When I was only thinking about getting into the Information Technology field and becoming a programmer I faced a problem that many newbies encounter as well - choosing the “right” programming language. Even though I’ve chosen the first language to learn without thinking much, some people that I know seem to be almost stuck by the variety of options to choose from and a ton of opinions about each of them going from every second YouTube programming video.

I think that this approach is sort of incorrect. It’s like teaching a person how to use a hammer: how to hold it in hand, hit with it correctly, etc. And then after learning this person would apply to all sorts of jobs that list the requirement of the skill of using hammer.

I consider that instead of focusing on learning “hammer” you should focus on what you want to do with hammer - which buildings, constructions, projects you want to engage in applying your skill of proficiency with hammer. Translating it to the topic of post it means the following: pick an IT domain/field that you want to work in (i.e. web development) and after that pick a programming language to learn that you would need in this field (HTML, CSS, Python, JavaScript).

Do not focus on learning something if it doesn’t fit your specific field. If you’re a data scientist, why would you learn C or Kotlin? But there is an exception: it’s okay to learn these things if you want to expand your knowledge of computer science in general. Like, get familiar with how it works or you’re just curious about it. That’s not a problem. And be cautious here - find a balance between 1) (as a data scientist) doing well at your job and grow as a specialist and 2) practice/learn technologies outside of your field.

I won’t write down all the realms of IT here because you can easily google it and find a ton of them. But it’s crucial to choose 1-2 of them because otherwise you would split your attention across many things and won’t be good enough at any of them.

To conclude, no matter whether newbie you are or not, find a field (or two) where you want to be an expert. Do not choose a programming language, choose a realm of your future expertise. And by doing so you eliminate all the worries like “Is this programming language (you choose to learn) in trend? Or is it outdated?” because you know your field: tools that you use, what works and what doesn’t. You choose what is the best for your career in your domain.