Ask HN: What language to learn to get hired...

..by a startup? (For web development that is, so: PHP, Python, or Ruby.)

A while ago, I saw a graph that compared the different languages, but can't find it now.

5 comments

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I'm pretty sure there are startups using any and all of the listed options, along with Scala, Erlang, Clojure, Haskell, Common Lisp, OCaml, Java, C, C++, Standard ML, Prolog, C#, Visual Basic, Ada, Tcl, Perl, COBOL, FORTRAN, RPG/400, APL, Pascal, JCL, PL/I, GW-BASIC, Whitespace, Befunge, Brainfuck, and Intercal.

IMO: Learn something you find interesting, instead of worrying about "what do I learn to get hired." You'll be happier in the long run.

That said, don't underestimate the power of "COBOL on COGS." http://www.coboloncogs.org/INDEX.HTM

donniefitz2 15y ago ↗

I think PHP is not a bad choice. It's not as cool as Ruby but it gets things done (not that Ruby doesn't). If I were in your shoes, I'd go with Ruby, just because my intuition says so.

chrisaycock 15y ago ↗

All three of those are used by various web start-ups. So unless you have a particular employer in mind you'd like to target, just learn whichever you find most interesting.

zoowar 15y ago ↗

TIOBE Programming Community Index for December 2010

http://tiobe.com/content/paperinfo/tpci/index.html

gtani 15y ago ↗

http://www.dataists.com/2010/12/ranking-the-popularity-of-pr...

http://regulargeek.com/2010/12/11/9-programming-languages-to...

For web dev one needs to understand the whole stack:

- some back end language: I recommend looking into scala, clojure, F#, erlang besides your 3, which are all terrific languages

- database design and tuning (SQL relational and otherwise)

- javascript/CSS and at least) compatibility matrix for IE, firefox and chrome

- reasonably proficient at linux admin: SSH, iptables, tools like nagios,