25 Popular Programming Languages with Career Opportunities

The popularity of programming is on the rise every year. I compiled a comprehensive list of popular programming languages along with career descriptions, so as not to exclude those which are popular in smaller industries or more specialized occupations.

Python

Python is among the most popular programming languages and is always at or near the top of the Tiobe index. As a high-level, general purpose language touted for readability, it’s one of the best languages for beginners to learn in 2023.

Python also has a large package ecosystem and is very modular in nature.

Data science is one of the fastest-growing job categories which utilizes Python extensively because of its ease of reading and writing mathematical formulas.

Python Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
Data ScientistAnalyze and extract insights from large datasets.
Web DeveloperBuild back-end systems for web applications.
Software EngineerDesign and develop software applications and systems.
Machine Learning EngineerBuild and deploy machine learning models.
DevOps EngineerAutomate and manage software development and deployment pipelines.
Scientific ComputingWrite scientific computing and numerical analysis scripts.
Game DeveloperCreate games and interactive applications.

C++

Designed by Bjarne Stroustrup, C++ grew out of his research at the computer science research center at Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey.

It works on many operating systems and just requires a compiler to run. It’s considered a low-level programming language and gives programmers greater access to hardware and memory management than higher-level languages.

C++ Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
Game DeveloperUse C++ to create games for PC, consoles, and mobile devices.
Systems ProgrammerUse C++ to write low-level code for operating systems and device drivers.
High-Performance Computing DeveloperUse C++ to develop and optimize code for high-performance computing systems.
Embedded Systems EngineerUse C++ to develop software for embedded systems, such as microcontrollers and IoT devices.
Backend DeveloperUse C++ to manage and query data for web and mobile applications.
Compiler DeveloperUse C++ to develop and optimize compilers and programming languages.
AI and Robotics EngineerUse C++ to develop AI and robotics applications.

SQL

SQL is a long-time standard and popular programming language for relational databases.

Learning how to properly structure databases and query them is a must for building quality software and gathering and storing large sets of data.

SQL Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
Database AdministratorUse SQL to manage and maintain databases for businesses and organizations
Data AnalystUse SQL to extract and analyze data from databases
Business Intelligence DeveloperUse SQL to design and build business intelligence systems
Data EngineerUse SQL to design and build data pipelines and ETL processes
Database DeveloperUse SQL to design and build database structures and schema
Backend DeveloperUse SQL to manage and query data for web and mobile applications
Data ScientistUse SQL to query and analyze data for machine learning and data modeling

PHP

PHP is among the most popular server side programming languages used primarily for interfacing with a relational database and doing operations for outputting HTML to the browser.

It gained popularity in the early days of web development and was the language of choice at the inception of Facebook by Mark Zuckerberg.

Although Facebook has evolved its code base as it scaled over the years, the most popular content management system in the world, WordPress, still utilizes PHP to generate web pages.

Laravel is also a popular web development application framework built on PHP.

PHP Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
Web DeveloperBuild web applications and back-end systems
Full Stack DeveloperFront-end and back-end development
CMS DeveloperDevelop content management systems, such as WordPress or Drupal
E-commerce DeveloperDevelop e-commerce websites and systems
Web Application DeveloperDevelop custom web applications for businesses and organizations
Social Media DeveloperDevelop social media platforms and features
Database DeveloperIntegrate with and query databases for web applications

Java

Java is an object-oriented programming language which has its proprietary runtime virtual machine environment, making it portable to any operating system.

Java has consistently been one of the most popular programming languages in existence, likely due to its lack of dependencies and portability.

Criticisms of Java include the need for its own runtime environment, which must exist on the operating system of the end user to work. It also has a history of security vulnerabilities and tends to run slower than C or C++.

Java Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
Android DeveloperDevelop Android mobile applications
Web DeveloperBuild web applications and back-end systems
Software EngineerDesign and develop software applications and systems
Full Stack DeveloperFront-end and back-end development
Backend DeveloperManage and query data for web and mobile applications
Enterprise DeveloperBuild large-scale enterprise applications
Game DeveloperDevelop games for PC, consoles, and mobile devices

Javascript

Not to be confused with Java, Javascript is the language of web browsers, and allows you to apply functionality to interfaces, as well as make API calls to perform CRUD operations in a database through the use of APIs.

