Employers Most In-Demand Programming Languages 2020
Written by WWCode HQ
When you are looking for your next job, it’s important to know what’s in demand. With over 700 programming languages, knowing what skills employers are looking for allows you to more effectively level-up your skills and land your dream job.
The following was compiled based on the number of jobs requiring these specific languages on Indeed.com and was cross-referenced with the Women Who Code Job Board.
Note: The top three languages on this list remained in the top three the past three years, with Python replacing Java as the leader this year.
Python – 50,615 Jobs
26 jobs on the WWCode job board!
Python was released in 1991 by Guido van Rossum, a Dutch programmer. It is a high level, general-purpose language that puts a strong emphasis on code readability, and features significant whitespace. Python supports multiple programming paradigms including structured, object-oriented, and functional programming. Its primary use is to connect large, existing software components. It’s considered to be fairly simple and easy to learn, and it has a large library of extensions available.
Java – 46,795 Jobs
37 jobs on the WWCode job board!
Despite being 25 years old, this is still one of the most popular programming languages in use. It was developed by Canadian software engineer James Gosling while he was working at Sun Microsystems. Java is a general-purpose, class-based, object-oriented language similar to C and C++ with fewer dependencies. It is designed to “write once, run everywhere” as it compiles code or bytecode that can run on almost any platform.
Javascript – 37,994 Jobs
22 jobs on the WWCode job board!
Created by American Brendan Eich, Javascript is a language that was inspired by Java, except that it doesn’t create standalone apps. It’s able to run in browsers and make them interactive. It can also be used to edit HTML and CSS, making it one of the core languages of the internet. Its quick speed means that it doesn’t have to be compiled on the client-side.
C++ – 29,826 Jobs
7 jobs on the WWCode job board!
C++ is an enhanced version of C that was created by Danish software engineer Bjarn Stroustrup between 1979 and 1983. It is a general-purpose programming language that is almost always implemented as a compiled language that is best at software architecture and resource-constrained applications. It is mainly used for drivers, client-side applications, game development, and embedded firmware.
C# – 22,279 Jobs
9 jobs on the WWCode job board!
C# is a hybrid of C and C++ that was developed by Microsoft in 2000 as part of the .NET initiative. It’s a multi-paradigm language that can build secure applications such as XML web services client-server. When combined with the mono compiler it is often used in video game engines
Objective C – 17,244 Jobs
1 job on the WWCode job board!
Developed in the 1980s, objective C is a general-purpose, object-oriented language that adds Smalltalk style messaging to C. It was the main language of Apple’s OS until swift was introduced in 2014. While it does not have an official library, it is often used with an open-step library such as OPENSTEP, Cocoa, or GNUstep.
PHP – 13,958 Jobs
3 jobs on the WWCode job board!
This open-source scripting language that was developed by Rasmus Lerdorf is primarily used for web development. It can be embedded into HTML from the server-side and is able to pull data from databases. PHP evolved without a formal specification or standard until 2014 when work was done to create one. Today it is widely ported and can be deployed on most web servers free.
Ruby – 11,204 Jobs
8 jobs on the WWCode job board!
Ruby was created in the 1990s by software developer Yukihiro "Matz" Matsumoto. It is an interpreted, high-level, general-purpose programming language that supports multiple programming paradigms including procedural, object-oriented, and functional programming.
According to Yukihiro it was designed for programmer productivity and fun, and follows principles of good user interface and design.
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Finding the perfect job means knowing what’s required to obtain it. By knowing the programming languages that are most in-demand, you will have an edge when choosing what to learn, searching for a position, or angling towards the next step in your career.