Microsoft, Amazon and the rest of Seattle’s booming tech industry aren’t the only employers seeking coders in 2020.
Cheri Allen, instructor in the Certificate in Front-End Development With HTML, CSS & JavaScript
Increasingly, companies are applying emerging techniques in cloud computing and artificial intelligence across all industries: the real estate, finance and insurance, health care and educational services sectors have all increased their job postings for software and web developers by more than 70% since 2010, according to ZipRecruiter.
No matter the industry you work in, coding skills can help boost your career potential. But where should you start?
To help you figure that out, we asked Randal Root and Cheri Allen, programming instructors for UW Professional & Continuing Education, to talk about some of today’s common starter programming languages and what you can do with each.
HTML: The Foundation of the web
Every website uses it, and so does every coder: HTML is at the foundation of the web. You can use it to build a website from scratch or to modify an existing one.
While not a programming language per se, HTML is key to web development and maintenance. Simply put, it’s a markup code that tells a web browser how to display words and images.
Like coding generally, HTML isn’t just for people in tech. Professionals who work with web content in a variety of roles, including content managers and designers, often need to know at least some HTML so they can get under the hood and make fixes or tweaks themselves.
Although there are a number of tools today that make building a web page a snap, it still pays to learn HTML.
“If you’re going to work in web development at all, you have to know HTML,” said Cheri Allen, a software engineer who teaches in the Certificate in Front-End Development With HTML, CSS & JavaScript.
JavaScript: Adding interactivity
If you want to add interactivity to a website, JavaScript is the language for you. With a little JavaScript know-how, you can add drop-down menus, zooming and scrolling effects, image carousels and much more.
JavaScript isn’t just for front-end web development, though.
“In the last five years or so, there’s been an explosion in the kinds of things you can do with JavaScript,” Allen said. “You can build the entire back-end of a web application using JavaScript. You can build mobile applications with it. It’s amazing.”
This versatility has helped JavaScript remain steadily popular since its inception in 1995: Coding Dojo ranks JavaScript as the third most in-demand programming language in 2019.
Python: versatile and fun
Conceived in the late 1980s (yes, by a Monty Python fan), Python is one of the most popular programming languages for beginners. You can use Python for everything from automating different tasks, like moving files, to building web applications and mining data. Major websites like Google, Instagram and Pinterest are built on Python.
Another plus? This language’s simple syntax is relatively easy to pick up for novice coders.
“Python is a really fun programming language,” said Allen. “It’s enjoyable to write and not terribly hard to learn.”
Demand for professionals with Python skills has taken off in recent years in the United States. Python is the third-most sought-after coding skill: it appeared in 18% of tech job postings in September 2019, a 123% increase from 2014, according to Coding Dojo.
C#: building windows apps and more
Developed by Microsoft, C# is used to build a wide variety of applications, particularly those that run on the Windows operating system, such as Visual Studio and Microsoft Azure. C# remains a desired coding skill: Coding Dojo calls it the fifth most in-demand coding language.
“C# is my preferred language because it’s pretty easy to program with, but it can do so much,” said Randal Root, a software consultant who teaches in the Certificate in C# Programming Using .NET Core. “It can be used instead of Python, or even alongside Python, to create very complex web applications and Windows applications and automation.”
The decision to learn Python versus C# mostly depends on what environment your company (or the company you hope to work for) is using. For example, Microsoft coders will need C# skills, while pros at Amazon rely on Python. Of course, as Allen noted, it never hurts to learn them both.
“No programming language is perfect for all scenarios,” Allen said. “If you’re familiar with more than one, you can pick the right one for any particular problem, and you become a better programmer.”
Get Coding
Interested in advancing your career by learning a beginning programming language? Check out these great ways to get started, including some programs you can take completely online.