TypeScript is a Superset of Javascript created by Microsoft, whose aim is to bring data type checking and other features some thought the Javascript was lacking. It’s used during the development process as a tool and compiled into vanilla Javascript.

NodeJS is the most popular back-end JavaScript runtime environment, but other solutions are emerging including Deno and Bun. NodeJS paved the way for server-side Javascript but Deno and Bun aim to improve on things like security and performance.

JavaScript Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
Frontend DeveloperBuild user interfaces and front-end systems for web applications
Full Stack DeveloperFront-end and back-end development
Web DeveloperBuild web applications and back-end systems
UI/UX DesignerCreate interactive and dynamic user interfaces
Mobile Application DeveloperBuild mobile applications for iOS and Android
Web DesignerCreate animations and interactive web design elements
Game DeveloperCreate games and interactive web experiences

Swift

Swift language is used in iOS mobile applications development. Created by Apple,it’s used to create applications in the Apple ecosystem, including for Apple Watches, iPads, and AppleTV. It’s also closely linked to Object C and open source, although Apple does maintain its code base and provides a suite of tools and even an IDE called Xcode.

Swift Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
iOS DeveloperDevelop iOS mobile applications
MacOS DeveloperDevelop MacOS desktop applications
WatchOS DeveloperDevelop Apple Watch applications
tvOS DeveloperDevelop Apple TV applications
Full Stack DeveloperFront-end and back-end development
AR/VR DeveloperDevelop augmented reality and virtual reality applications for iOS
Game DeveloperCreate games for iOS devices

Kotlin

Kotlin has emerged as one of the favorite tools for Android developers. It has Java as its inspiration but ultimately aimed to address things like more pleasing-to-read declarations and assignment operators.

Google, Amazon, Netflix, Pinterest and other high profile companies have used Kotlin in their backend.

Kotlin Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
Android DeveloperDdevelop Android mobile applications
Web DeveloperBuild web applications and back-end systems
Full Stack DeveloperFront-end and back-end development
Backend DeveloperManage and query data for web and mobile applications
Desktop Application DeveloperDevelop desktop applications for Windows, MacOS, and Linux
Game DeveloperCreate games for PC, consoles, and mobile devices
AR/VR DeveloperDevelop augmented reality and virtual reality applications for Android

Ruby

Ruby is a beloved backend programming language, which grew in popularity thanks to Ruby on Rails – a web development CRUD framework.

Ruby Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
Web DeveloperBuild web applications and back-end systems
Full Stack DeveloperFront-end and back-end development
Backend DeveloperManage and query data for web and mobile applications
DevOps EngineerAutomate and manage software development and deployment pipelines
CMS DeveloperDevelop content management systems, such as Ruby on Rails
E-commerce DeveloperDevelop e-commerce websites and systems
Scripting DeveloperWrite scripts for automating repetitive tasks and managing system

Scala

Scala runs on the Java Runtime Environment, but aimed at addressing some of the perceived issues with the Java language.

Scala Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
Data ScientistAnalyze and extract insights from large datasets
Backend DeveloperManage and query data for web and mobile applications
Software EngineerDesign and develop software applications and systems
DevOps EngineerAutomate and manage software development and deployment pipelines
Big Data EngineerDevelop and manage large-scale data processing systems
Machine Learning EngineerBuild and deploy machine learning models
High-Frequency Trading DeveloperBuild software for high-frequency trading algorithms

Visual Basic

Visual Basic was developed by Microsoft as a language for interacting with a variety of their software products and creating .Net applications from scratch.

Visual Basic Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
Windows Application DeveloperDevelop desktop applications for Windows
Frontend DeveloperCreate user interfaces for desktop and web applications
Database DeveloperIntegrate with and query databases for desktop and web
Game DeveloperCreate games for PC
Scripting DeveloperWrite scripts for automating repetitive tasks and managing
Office DeveloperDevelop macros and custom functionality for Microsoft Office
Full Stack DeveloperFront-end and back-end development

Perl

Perl is famous for its text-processing abilities and has been around since 1987 when invented by Larry Wall.

It’s very terse, but allows for great efficiency and organization due to its chosen syntax and type primitive methods for easy command chaining.

