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Nick Yates
8,621 PointsWhich Programming Language Should I learn?
Okay so I did "Web Design" Track and learned a ton of HTML and CSS but it wasn't my thing, currently learning Java so I can pursue Android Development job. I want to be able to land a job in the programming industry by next may, if I can do it sooner than that great. I've gone over a lot of different possibilities, I'm trying to figure out the easier and fastest way to get my foot in the door, once there I can always learn more languages and build upon my skills. I'm open to possibilities. I've thought about maybe learning WordPress Development and PHP since I already know a lot of CSS and HTML. Tried a bit of JavaScript and hated it or more like I didn't understand it that well. thought maybe Ruby on Rails would be fun, or even python but that involves some PHP. So I'm just open to ideas on one of the easiest languages to pickup so I can start doing some serious programming and land a job. If you want an idea of what I've done, go ahead and look at my profile to see what things I've done and what I haven't. I have about 7,237 points total, which I know isn't much but I hope its enough to point me in the right direction on what language you guys would recommend me learning and mastering to turn into some sort of professional job.
5 Answers
Ethan M
10,637 PointsNick, if your interested in back-end programming but don't know where to start. Ruby & Python are really easy languages to pick up. Eventually you could start using Django or Rails. Rails is used by many companies such as Hulu, Twitter (used to be), WeHeartIt, Groupon, Shopify, GitHub, and even Treehouse! Python is used at NASA, Google, Nokia, IBM, Apple, even Amazon.
Regardless, just get yourself out there. Build up your portfolio and start applying when you feel you have the skills to be a useful asset to a big company team.
Ruby & Python are not your only option. You can use whatever you feel most comfortable with. I got friends who loved C# & Java as their first programming language but I had the worst time picking it up and still do to this day. Thus, I am revisiting it on Treehouse. Ruby was my very first programming language that I could really work with. I've built websites now for around a year and still love learning.
Also, JavaScript is a scary language to start off with but with a lot of dedication you can be using it in no time for website applications. Lots of trial and error but you soon will figure it out. That goes for all syntaxes.
Welp, I wish you luck on your journey and hope you land a job somewhere great!
Danielle Simon
Courses Plus Student 3,621 PointsIf your main thing is becoming employable fast, learn WordPress and as much PHP as you can. I see ads everywhere looking for people who know WP, and you can even make money right away freelancing if you can work with WP and WP-related PHP. The only reason I'm trying to learn WP is it seems like, regardless of what languages you learn (at least with web development), the job ads want you to be able to work with WP, too (and/or Drupal), and a significant % of people/businesses build sites through WP.
Nick Yates
8,621 PointsI've heard PHP is outdated and people are much better off learning python these days.
Ethan M
10,637 PointsI see a lot of C# and Java ads out their. Personally, JavaScript is a terrific language to get into for web applications. You can pretty much make anything that a normal framework would do. Infact, JavaScript has a lot of frameworks to work with. MeteorJS, Angular, Express, etc. Very useful and I am still on the track to becoming a full-stack JavaScript developer. Hoping to expand from my rails framework and move on to the JavaScript world.
I can also agree somewhat with Nick regarding the outdated PHP. Although PHP7 is out I don't typically see a lot of php ads for jobs. Guess it depends where you actually look.
Python is a terrific syntax to get into this year as well. Lots of companies use this language. Discord uses it for their back-end.
Name:GoogleSearch orJonathan Sum
5,039 Points@ethanmoffat6, how about ruby on rail?
Ethan M
10,637 PointsName:GoogleSearchorJonathanSum, yes Ruby on Rails is very powerful framework for quick easy applications. I use Rails all the time I just love it. A lot of companies use Rails and I do often see ads for jobs requiring rails experience.
Although Treehouse has some outdated topics on their rails category. I think they recently got Rails 5 but not too sure. Doesn't mean you can't learn something from their current courses on rails. I just ran into some issues with the web application they've made in the course. Certainly you can find a way around it!
Nick Yates
8,621 PointsThat's what I keep thinking about, Ruby and Ruby on Rails seems like a great place to start and then expand on.
Nick Yates
8,621 PointsThe courses are outdated, I didn't know that, by how much? Like how useless are the current courses compared to what's used these days? If I pursued it I was thinking of attending local meetups with other Ruby enthusiasts so as to get my name out there and learn even more about Ruby so my employment as a Ruby developer would become even more viable.
Ethan M
10,637 PointsNick, they aren't that outdated just the web apps they demo might run you into some issues compared to what version you install. If you install their rails version then you should be perfectly fine. Although some methods are different now with rails 5 :)
Ethan M
10,637 PointsAnd I checked. They are teaching Rails 5 in the rails track. Which is the most recent rails version today! You should be fine to learn it off of Treehouse. T
Nick Yates
8,621 PointsWould you say learning Ruby on Rails is a great start to into conceptualizing programming as a first language? I'm looking to be fully employed at entry level by Next May. Just making sure Ruby on Rails is a marketable first skill to have.