5 Best Programming Languages To Learn in 2023

As a software engineer, you are responsible for creating and maintaining software programs. You make that website page display. You write that code to process thousands of requests per minute as it updates vehicle location information. Your functions decide whether a loan gets automatically approved or not. The diversity in your code logic is vast and encompasses just about anything you can think of.

The variety of programming languages to choose from when writing all that code is also large. And while each spoken language primarily developed regionally over time, programming languages primarily developed to solve particular programming situations. Therefore, many programming languages have developed over the years in response to the various programming challenges we've had to solve.

What Is A Programming Language

Programming languages allow logic to be written by humans in ways that humans can understand, and then used by computers to perform the requested activities. This written logic is captured in code files using various syntaxes depending on the programming language being used.

Just like the English language is based on sentences using nouns, verbs, adjectives, and other syntax objects, programming languages each have their own syntax objects used to capture the necessary logic in ways humans can understand. Computers then generally do one of three things with those code files:

1. interpret those code files in near-real time and "run" the requested activities
2. translate those code files into intermediate syntax objects that can be more quickly and efficiently "run" by the computer
3. compiled into stored computer files that can be loaded and "run" very quickly as necessary with no additional interpretation or translation necessary

But enough about the basics of programming languages. The real question here is, what are the top 5 programming languages you should learn or improve your skills in for 2023? These languages have made my top 5 list because they have absolutely earned their spot. They have proven their versatility over time. They have enhanced their syntaxes to help us capture and solve the challenges we need to solve. They have made our jobs as software engineers easier.

So without further ado, let's jump into my top 5 programming languages to learn for 2023.

Top 5 Programming Languages to Learn for 2023

Python

What

Python is a very popular language today and is hugely versatile. It is widely used for everything from web services, to database access, to machine learning and deep learning applications. Most recently, Python has grown in the ranks as a big player in the DevOps community as well. Python is even used as an embedded language in games and other software so that users can write Python scripts to perform other activities within larger applications.

Why

Python is a very approachable and easy-to-learn language. It almost has an emphasis on natural language in its syntax. It has a very large support community and is used by very large organizations like Google. Python is very versatile. It is the second most popular language (behind R) for data science and analytics. It supports multiple programming paradigms including procedural programming, object-oriented programming, and functional programming. This means it is taught in academia but also used in the real world because of its versatility and ability to adapt to situational needs.

Potential Quick Learning Path

https://python.org | https://udemy.com | https://pluralsight.com

Javascript

What

JavaScript has its origins as one of the core technologies of the world wide web, along with HTML and CSS. But from those simple beginnings, JavaScript has continued to grow and morph into incredible programming solutions for software engineers. JavaScript is one of those general-purpose programming languages that can be and is used for just about everything from embedded firmware applications, to web applications, to games, to server-side applications. Here's a brief description of some of JavaScript's most notable impacts.

Web

As stated above, if you do any web development, you code JavaScript. JavaScript is the primary programming language on every web page. That's a huge accomplishment.

TypeScript

TypeScript is an open-source programming language introduced by Microsoft. It is a superset of JavaScript that adds static object typing to the JavaScript language. This stronger type safety helps make code development more efficient, faster, and less buggy because it helps enforce that activities within and across objects use the correct object type rather than being generic and decided at run-time.

Node.js

Node.js is an open-source, back-end JavaScript run-time that executes JavaScript code outside a web browser. This means that Node.js can be used to create JavaScript applications that run just about anywhere. Node.js is used extensively to build server-side applications, scalable network applications, microservices, and much more.

Why

As stated above, JavaScript is the core go-to language for the world wide web. It's also the core behind major frameworks and run-times like TypeScript and Node.js. And, because it's so versatile and can be used in so many ways, many software engineering teams love JavaScript because it allows them to learn and skill up in one programming language rather than having to learn multiple.

Potential Quick Learning Path

Want to learn JavaScript? I suggest starting here:

https://developer.mozilla.org | https://udemy.com | https://pluralsight.com

Want to learn TypeScript? I suggest starting here:

https://typescriptlang.org | https://udemy.com | https://pluralsight.com

Want to learn Node.js I suggest starting here:

https://nodejs.org | https://udemy.com | https://pluralsight.com

Kotlin

What

Kotlin is a cross-platform, statically-typed, general-purpose programming language developed by JetBrains in 2012. It is a functional programming language and is compatible with Java. It was designed to interoperate fully with Java. As a matter of fact, its JVM (Java virtual machine) version relies on the Java Class Library. Kotlin is widely used to create Android apps and websites on Android and other platforms.

Why

Kotlin was designed for superiority over Java. Google decided in 2019 to make Kotlin its preferred language for writing Android apps. So if you are planning to write native mobile apps for Google's mobile operating system, or to work in shops looking to enhance their existing Java code base, you need to know Kotlin.