Perl Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
Web DeveloperBuild web applications and back-end systems
Full Stack DeveloperFront-end and back-end development
Scripting DeveloperWrite scripts for automating repetitive tasks and managing system
Backend DeveloperManage and query data for web and mobile applications
Network AdministratorManage and automate network administration tasks
DevOps EngineerAutomate and manage software development and deployment pipelines
System AdministratorManage and automate system administration tasks

R

R is a very specific language. It is meant to crunch large volumes of statistics and represent the data in a variety of graphical representations, such as charts, graphs and more.

R Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
Data ScientistAnalyze and extract insights from
Data AnalystExtract and analyze data from databases
Business Intelligence DeveloperDesign and build business intelligence systems
Machine Learning EngineerBuild and deploy machine learning models
Research ScientistPerform statistical analyses and build models in scientific research
Data Visualization SpecialistCreate data visualizations and dashboards for businesses and
Financial AnalystAnalyze and model financial data

Matlab

Matlab is used by data scientists and engineers for looking into data and creating models to test against. A lot like Java, MATLAB has its own proprietary runtime and even paid products, but you can compile your applications to C++ if you want.

Matlab Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
Data ScientistAnalyze and extract insights from large datasets
EngineerDesign and simulate engineering systems
Computational Finance DeveloperBuild financial models and simulations
Research ScientistPerform numerical analysis and modeling in scientific research
Image Processing DeveloperDevelop and process images and videos
Machine Learning EngineerBuild and deploy machine learning models
Signal Processing EngineerDevelop and process signals in audio and video

C#

C# is the primary programming language running in the .NET environment, and it’s maintained by Microsoft.

It has a wide variety of applications, including native Desktop Windows applications, mobile apps, and runs on many gaming engines.

C# Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
Windows Application DeveloperDevelop desktop applications for Windows
Web DeveloperBuild web applications and back-end systems
Game DeveloperCreate games for PC, consoles, and mobile devices
Full Stack DeveloperFront-end and back-end development
Unity DeveloperDevelop games and applications using the Unity game engine
Backend DeveloperManage and query data for web and mobile applications
Database DeveloperIntegrate with and query databases for desktop and web applications

Fortran

Fortran has been around since the 1950s and is used for very specific computing purposes where large amounts of data and data points need computing even across parallel machines, such as physics and weather prediction.

Fortran Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
Scientific ComputingWwrite scientific computing and numerical analysis scripts
Aerospace EngineerSimulate and analyze aerospace systems
GeoscientistPerform numerical modeling and analysis in geosciences
High-Performance Computing DeveloperDevelop and optimize code for high-performance
Nuclear EngineerSimulate and analyze nuclear systems
Computational PhysicsPerform numerical modeling and analysis in physics research
MeteorologistPerform numerical modeling and analysis in atmospheric and weather

Go

Go was created and is maintained by a team at Google. It was intended to be both easy-to-read syntactically but with powerful features like C++ to create efficient software that may be scaled and run concurrently on a distributed server architecture.

Go Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
Backend DeveloperManage and query data for web and mobile applications
Cloud Infrastructure DeveloperDevelop and deploy software on cloud infrastructure platforms
Microservices DeveloperDevelop and deploy microservices for large-scale applications
DevOps EngineerAutomate and manage software development and deployment pipelines
Network EngineerDevelop and manage network infrastructure and automation
System AdministratorAutomate and manage system administration tasks
Blockchain DeveloperDevelop blockchain applications and systems

Rust

Rust is similar to Go in its use as a general purpose programming language, but it has features aimed at types and managing memory very efficiently and safely. It can also handle concurrency well. It’s been around since 2010.

Rust Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
Systems ProgrammerWrite low-level code for operating systems and device drivers
Backend DeveloperManage and query data for web and mobile applications
Game DeveloperCreate games for PC, consoles, and mobile devices
High-Performance Computing DeveloperDevelop and optimize code for high-performance
Embedded Systems EngineerDevelop software for embedded systems, such as microcontrollers
DevOps EngineerAutomate and manage software development and deployment pipelines
Web Assembly DeveloperDevelop web applications using WebAssembly

Lua

Lua is a high-level language aimed at lightweight, cross-platform embedded applications. It even has an API to integrate with C. It was first released in 1993 and today is commonly used for software extension mods, gaming mods, and GUI features.

