Looking for some advice - what is the 'best' #programming language (in your opinion) to learn if you want to career change?
I started learning #python a while back and I'd say I have the fundamentals down but there's a lot of room for improvement.
I'm not sure whether to pick #python back up and go all in, or whether to try something like #TheOdinProject and work towards front-end/web-design.
I don't work in tech, though I've always found it intriguing and I'm not sure where to commit my time. Any advice appreciated.
@svargas Thanks for the advice Sam, I suppose my difficulty is filtering through all of the fluff to find what jobs are available and what languages are prominent.
I'm struggling to think of the end goal, or project I want to complete - so I feel somewhat lost without something to work towards.
@elevynn I was the same a few years ago. It can be very overwhelming at first! I settled on web development because I enjoyed the work and there were good job prospects. There are other tech jobs to consider if you don't get on with programming too like product management and UX/UI design. There are a lot more jobs than these but these seem to be relatively easy for career changers. I'd recommend trying to build different projects and see what you like. #freeCodeCamp is a great place to start
@elevynn
Are you looking for fun? Then #python is the only choice.😊
Are you wanting to get work done? Then learn on the fly and use whatever dirty language is required for the project, since in reality no project starts on a green field.
And all programming languages are equivalent meaning Turing complete anyway.
And if you can use one programming language, you can use all of them (that's a fundamental the difference to natural languages).
Btw, @svargas, good point about the ecosystem!
@elevynn Hi Michael, whilst I do like python, if I was learning again I might be tempted to go for Rust.
@elevynn I think the programming langauges themselves are mostly the same principle. The effort to learn a programming language is mostly the same too . The question is usually about the size of the ecosystem and all the things around a language you'd need to learn to get things done.
@elevynn depends what you’re interested in. If it’s data science or ML related, Python is a great choice. If you want to be anywhere near web development, you can’t get around JavaScript (after a solid understanding of html + css)
@elevynn Hi Michael, I can vouch for #TheOdinProject as I'm about halfway through it at the moment.
It gives you a really thorough understanding of things like Git, testing, and Object Orientated Programming than a course on a platform like Codecademy wouldn't give you.
I've had a couple of attempts at learning a language before, but TOP has really made it stick. Happy to answer questions about it if you have any.
@laces Good to hear from someone doing it themselves, I started doing a #CodeAcademy #SQL last night, but I might commit to #TheOdinProject if it gives you a more flushed out perspective.
@elevynn It really depends why you want to learn a language. If you want to learn webdev, learn javascript, if you want to learn data science, learn python etc. There really isn't a "best" language but a language that is stronger in different domains. People often forget the ecosystem too. Having libraries that solve common problems goes a lot way to explaining a language's popularity in different areas.