The Most Valuable Startup Coding Languages to Learn as a Software Engineer

What are the most valuable coding languages to learn to work at a startup as a software engineer?

In this article, experts from EntryLevel, Campaign Monitor, Hivery,  Lendi and other leading Australian startups describe the most important coding languages to work at a startup as a software engineer.

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Tim Tang (VP Engineering at Local Measure)

There's a lot of languages out there and they are all individually suited to each company and project but if I was to pick one which stands out on a resume it would be C.

Fabricio Leonardo Sodano (Head Of Engineering at Wisr)

I believe firmly in making data-driven decisions, and as such, taking a look at some industry-leading survey results like Stack Overflow or JetBrains gives you a good idea of what the market is looking for. Having said that, if you find a job you like and they use a language you're not familiar with, try to do some projects with it instead of applying and saying "I'm able to learn this language if you hire me". Turn up to an interview having spent some time researching a new language and say, "I've learnt this language specifically because I want to work with you, here are some projects", it'll be difficult for any interviewer to ignore the excellent attitude.

• Coding languages aside, it's crucial for you to learn how to test your software automatically. If you don't know how to write unit or integration tests, you are just another name in a big pile of CVs. A grad student that invests time in testing? That sets you apart. Make sure you mention it in your CV too.
• Stack overflow link: https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2021#most-popular-technologies-language-prof
• JetBrains link: https://www.jetbrains.com/lp/devecosystem-2021/

Alan Truong (Head of Engineering, EntryLevel)

1. Javascript (recommended with HTML/CSS)

• The bulk of software developer jobs in startups are web development roles and Javascript remains the king of languages when it comes to web dev
• Some relevant technologies that you would learn with JS are nodeJS (backend), React (frontend) etc 
• With only JS, you can create entire backend and frontend applications  
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2. Python (recommended)

• Python is still the most popular general-purpose programing language
• It is used widely in scripting, data-analytics, machine learning, backend applications.
• It is definitely a top contender in terms of languages to learn due to the fact that it can do SO much. 

3. C/C++

• C is the grandfather of all programming languages 
• It is still used widely in a lot of companies as it is fast, low-level so you have a lot of control over what you write and is predictable
• If you wanted to be a well-rounded software engineer, you should learn the concepts taught in C which is why i recommend it
• HOWEVER, if you were solely looking for a job, I wouldn’t learn C or C++ as my first language as it is not as common or useful as the first two languages 
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4. PHP/Ruby (not recommended)

• I wouldn’t recommend learning these languages if they are your first language as I feel like they are outdated. 
• However, I had to include it in this list as there are still many companies that use it as they were the industry standard for a long time

Will Parker (Senior Software Engineer, Lendi)

This depends greatly from startup to startup. If you were applying to a startup that only works on native mobile applications, knowing only web technologies is likely not very useful. That being said, depending on the company, if you can design a simple website with HTML, CSS and JavaScript and know a backend language such as NodeJS (Javascript), PHP or Python you should have no problem finding a role as a junior software developer.

Other things I’d recommend having some knowledge of include:

• Version control such as Git (Bitbucket, Github or Gitlab)
• Databases (MySQL, Postgres, Mongo or Redis)
• An API methodology (GraphQL or REST)

Adrian Groch (Software Engineer, Pendular)

This question is the equivalent of asking a chef what’s the most important knife in their knife roll, or like asking a butcher what’s the best cut of meat. It’s all horses for courses. There are different languages for different jobs that solve different problems. 
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StackOverflow does a pretty decent developer survey that you could have a look at to see what’s most employable/in demand: https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2020

Artem Golubev (Dev Lead - Automated Retail at Hivery)

Personally I value candidates who know 1 high-level compiled programming language (not python, javascript, etc.) because languages like python or JS forgive a lot of mistakes and often result in bad habits. 

It is very important to keep in mind that language is a tool, not a goal. If a person can code well in 1 solid language, they will be able to switch to another in a matter of weeks (if we are talking about go, python, js and others with low learning curve) or months if the learning curve is steep.

Always use the right tool for the job.

Tanvir Hossain (Senior Software Engineer, InLoop)

Python and JavaScript (React) are the most valuable languages for startups in my opinion.

Usually startups need to deliver quality products in a short time, and nobody can do that better than Python and React. As well as, nowadays most of the companies deal with data, which suits Python.

Jared Fraser (Senior Software Engineer, Mr Yum)

There is no right or wrong answer to this, look at industry trends and what skill sets

companies are hiring for and what areas of development interest you. 

If you're aiming for a front-end role then you're looking at Javascript/Typescript paired with React/Angular/Vue frameworks, and CSS frameworks like tailwinds.

If backend is more your style, there are many different language options to choose between such as common web based languages PHP or NodeJS, or more systems level languages such as Go or Rust. The biggest take away is to pair a language with database knowledge such as Postgres or MySQL.

Dale Baldwin (Senior Software Engineer, Culture Amp)

While there are more commonly used languages than others this is hard to answer as it really changes company to company. I would make a shortlist of places you are interested in working at and then find their current job listings. Most of the more senior engineering roles will state in the ads what languages they want experience in so that should give you a good idea of the languages and technologies they are focusing on.

John Wesley Salvador (Senior Software Engineer, Zeller)

It really depends, I’m biased with JavaScript because that’s my programming language since getting my degree, and I love it. JavaScript because NodeJS can be used in the backend, and ReactJS or VueJS can be used in the frontend. Python is also a great choice and a lot of companies look for data scientist roles with Python skills.

Pratik Ghimire (ex-Software Engineer at Shippit, Senior Consultant - Developer at Thoughtworks) 

Any programming language is fine, however JavaScript, Python are more in demand. If you have experience in Java, Kotlin, Ruby, .NET, C#, C, Scala also works.