Lua Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
Game DeveloperCreate games for PC, consoles
Web DeveloperBuild web applications and back-end systems
Network AdministratorManage and automate network administration tasks
Scripting DeveloperWrite scripts for automating repetitive tasks and managing system
Desktop Application DeveloperDevelop desktop applications for Windows, MacOS, and Linux
Audio/Video DeveloperDevelop and process audio and video for games and other applications

Haskell

Haskell is a purely functional programming language. It shines for its performance and what is termed lazy evaluation, where an expression isn’t evaluated until it is used by a function. A drawback here can be issues with RAM, but garbage collection is included.

Haskell Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
Backend DeveloperManage and query data for web and mobile applications
Systems ProgrammerWrite low-level code for operating systems and device drivers
Financial EngineerDevelop and model financial systems
Compiler DeveloperDevelop and optimize compilers and programming languages
Blockchain DeveloperDevelop blockchain applications and systems
Data ScientistAnalyze and extract insights from large datasets
Cloud Infrastructure DeveloperDevelop and deploy software on cloud infrastructure

Groovy

Groovy is a Java compatible language that runs on the Java platform. Groovy expands the capabilities of Java while tending to be more concise in its syntax.

Groovy Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
DevOps EngineerAutomate and manage software development and deployment pipelines
Backend DeveloperManage and query data for web and mobile applications
Web DeveloperBuild web applications and back-end systems
Scripting DeveloperWrite scripts for automating repetitive tasks and managing system
Full Stack DeveloperFront-end and back-end development
Java DeveloperUse Groovy as a scripting language for Java applications and systems
Jenkins DeveloperDevelop and automate continuous integration and deployment pipelines

Julia

Julia is a general purpose language, but is sought after for its strengths in statistical analysis and real-time data visualization. It’s very fast due to its JIT compiler, which means the code is converted into binary at runtime on a needed basis.

One interesting feature of Julia is dispatching, where a function can dispatch different methods depending on the input data types.

Julia Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
Data ScientistAnalyze and extract insights from large datasets
Computational Finance DeveloperBuild financial models and simulations
Scientific ComputingWrite scientific computing and numerical analysis scripts
Machine Learning EngineerBuild and deploy machine learning models
High-Performance Computing DeveloperDevelop and optimize code for high-performance
Robotics EngineerProgram robots and automation systems
Data Visualization SpecialistCreate data visualizations and dashboards for businesses and

Dart

Dart is a general purpose language meant as a higher level way of creating software once for many different platforms. It was ultimately adopted by the Flutter team, allowing software developers to create mobile apps for iOS and Android.

Dart Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
Mobile Application DeveloperDdevelop mobile applications for iOS and Android
Web DeveloperBuild web applications and back-end systems
Backend DeveloperManage and query data for web and mobile applications
Full Stack DeveloperFront-end and back-end development
UI/UX DesignerCreate interactive and dynamic user interfaces
Game DeveloperCreate games for PC and mobile devices
Desktop Application DeveloperDevelop desktop applications for Windows, MacOS, and Linux

Apex

Apex is a proprietary programming language used in the Salesforce ecosystem. An equivalent in the Microsoft world would be Visual Basic. Those familiar with a language like Java would see similarities in its syntax.

Apex Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
Salesforce DeveloperDevelop custom functionality and integrations for the Salesforce
Web DeveloperBuild web applications and back-end systems
Full Stack DeveloperFront-end and back-end development
Cloud Infrastructure DeveloperDevelop and deploy software on cloud infrastructure
Backend DeveloperManage and query data for web and mobile applications
DevOps EngineerAutomate and manage software development and deployment pipelines
Database DeveloperIntegrate with and query databases for web applications

VHDL

VHDL stands for Visual Hardware Description Language. The objective is to visually represent different aspects of the hardware for a given device, in order to run tests and verify data flow.

VHDL Career Opportunities

Career OpportunityDescription
Hardware EngineerDesign and develop digital hardware systems
Firmware EngineerWrite low-level code for embedded systems
Verification EngineerDevelop and run tests for hardware and software systems
ASIC Design EngineerDesign and develop custom Application Specific Integrated Circuits
FPGA Design EngineerDesign and develop custom Field Programmable Gate Arrays
Embedded Systems EngineerDevelop software for embedded systems, such as microcontrollers
Digital Signal Processing EngineerDevelop and process signals in audio, video, and

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