What programming language is in-demand, hiring for remote work?

[Space Lynx]

I have a gf... soon to be fiance that lives in U.K., she does not want to come to the U.S.... so I am stuck with some very crappy choices at the moment. I have applied to several universities for admin type work as I do have a Master's degree, but it is not a technical degree. So... I am just a bit stuck and nothing seems to be hiring. I do know some basic programming, and I am just going to assume this is the best path for me, to find remote work so I can be with her on a more permanent basis, etc.

I am decent with VB .net... but not super advanced by any measure, and I don't think that is even very marketable from what I know (which is basically nothing of the programming world). I think I could learn any language fast though, as I am very motivated and have a lot of free time to spare. I was thinking Code Academy website or if you can recommend something better?

edit: would like to note I am very good at math, and was always top in my class... but it has been awhile. regardless, any advice or tips would be welcome!

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Look at some job listings? Example:

106 Contract Programmer Jobs, Employment | Indeed.com

106 Contract Programmer jobs available on Indeed.com. Apply to Software Developer, Vendor Manager, Programmer Analyst and more!

www.indeed.com

...VB generally won't get you a job because it's an entry-level language.


Isn't your masters in psychology? Why not look into doing remote therapy sessions with clients? You'd have to get a position with a company that organizes it.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

I hear m$ outsources a lot of technical help in the UK, to what company IDK.

 

[Ferrum Master]

Why not look into doing remote therapy sessions with clients?

Buahaha

 

[notb]

I'm pretty sure UK offers pretty much the same kind of employment US does.
So if you weren't a rodeo competitor or something like that, why not just get a similar job? Why get into coding at all?

As for entry level coding ideas:

1. The easiest route (but not the best paid, obviously) is to become a front-end coder / tester.
It's the least demanding technically and easiest to start. No one will look at your degree or how well you look in a suit.
You learn a framework (e.g. React, Angular) and you get an entry level front-end dev job - no university math or quantum mechanics involved.

2. The more technical stuff is in back-ends.
You'd have to learn something like Java or Python (or PHP :/), but also get a hang of more complex concepts (like object-oriented programming).
Here a degree or experience helps, so maybe don't go this route just yet.

You could start with some kind of online certificates or bootcamps, i.e. a very intensive coding school (either online or with live workshops).
Online stuff is pretty much free, but you learn on your own - it'll take longer and some people just can't organize themselves well enough.
Live courses cost, but tend to give results much faster (or: at all).

------------------

And of course there are countless other options in databases, big data, data analysis, consulting, project management etc, but again - I wouldn't recommend anything like that for your first job (especially if you need to get it soon).

 

[Vya Domus]

Asking about what language you should learn that is in high demand means you're already on the wrong path. First of all, if you want to do this you can easily look up what languages are popular and pick the top one if you want or simply look at how many listings are for a particular language. Secondly, that's a terrible idea for several reasons but the primary one your going to experience is competition and the inability to stand out from the crowd.

Another thing is that it's not enough to learn a language, that by it self has little chance to get you a job, everyone can learn a syntax. You need to make at least one or several "large" projects on your own to show you can make something usable. By large I mean it should be complex enough in order for you to use a lot of the features which that particular language has.

 

[Deleted member 67555]

Buahaha

That's a thing.
I have an anxiety ridden OCD neighbor that is as controlled through meds as well as possible and he does phone/video appointments because other crazy people are to crazy to worry about personal hygiene so actual psycologist office visits are out but he will go to a regular doctor where people have good personal hygiene.

Oh yeah coincidentally he is a remote tech... Lol

 

[R-T-B]

Buahaha

It's not really comical. That industry is exploding right now.

Programming is saturated. I'd avoid getting into it unless you are willing to really make yourself standout.

 

[Ferrum Master]

It's not really comical. That industry is exploding right now.

Maybe on your side... good coders are still on short here. We outsource them and borrow from Ukraine or Russia...

