This is a question we at Spintech hear quite a lot. While the IT industry is rapidly growing, many people still have concerns regarding possible career choices and are not sure whether it is worth becoming a software developer. More importantly, it is unclear what programming language to choose next after English. This article will cover all these points.

Should I become a developer?

Yes, absolutely. Software development is one of the few occupations where you don’t have to dedicate a lifetime to master a specialty. With dedication and perseverance, you can grasp the basics of QA, design, project management, system administration, or programming in mere 6 months. This is totally possible to do on your own using plenty of educational materials available on the Internet for free (or by finishing some paid courses).

Add 6 more months to finish advanced courses or learn more tricks by self-educating using various coding boot camps. Work on your portfolio and apply for open positions. This way, in a year anyone can enter the IT industry as a trainee or Junior specialist. From there — with hard work, only the sky is the limit, and depending on the quality and quantity of completed projects, you can progress to a Middle engineer in a couple of years, to a Senior in a couple more, and to a System Architect in 2-3 more years.

Thus said, the way from a trainee to a senior specialist is quite short in IT, and many developers complete it in 6 years only.

What programming language should I learn?

First of all, think about whether you really want to write code. There are many auxiliary positions that pay as well or even better than developers. Graphic and UI/UX designers, recruiters, HR specialists, QA testers, DevOps, project managers, business analysts, product owners, risk managers, Big Data analysts, and many, many more. Therefore, everyone can select the domain that fits their expectations most, instead of blindly following the most common routes.

Should you decide to actually become a developer, the choice of your first programming language should depend on the career path you want to pursue.

Do you want to develop Android apps? Go for Java, Kotlin, and JavaScript. Aiming to become an iOS developer? Objective C and Swift are your choices. Do you want to build web apps? JavaScript and Typescript are your best bets. Going for game development? Learn Unity and TypeScript, etc.

Besides, you can never go wrong with React/React Native for cross/platform mobile app development Python (back-end development, DevOps scripts, Big Data analytics, AI/ML training), Golang (complex cloud-based systems, desktop apps, and back-end development), Angular or Ruby-on-Rails (almost all of the above).

There are several new kids on the block, like Flutter for rapid web/mobile/cross-platform app development, or Rlang for AI/ML scripting. Choosing them might seem a great idea to gain expertise in a popular domain, but they are quite complex to understand without previous experience in other languages. Thus, we recommend you gaining a solid understanding of the basics before jumping for the most popular programming languages of 2021.

Wrapping it up

As you can see, becoming a developer in 2021 is totally worth it — and is quite doable if you dedicate enough time and effort. Most importantly, there always are vacancies for nearly all kinds of IT talent. At Spintech, we hire developers of all maturity levels and help you grow as a specialist, by embarking on a variety of projects and providing in-house training.

IT industry can be a perfect destination for every inquiring mind not afraid of learning new skills and solving new challenges. Software development and related technologies are dynamically evolving and something new appears nearly every day.

While you grow from Junior to Senior/Architect, programming languages also evolve. This should be taken into consideration when you choose your future primary specialty. Pay close attention to languages and frameworks that gained popularity within the past 5 years, to ensure your skills will be needed both in the nearest future and in a mid-to-long-term perspective.

Should you like to give it a try — we are always glad to talk! Contact us and let’s discuss your next career move!