For a developer to be in demand in 2022, they need to program in several popular languages. I have created the ranking of programming languages based on several independent reviews and data from Statista. 

Let’s see what to learn today to be in demand in the coming years, competently start a career in IT, and not be disappointed along the way. If you are dreaming about the career in AI, check this review.

Python

The world learned about this programming language in 1991, and since the nineties, it has been in the leading positions. Python is notable for its simplicity, while a few moments await beginner IT specialists. 

Usually, the Python language is advised to learn for those who have just started their career path in the IT industry. Everything is quite evident, and the syntax is simple.

Great opportunities, especially for ML modeling, are the main pros; but the performance is slow compared to other languages ​​in the top rankings, which are the downsides. It cannot be called universal, but consequently, this language shows itself perfectly in solving a number of modern problems.

This programming language is great for:

• data science;
• artificial intelligence;
• web service backend.

Specialists use it in system administration. This language allows easily managing small utilities. That’s why Python is used as an add-on in many IT projects.

JavaScript

This language is in a great demand for front-end for websites and app development. JS is easy to learn. But when using it, you can make an error, which will be challenging to find. It’s the specialty of any language with weak typization, when you can change the variables and their types on the go.

It would be best if you prepared for the revisions of the projects, as all the variables and inheritance of types need to be checked.  The best option is to share your code with the senior JS programmer for the review. 

With the assistance of JavaScript, the website provides interactive features. JavaScript allows you to implement pop-up effects windows, and add exciting gamification elements to your projects.
Typescript

While JavaScript is still the dominant language of the web,  TypeScript vs JavaScript comparison will explain you why TS is catching up on the JS heels. As new applications are written in TypeScript, and more and more legacy JavaScript applications are gradually ported, we can expect TypeScript to surpass JavaScript in use in the coming years.

Why is TypeScript so popular? With each passing version (now it’s 4.0), it keeps adding new features that the developers find insanely helpful. Unsurprisingly, in the 2020 Stack Overflow Developer Survey, around 67.1% of developers surveyed said TypeScript is the programming language they like, ahead of Python (66.7%), Kotlin (62.9%), and Go ( 62.3%).

Whether or not you consider TypeScript an actual programming language (it’s technically a superset of the super-popular and well-established JavaScript, but many programming language rankings treat it as a complete language), it looks set to dominate developers in 2022 and beyond.

C++

The presented language is in demand among those who work with Microsoft products or specifically with Windows. This is the best choice for the creators of virtual games. Creating applications using the 3D engine in the Unity section is also possible.

C++ is a must-learn for a senior programmer, whose goal is to work with operations related to the OS. This programming language affects other languages ​​that developers interact with. When learning the C++ language, a specialist will better understand the operation of a PC. It provides a valuable set of knowledge.

C

The programming languages C++ and C are often called similar, that many ratings put them on the same line. However, there are some key differences which let C++ be on the top of many reviews, so we placed the C++ language higher in the ranking. But C has it’s own strong sides: its performance and the ability to be used on different platforms. C also has disadvantages. First, programs written in C have some security issues. Secondly, the language has too low programming restrictions. And thirdly, it is more difficult to study many analogs. Therefore, it’s not the best choice as a first language for beginners.

Java

At the moment, it is the primary language for developing applications for Android devices. And its strongest side is cross-platform. However, in our ranking of programming languages in 2022, Java falls only in fifth place. The advantages of Java are object-oriented and procedural programming, relatively simple, “human” syntax, stability, ease of collaboration, and security. Disadvantages – some difficulty in mastering, low performance, lack of native design, and rather complex code.

Go

Among programmers, Go is now perhaps the most popular language to learn. 32% of professional developers want to know. Go appears more and more often, so in 2022 it is worth paying attention to. No wonder Go is popular. In 2019, it was one of the highest-paying tech skills. Developed by Google over a decade ago as a programming language that can incorporate the best features of other languages ​​(such as the efficiency of the C++ runtime and the readability of Python), it enjoys an ever-growing circle of developers who use it. In the coming years, its demand may become even more remarkable.

Swift

This programming language was designed specifically for iOS applications. In 2010, Apple decided they didn’t want to force iOS developers to work with Objective-C, so Swift offers these developers an alternative language to work with. Anyone still using the Cocoa Touch libraries for interoperability can still use Objective-C since the structures used by both remain the same.

Swift offers real-time output for interactivity and quick response to code changes or on the fly. The automatic debugging system is one of the critical elements of the Swift system, giving it more of the interactive features that are common to scripting systems like Python.

Swift’s advantages over a language like Objective-C are code reduction (almost a quarter), it’s much easier to learn. The developer community has more potential to grow due to the quality of the apps it’s more likely to build. Anyone hoping to get into iOS app development or just wanting to join the workforce using perhaps the most lucrative programming language of the future would do well to learn Swift.

Instead of an afterword

So, the presented languages ​​are considered the most popular at the beginning of 2022. They are sure to be in demand among IT specialists. But there exists one special class of functional languages, which can make you a very exclusive developer. Check this blog to know more about FP languages. With functional programming in hands, your development experience will be more fruitful and efficient, and the projects gain more functionality.