 

[R-T-B]

Maybe on your side... good coders are still on short here. We outsource them and borrow from Ukraine or Russia...

Isn't he on my side? As in, USA? Or did he stay in england, I get confused.

Maybe on your side... good coders are still on short here. We outsource them and borrow from Ukraine or Russia...

Good to know. I meant at a decent wage for the work put in to learn,though. He just won't get there IMO.

 

[notb]

Secondly, that's a terrible idea for several reasons but the primary one your going to experience is competition and the inability to stand out from the crowd.

He's looking for an entry level job. He doesn't need any experience or portfolio. He'll get that during work.

Another thing is that it's not enough to learn a language, that by it self has little chance to get you a job, everyone can learn a syntax.

Everyone can learn to build cars or cook. But not everyone does. That's the whole point of specialized job market.
So once again: he's looking for an entry level job. What you've said is true for mid level.

One can get a basic testing / support job with zero experience and just an ability to read JavaScript.
This is really just a matter of whether he is fine with the salary and competing with 19-year-olds.

 

[R-T-B]

He's looking for an entry level job. He doesn't need any experience or portfolio. He'll get that during work.

Why? He has a high level college degree.

I mean yeah I flunked outta college and barely qualified to work for w1zzard at first (dude is just kind). But why would ge settle for that entry level stuff?

Antways, for coding, they want experience, I've tried. You don't have that or a tech cert of some kind, it's pretty harsh. I've been made offers to be payed below minimum wage, under the table, but thats really it. Most didn't even let me know how uninteresting I was.

 

[notb]

Isn't he on my side? As in, USA? Or did he stay in england, I get confused.

He said he wants to move to UK to his partner.

And to be honest, this may not be the worst moment. UK is leaving EU soon, so basically:
- a lot of workforce from EU will leave because of the extra costs and burden,
- GBP went down because of Brexit and is unlikely to recover - people who moved there before 2016 will keep earning 10-20% less than what they've signed up for.

 

[R-T-B]

He said he wants to move to UK to his partner.

And to be honest, this may not be the worst moment. UK is leaving EU soon, so basically:
- a lot of workforce from EU will leave because of the extra costs and burden,
- GBP went down because of Brexit and is unlikely to recover - people who moved there before 2016 will keep earning 10-20% less than what they've signed up for.

Thanks. Late at night as it is here, my reading comprehension is the first thing to go.

 

[notb]

Why? He has a high level college degree.

He said it's not technical. So maybe it's literature or art.
Not every degree gives you any kind of skills usable in dev job.
That's said, obviously, a degree is a sign that someone actually gives a f... and is able to learn stuff.

That said: since he has a degree and (I assume) was able to work in US, I still don't get why the sudden move to coding.

Antways, for coding, they want experience, I've tried. You don't have that or a tech cert of some kind, it's pretty harsh. I've been made offers to be payed below minimum wage, under the table, but thats really it. Most didn't even let me know how uninteresting I was.

Since this is a coding topic and even "math" has been mentioned, I'll just say that the idea of experience being essential to get a job is logically wrong.

And yes. Entry level dev jobs are awful. You'll spend most of the time testing and writings documentation - hoping a coding assignment appears once in a while. And it's paid worse that jobs in finance or even in secondary sector.
But that's maybe 2-3 years. Then it gets much better.
And remember: this kind of entry level jobs are mostly for people without a CS degree. With a respectable master in CS you start from mid/senior.

 

[R-T-B]

He said it's not technical. So maybe it's literature or art.
Not every degree gives you any kind of skills usable in dev job.

It's psych, and a masters too. we were just discussing that.

 

[W1zzard]

Excellent info, even though slightly skewed towards web technologies: https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2019

I would probably start learning Java, or Python in your place. What you learn can be adapted to most other programming languages

Good with math, maybe the whole machine learning ecosystem is for you?

 

[Aquinus]

Programming is saturated. I'd avoid getting into it unless you are willing to really make yourself standout.