Potential Quick Learning Path

https://kotlinlang.org | https://udemy.com | https://pluralsight.com

C#

What

C# is a general-purpose, widely used programming language. C# includes static typing, strong typing, imperative, declarative, functional, generic, object-oriented, and component-oriented programming disciplines.

C# can be used to create just about anything. Examples include mobile apps, games, web pages, desktop applications across multiple platforms, server-side applications, micro-services, and much more.

Why

If you are developing in the Microsoft stack, you need to know C#. It continues to spread across programming markets and operating systems. It continues to enhance with every version. It can be used to create a huge diversity of software applications. C# is a staple of the Microsoft stack and is quickly spreading elsewhere.

Potential Quick Learning Path

https://learn.microsoft.com | https://udemy.com | https://pluralsight.com

Go (Golang)

What

Go (Golang) is a statically-typed compiled language developed by Google. Go is a very versatile programming language with the ability to handle multicore and network systems and huge code bases.

Why

It is popular in software engineering teams due to its simplicity in syntax and structure. It is similar to the C/C++ languages, but with improvements where they needed it: garbage collection, memory safety, structural object typing, and more.

Potential Quick Learning Path

https://go.dev | https://udemy.com | https://pluralsight.com

How Do I Learn These Programming Languages?

There is a wealth of resources out there on the Internet for learning these programming languages. I provided links to some of those free and paid resources above. But in general, learning programming can be categorized into 3 learning paths. Click here to read the article with more information on the learning paths. But the high-level summary follows.

3 General Learning Paths

In general, software engineering professionals can choose between the following paths:

• training boot camps
• computer science colleges
• self-directed learning

Training Bootcamps

Training bootcamps can be quick and less expensive than other options. However, they can also be too focused on specific languages or technologies, limiting your job opportunities.

Computer Science Colleges

Computer science colleges can build a solid foundation in computer science theory and help teach you fundamentals that will apply throughout your software engineer career. However, they can also be expensive and can last anywhere from 18 months to 4 years or more.

Self-direct Learning

Self-directed learning is a great way to get started very quickly and to focus specifically on the skill or area you are most interested in like game design or native mobile apps. However, self-directed learning can also make it hard to build a solid skill and experience foundation that makes you more hirable as an entry-level programmer.

For more detail on learning paths, read my article here on how to get a job as a software engineer, which covers the learning paths in more detail.

A Software Engineer Job Is More Than Just Programming

Software engineering is more than just learning a particular language. Yes, this article is about the top programming languages to learn. But I'd be doing you a disservice if I let you believe that learning the right language is all there is to getting that next great software developer job or boosting your current job. Let's cover just a few of the top additional considerations. Having these in mind may actually have an impact on which programming languages you choose to learn!

Consider Your Short-Term Goals

Your choice of programming language should be based at least partially on your short-term goals. What goals have you set for yourself in web development, or for your first programming language? What popular programming languages should you learn because they will help get you where you want to go rather than being the end goal?

If you don't determine what programming language to learn as part of bigger goals, then you're never going to reach those bigger goals!

Consider Your Long-Term Goals

Those short-term goals feed into the bigger picture- your long-term goals. Maybe you want to do game development. Maybe you are fascinated by machine learning. These are great longer-term goals and notice they don't mention a specific programming language. So set your long-term goals and then let that drive your focus on:

• HTML CSS and javascript
• functional programming languages
• mobile app development and android and ios
• one of the specific programming languages mentioned above

Consider Current Job Opportunities

You should also consider current job opportunities! Life as a software engineer includes a series of technical decisions. Each technical decision builds upon the prior decisions and you have to take every opportunity given to you. So if you have a current opportunity to make Python your first language and get introduced to professional software development in the process- do it!

If you have short-term and long-term goals set, then it makes it easier to choose job opportunities because you can more quickly discern what moves you towards your goals and what probably doesn't.

Consider What Makes You Happy

One final comment about there being more to software engineer jobs than just a programming language. In addition to setting goals and taking advantage of opportunities given to you, you also need to do what makes you happy!

Computer programming can literally suck the life out of you if you let it. It can be hard on your body and your mind. The learning curve can lose you. The problem-solving can be much harder than you anticipate. The business around programming can take its toll on you. So when setting your goals, I recommend making FUN part of those goals as well.

If you have a plan, set goals, move towards those goals, and have fun while you're doing it, then you will enjoy programming no matter what programming language you choose. And there are so many good programming languages to choose from!

Wrap-Up: Top 5 Programming Languages to Learn for 2023

That wraps up my list of top 5 programming languages to learn for 2023. There are many more languages and runtimes and tools to keep our brains busy. But if you are looking to start a software engineer career, or to boost your current career, you can't go wrong building your skills in these languages:

• Python
• JavaScript
• Kotlin
• C#
• Go (Golang)

I just realized... now I'm going to have to write an article about some of the best IDEs (integrated development environments) that you could use to program all these languages in... until next time ;)