Top 5 Programming Languages Beginners should Learn in 2025 [UPDATED] (original) (raw)

Hello guys, if you are a beginner and not sure which programming language to choose to start your career or a developer with some coding experience thinking to learn a new programming language in 2025 then you have come to the right place. Earlier, I have shared 10 things Java programmers should learn in 2025, and today, I am going to share the 5 best programming languages beginners and intermediate developers can learn in 2025. Everybody loves a polyglot programmer and an all-rounder who is versatile enough to write a quick script and can also write complex Java programs. In fact, it's almost mandatory for a senior developer to learn more than one language.

Interviewers are giving more attention to an engineer who has good experience with multiple languages like C++ and Java go quite well, so is Python and Java. I personally like Software Engineers who have substantial experience in either C++ or Java and can write scripts in Groovy, Perl, or Python.

Many times a small script is quick and good enough for the ad-hoc task, and I don't want my programmer to spend a full day in Java to write a program to read CSV files or to grab a message from a TCP/UDP port.

Why I chose these five programming languages? My reasons are practical and straightforward. I have chosen languages based on their usage, paradigm, and popularity. For example, you cannot ignore Java if you want to do application development and looking for a Job. So is JavaScript, which is almost everywhere on the web.

C is the one language I strongly believe developers should learn at the very start of their career because it will help them to get closer to the system and understand key programming concepts, which are often hidden behind JVM or CLR.

Python is my choice of scripting language though you can also substitute with Perl or Groovy. Though when it comes to online support, Python is great. There are lots of python modules available that can do your job in a couple of minutes.

Similarly, learning an object-oriented and one functional programming language like Haskell or Scala will widen your thinking and programming sense. You will find more reasons to learn these top 5 programming languages in this article.

Top 5 Programming Languages Every Programmer Should Learn

Without Further Ado, here is my list of 5 programming languages that every programmer or software developer should try to learn. It contains a mix of languages like object-oriented, functional, scripting, language, which offer a low level of control, and language, which is widely used in server-side development.

1. Python

Python is one of the most taught languages in schools and colleges across the world. In the USA, Python has replaced Java from many academic courses as a preferred language to start with. What will you gain by learning Python? A lot.

Python is one of those languages that can be used as a scripting language as well as a proper object-oriented language for a large project.

Many popular websites, including Reddit, are built upon Python frameworks like Django. In recent times, many large organizations are switching to the Python-based framework as well.

I personally use Python for writing scripts, though, and it is beneficial for doing something quickly, like, you can write a UDP message listener in 5 minutes in Python as opposed to 20 minutes in Java, forget about compiling, packaging, and then using. Just write python scripts for ad-hoc tasks. If you are interested in learning Python, then The Complete Python BootCamp is an excellent place to start with.

best programming language to learn for beginners

If you are confused between Java and Python to start with, take a look at this infographic, which compares Java with Python.

2. Java

Java is one of the most popular languages of the last two decades and rules the world of server-side application development. It also holds a sizable market share in mobile games and application development using Android and the enterprise web development world.

Java was started with a simple thought of WORA, "write once run anywhere," but over the period, Java actually ran everywhere.

You should learn Java to build a robust, scalable server-side application. You can create projects of any complexity in Java, it has tools, technology, and community to help with.

Why should you learn Java? You will learn how to focus on application design and code structuring without worrying about system-specific details and memory management. JVM will take care of it.

If you decide to learn Java, then The Complete Java Master Class on Udemy is a good course, to begin with. It covers all the essential concepts of Java in good detail.

Java is best programming language to learn

Java is used by some of the most prominent organizations, like banks, insurance companies, and you can reach the masses by writing Android apps. If you are still not convinced, I suggest you check out these 10 reasons to learn Java.

3. C

You cannot be a programmer without knowing C or C++. This is a powerful statement, but I am saying this from my experience. Software engineers or developers who know C are simply better than programmers who don't know C, and it cannot be just plain coincident.

It's one of those languages which you must know. I learned C during my academics and learned many key programming concepts along the way, like structure, array, pointers, memory management, etc.

The C is still the most preferred language for system programming, and it has given Java substantial competition at the top of the table for the last two years. If you want to learn this first language, then C Programming for Beginners is an excellent place to start with.

5 must learn programming language

It is also one of the oldest mainstream languages, survived for more than 4 decades now.

4. JavaScript

You can replace Java with C++ and Python with Ruby in this list, but honestly, there is no replacement for JavaScript in today's world. In the last 5 years, JavaScript has totally dominated the world. It is no more the client-side scripting language; with the framework and libraries like node.js, Angular.js, and React.js, you can use JavaScript on the Server-side as well for user interface development.

Some parts of JavaScript's overwhelming success go to jQuery, which genuinely changed the way you use JavaScript on the client side. As a Java programmer, working on JSP and Servlet based applications, I have had numerous opportunities to use both jQuery and JavaScript.

Knowledge of this language has helped us to decide which feature should be implemented server-side and which can be handled at the client-side, like, many validations we used to do on the server-side were migrated to the client-side.

If you want to learn JavaScript from scratch and in-depth, then The Complete JavaScript course on Udemy is the best online course you can join.

top programming language to learn

5. Scala

Scala is the language that is created based on the best practices of the last 20 years. It is also a functional programming language, so it offers a different paradigm than object-oriented programming, which will improve your thinking and code sense.

Though there are many functional programming languages available, like, Haskell, I have chosen Scala because, as a Java developer, I found learning Scala is easy than learning Haskell.

Someone can take that as a challenge and learn Haskell as well, but for practical purposes, I think learning Scala is more relevant for Java developers.

For C++ programmers, Haskell makes more sense to me. To be honest, you can choose any functional programming language but choose one which has commercial demand.

As a professional developer, I prefer to invest my time in something which can be used in my career, and if you want to learn Scala, then Beginning Scala Programming is an excellent course, to begin with.
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Top 5 programming language to learn

Btw, no matter how many programming languages you learn, you must follow the coding and design principles given in Clean Code by heart to become a professional coder. It's those skill that helps you most in your programming career.

That's all on this list of the top 5 programming languages every software engineer should learn. Some of you might find the list as 5 programming languages Java developers should learn, which is also right.