

Top Ten Desired Programming Skills

If you are seeking a job as a professional programmer, software engineer, or software developer, having the proper skills are essential to finding a job. Some skills are more in demand than others. Right now, based on jobs posted, the most in-demand programming skills are as follows:




Job count: 20,000

Average salary: $83,000

The popularity of Python has steadily been rising in recent years. It is considered a multi-function language and can be used to fulfill a variety of different needs and demands. Many different web frameworks are base don Python and is increasingly becoming a desired skill for programmers to possess. It is a great and easy language to learn and is definitely worthwhile to add to your skill set.



Job count: 20,500

Average salary: $93,000

Perl represents a duality of sorts. It is a very easy language to pick up and use, but mastering it can be very difficult. Its applications are endless. It is often the language of choice of systems administrators around the world. It has also found some usage in web servers and as a CGI language. This language, originally created in 1987 by Larry Wall, is predicted to maintain its demand over the next decade.



Job count: 24,000

Average salary: $93,000

C is one of the most widely used programming languages in the world. Its applications are endless. The demand for C skills remains in high demand even though the language itself is quite old. It is a tricky language to master and can require a fair amount of time to fully understand. Millions of lines of legacy code exist and are slowly requiring updates to make them more web friendly in this day and age.



Job count: 31,000

Average salary: $92,000

Although not really considered a programming language in itself, XML has become a critical aspect of most web applications. It is the most common method to transport information to and from systems in a platform and implementation independent way. Most modern programming languages including C++, C, Perl, Python, and Java all have either built-in or third-party libraries for XML binding and web service support.



Job count: 32,000

Average salary: $91,000

The original motivation of C# was to provide a web friendly programming language to implement complex web services within Microsoft’s’ .Net framework. The syntax of the language looks eerily familiar to that of Java. Although mainly used in the context of Windows, it is a cross-platform language. Interestingly enough it is also the official language used to create XBox 360 games. It is a fun language to learn with many applications.




Job count: 32,000

Average salary: $94,000

C++ has been a big hitter for nearly three decades now since its release in 1983. Nearly all large scale scientific computing programs and many of today’s top games are built using C++. In addition to its ability to function as a high level programming language, its low-level features also make it a desirable language used for embedded device programming and has many applications. Typically it is considered a bit more difficult for beginners to learn, as it has many language constructs that don’t exist in many of the other popular programming languages on the market.



Job count: 43,000

Average salary: $88,000

Over the years, JavaScript has become as much a part of the web as HTML itself is. In the past half decade, JavaScript has seen a huge resurgence in demand. This is in thanks to many new innovative JavaScript libraries and frameworks now available such as jQuery. Pretty much every modern website takes advantage of jQuery or another major JavaScript library in some fashion. It is an easy way to make a plain website much more interactive.



Job count: 45,500

Average salary: $81,000

HTML is considered the backbone of the internet. When combined with JavaScript and CSS, you have everything you need to build a functioning website. Many websites nowadays take it a step further and add additional server-side processing languages to the mix to deliver dynamic content, but ultimately is still interfaced through HTML. With the advent of HTML 5, which adds many new requested features, it is likely that an increased importance on HTML skills will continue for the foreseeable future.



Job count: 66,500

Average salary: $95,000

The ability to quickly write and deploy a Java application is often seen as one of its strong points. This cross-platform, object-oriented programming language has quickly become one of the most sought-after programming skills out there. Anyone who can display aptitude writing Java programs will have no problem getting a job in today’s competitive market.



Job count: 98,500

Average salary: $90,000

SQL is the standard industry database language. These days, nearly all websites and most software utilize a database behind the scenes to organize data and allow for quick retrieval of specific items. It is considered by many companies as an essential skill for anyone involved in creating software products. With the increasing volume of data being processed on a daily basis, it is likely that superb database skills will continue to become even more valuable.


Featured Image: Flickr by Peter Hellberg