Little-Known Programming Languages That Actually Pay

Nerval's Lobster writes There is no shortage of programming languages, from the well-known ones (Java and C++) to the outright esoteric (intended just for research or even humor). While the vast majority of people learn to program the most-popular ones, the lesser-known programming languages can also secure you a good gig in a specific industry. Which languages? Client-server programming with Opa, Salesforce's APEX language, Mathematica and MATLAB, ASN.1, and even MIT's App Inventor 2 all belong on that list, according to developer Jeff Cogswell. On the other hand, none of these languages really have broad adoption; ASN.1 and SMI, for example, are primarily used in telecommunications and network management. So is it really worth taking the time to learn a new, little-used language for anything other than the thrills?

Comments

C++

[Anonymous Coward]

No one knows it, really.

ASN.1 isn't a programming language.

[Dimwit]

That is all.

ASN.1/SMI

[adturner]

Maybe ASN.1 and SMI are so little known as a programming language because... they're not a programming language? Don't get me wrong, it's good to know if you're reading/writing RFC's or dealing with network protocols (especially in the telco space), but they're not programming languages.

Meh

[Anrego]

There's tonnes of niche technologies, though people don't tend to specifically target them so much as just kind fall into them and get lucky.

I know someone that does pretty well maintaining stuff made with foxpro. In her words: "laugh all you want, it paid for my house". Doesn't mean it's a good idea to learn it at this point, but if you happened to luck out by sticking with a dying technology that never actually died, and are now one of a few people around who can call themselves experts in it, enjoy the benefits.

Also WTF

[Anrego]

Also, wtf dice.

I get that you want to shitpost your own articles here, but throwing a campaign ID in the URL to track the success of your shitposting is going a bit far.

Re:Portmasterz luv R

[Anonymous Coward]

i would think a pirate themed game would be better suited to that language

Re:No thanks

[PRMan]

Plus, you run the risk of steering your career into a corner from which it's hard to escape. I did C# for 5 years and then a custom Pascal scripting language for 2 years. What did I hear? "You're not a C# developer, you're a xxxxx developer." Um, it's not like I forgot everything I knew or even didn't use it during that time, but it's a resume-killer, so be careful.

Re: No thanks

[Anrego]

Language, maybe. The tool stack around that language though, I call BS.

Sure, a c++ guy can pick up java itself fairly quickly, but it takes time to come up to speed on the various widely used libraries and tools. General programming concepts transfer, the specific workings of something like EJB or OSGI don't.

Re:Symptom of thinking vocabulary is the key

[Roger W Moore]

You are absolutely correct. I laughed when I read the line in the article which said:

For example, if you master a couple math and science programming languages, you might find opportunities as a programmer working at a scientific research center.

since it shows how clueless the author is about programming languages in science. When I am hiring a postdoc I could not care less which programming language they have used: if I am looking for someone with technical skills all I care about is that they have experience programming. The delay in learning whatever specific languages and packages we use is minimal so long as they have a strong technical background.

Re: Not just flash in the pan

[Hognoxious]

my wife is better at sex than yours

Seconded.