the 1970s, this language is still going on stronger than ever. Whenever there is a need to build a specialised high-performance application namely the Linux OS, C remains a popular choice. C++ is the direct successor of the C programming language and it is highly recommended for writing computer graphics, video games and virtual reality.

No. 3: Java, Great for Beginners.

If you would like to go back to basics, this language will be it. Being around for more than 20 years, it is highly cross-platform compatible and used in many introductory programming courses. You can write Java software on any devices and it is also the basis for Android operating system. Key to its popularity? It “write once, run anywhere.” Due to that, a staggering 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies use Java for building applications and back-end systems.

No. 2: Python, User-Friendly, Yet Powerful.

Arrived in 1991, this language’s syntax is often described as clear and intuitive- almost similar to the English language. It hosts a variety of applications that makes it versatile, yet powerful for back-end web development used Mozilla, Instagram and Spotify. Widely used in areas like scientific computing, machine learning, artificial intelligence and automation, no wonder it caught the attention of Nasa!

And finally No.1 – JavaScript

Crowned the most popular language among developers for sixth year in a row according to Stack Overflow’s 2018 Developer Survey, JavaScript continues to be used everywhere – especially for front-end web development. Majority of the web’s most popular sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Gmail rely heavily on this language to get their interactive web pages up and running.

And there you have it! Remember, there are no hard and fast rules to trudge on. In the end, what determines your next step in pursuing your lifelong career as a developer depends on the type of work you’re going to do and which projects you embark on.

Learn the fundamentals. Discover your desired path. And you can start here.

Concept and written by : Rizky Anggara

Design by : Risky Ramanda