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Employers Want JavaScript, But Developers Want Python, Survey Finds (infoworld.com)
An anonymous reader quotes InfoWorld:
When it comes to which programming languages are in demand by employers, JavaScript, Java, Python, C++, and C -- in that order -- came out on top in a recent developer survey. Developers, however, want to learn languages like Python, Go, and Kotlin. A survey of developers by technical recruiter HackerRank, conducted in October, found no gap between languages employers want and what developers actually know, with JavaScript barely edging out Java...
HackerRank also found gaps in JavaScript frameworks between what employers want and what developers know. The React JavaScript UI library had the biggest delta between employers and developers, with about 37 percent of employers wanting React skills but only about 19 percent of developers having them... [But] problem-solving skills are the most-sought by employers, more than language proficiency, debugging, and system design.
The survey involved 39,441 developers, and concluded that "Python ruled among all age groups," according to Application Development Trends, "except for those 55 years or older, who narrowly prefer C."
HackerRank also found gaps in JavaScript frameworks between what employers want and what developers know. The React JavaScript UI library had the biggest delta between employers and developers, with about 37 percent of employers wanting React skills but only about 19 percent of developers having them... [But] problem-solving skills are the most-sought by employers, more than language proficiency, debugging, and system design.
The survey involved 39,441 developers, and concluded that "Python ruled among all age groups," according to Application Development Trends, "except for those 55 years or older, who narrowly prefer C."
I would have answered the survey with the majority.
Personally I learned and started using both Python and Javascript late in my career that goes all the way back to writing assembly language on the CDC 6000 and I can't remember how many languages I used. (DIBOL anyone? APL?). As with most software engineers I read Javascript seems to be one of the most unprofessionally crafted languages ever put into wide use.
The updates to Javascript (ES5/ES6) go a long way to fixing things. However I have often wondered how much the world would be different had Python been used as the in-browser programming language rather than JS (ECMAscript) from the start.
The only problem I think Python would introduce is its dependence on white space as a syntactically significant element. That seems like a small compromise. Anyone else think this?
Why is that relevant? Dynamic typing is retarded and every single popular statically typed language has implementations that are far faster than V8.
Why?
A web application done today makes total sense, a desktop app only makes a certain sense.
Pros of a web app: dynamic multi user interaction is baked in, most apps require real time updates when another user performs an action or something server side changes. Web applications are free from operating system requirements, operating system environment requirements, and hardware requirements (if it runs a browser it will work). You can run it on a cellphone, raspberry pi, best desktop, linux, mac, windows etc. Web pages do not require the user to download and run mysterious patch executable programs, instead you just update the website and everyone who logs in next is on the new updated version. Web pages will also exist forever more or less, they don't break because the operating system goes to a newer version, or you installed new anti virus, or you even dropped your computer down an incinerator chute (just hop on the next computer available and all your work is still there on the site).
Cons: it isn't as powerful, though its generally speaking powerful enough.
All that said, employers who prefer javascript and are moving towards this type of architecture are certainly not deserving of a bullet in the head but rather a hearty handshake for being so logical about a core business system.
Or does the "top talent" in this area prefer static typing?
Yes
Because Javascript is a language that was designed for adding isolated behaviors with simple scripts to web pages. It was not designed to be a language used to build application logic with.
To make it roughly capable of implementing application logic it's been mangled into a giant, hacked together house of cards mess and it shows in all the things you mention and more.
And now idiots are trying to use it to build not just front end, but back end as well. Because they only know to to use a hammer, so everything looks like a nail to them.
Node.js is the abomination that is the result of this.
Your comment makes the core problem very clear: you have no marketable skills and aren't willing to learn them on yourbown so you have to make due with bottom of the barrel jobs.
Want better opportunities: acquire better skills.
This is still not an excuse for using the wrong tool for the job at hand.
Mod parent up. It's the programmer, stupid. You can be a shite-head in any language....or write good code in *some* of them.
Why guess when you can know? Measure!