What in the world are you talking about? In the US demand for software engineers is sky high. I get contacted by multiple people every week on an ongoing basis with job opportunities.

Since this is a coding topic and even "math" has been mentioned, I'll just say that the idea of experience being essential to get a job is logically wrong.

If you suck at math, I suspect you're a pretty bad engineer. Math is sort of important when you're trying to figure out why something might go slow because computational complexity theory matters if you want to not be a garbage dev.

So, I don't want to discourage the OP, but some of the best software engineers I've worked with have either gone to school for either software engineering or computer science. That isn't to say that you can't take some UDemy courses or something and learn stuff, but writing software is a little more complex than just "writing the good code."

For employability, TypeScript/JavaScript, Kotlin/Java, and SQL (my personal favorite is PostgreSQL) are good starting points. Sticking with JVM languages like Scala, Kotlin, and Clojure probably is going to make a lot of in-roads.

Excellent info, even though slightly skewed towards web technologies: https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2019

I will attest that Clojure developers (as a Clojure developer,) get paid well in the US.

Python

I hate Python. Its syntax is gross.

 

[W1zzard]

I hate Python. Its syntax is gross.

+1

JavaScript

Not sure if OP wants to end up in the pool of low-paid moving-from-internship-to-internship workers

 

[R-T-B]

What in the world are you talking about? In the US demand for software engineers is sky high.

I must just be deeply unqualified then. Not for lack of talent, but meh...

Have a thanks for bringing real statistics to the party. Even if they remind me how important sheepskin on the wall really is...

From a learning perspective, Java is... dying. And I wish it wasn't. But people now seem to think anything Java is automatically bad and that is taking chunks out of it right and left at least in the home.

Still, learn it. Also, C#. Learn that because it's a short hop from Java land, and now you can dual wield languages, which sounds badass and is probably good for versatility and maybe to kill zombies.

Remember this is advice from a frog who could never land a job as a programmer. You should probably take this advice and do the opposite. Now you'll be filthy rich!

 

[Aquinus]

Not sure if OP wants to end up with a low-paid moving-from-internship-to-internship web jobs pool

Not all developers who use JavaScript or TypeScript are entry-level dolts. That's just where people tend to start. If the OP was using TypeScript with Node and not with something like Angular or React.js, then I suspect that it won't be as bad as you think. Backend devs (decent ones,) tend to get paid half-decently. It's the front-end devs who get shafted because a lot of them are good at making things pretty, but suck at making things work.

Edit: Which means they're good with HTML and CSS, but bad at actually writing logic.

From a learning perspective, Java is... dying. And I wish it wasn't. But people now seem to think anything Java is automatically bad and that is taking chunks out of it right and left at least in the home.

Java as a language might be losing popularity, but it's definitely not dead. The JVM certainly isn't dead.

If you like the JVM and all the libraries that come along with it, try Clojure, Kotlin, or Scala.

 

[R-T-B]

Java as a language might be losing popularity, but it's definitely not dead. The JVM certainly isn't dead.

I did not say dead either

Court reporting/realtime isn't dead either, I work right now as a security consultant for a firm that handles this. You can make good money in it, really (being a court reporter). But it is like Java dying. I'd never learn it and expect longevity.

 

[Aquinus]

I did not say dead either

My point is that even if it were, Java is just a language, not the platform. A lot of languages use the JVM.

Oh, and if you're a masochist, you can always learn Haskell, but that doesn't live in the JVM.

 

[sepheronx]

how bout jobs for .net? Wife is a .net developer and she is looking for a new job. Prospects in Canada arent the greatest though.

 

[R-T-B]

Scala

This was like the #1 hipster langauge at evergreen when I attended.

That and Haskell. Screw you, Haskell, you're just weird.

Oh, and if you're a masochist, you can always learn Haskell, but that doesn't live in the JVM.

Oh god we summoned the beast at the same moment.

Quick cleansing ritual! Someone sacrifice a python!