It's my first time posting here. I've decided to cut back on gaming and start a career on programming.
I would just like to know what are your recommended programming languages I must learn/master?
I'm open to learning web or software development. What are the most common languages used today in the field?
And which one pays best?
I'm a graduate of information technology majoring in business software development. I have done some web based systems already but the codes are messy. As for software development, nil.
Location: Utah, USA, Northwestern hemisphere, Earth, Solar System, Milky Way Galaxy, Alpha Quadrant
Posts: 7,686
Thanks: 42
Thanked 637 Times in 625 Posts
What languages do you already know? Surely if you graduated in with an IT degree you learned at least one language?
If you want an enterprise-level software engineering job, you'll need to pick Java and/or .NET (C#, C++). And practice coding like your life depends on it-- the more code you write on your own, the more you'll learn and the better prepared you'll be for the real world.
You'll also need to become proficient in a relational database-- Oracle, SQL Server, DB2, MySQL, etc.
If you want to get some idea of what is expected of you in a programmer position, go to a job board such as dice.com and enter the job title "programmer" in, then read the requirements. It'll be a bit intimidating, but you can boil down the requirements and work on them one at a time.
The question is too broad to be answered. Basically, you should decide what you want to do first and narrow down the question, for example, web development, apps development, standalone software development, and so on. Each will require different skill set, and obviously you can't master all...
If you ask me of web development, I will say, PHP, HTML, Javascript, JQuery and MySQL are a few you should look into.
First I just want to tell you. what language have your interest then learn that language well and give more stress on practical time. Get more creativity on your work and execute on your practice and then you will be able to get more proffecnal.And now these day market get more demand for PHP, HTML, Due to excises demand of Android,iOS Java .net is also is good choice
Pays the best? Hard to answer. Unfortunately, cost of living is different everywhere. Sr. PHP Developers in my area make around 90k a year and our cost of living is really low. I've seen job offers of PHP Developers in California making between 120-150 a year.
Honestly it comes to your goals before you decide to learn a language or a skill. Sometimes I'll browse open jobs, and if I do not know one of their requirements, I'll research it and become a bit educated. I've even gone as far to contact the employer stating that I'm not interested at employment but am expanding my education and was wondering if they could send any testing materials they send to possible candidates so I can test myself and see where I fall.
One time I receive a test that incorporated OOP and Javascript for an image uploader, I wasn't too verse at the time and it pushed me to hone those aspects of my developing abilities. Another time a job used Concrete5, a software I wasn't familiar with. I setup a copy on my server and began tinkering with it to get a basic understanding of how it worked. Simple, but educational.
Summary, find a job you want, make yourself fit their requirements, and test yourself. Don't go purely off of pay, make sure it's something you're interested in and something you're willing to dedicate lots of time educating yourself in. The field standards are always changing, with new demands and things like that. 10 years ago, mobile websites were practically non-existent.... today you'll need to know how to make them. Just imagine 10 years from now... So you have to be adaptable.
Before you post, read our: 
