The 15 coding languages with the highest salaries, and how to learn them online at no cost
- If you're unemployed, or are self-isolating and have extra time on your hands, learning how to code could help your career.
- According to jobs site Indeed.com, the two most in-demand jobs of 2020 are software architect and full-stack developer, both of which require a proficiency in coding.
- Tech company HackerRank polled over 116,000 software engineers to find out which languages are associated with the highest salary.
- From C++ and Python to Ruby and Perl, here are the top 15 coding languages associated with the highest salaries worldwide, along with online courses to learn them.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
More than 1.1 million people filed for unemployment last week, per the Labor Department's most recent report. This blew past economists' predictions of jobless claims under 1 million that would signal economic recovery.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US in March, more than 22 million people have lost their jobs and 13 million remain jobless, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
If you recently lost your job, or just want to learn something new, consider learning what the job site Indeed says is 2020's most in-demand skill: coding.
Analysts at the site combed through its database to find the best jobs of the year based on three factors: average pay, the job title's growth on the site over the past three years, and the number of postings for the job for every one million total listings on the site.
The most promising job was software architect, the person who makes high-level decisions about the design and standard of code used in a platform. In second place was a full-stack developer, or someone who has the complete coding skills to make a platform.
While some hiring managers don't require a job applicant know a specific coding language (the coding skills are often transferable across languages), it does help to know which languages are associated with the highest-paying jobs.
HackerRank, a tech company that focuses on competitive programming challenges for both programmers and recruiters, surveyed over 116,000 software developers and students to figure out what coding languages were associated with the highest pay worldwide.
Below is the complete list of languages, along with how they compare to the salary of the average developer, which according to HackerRank's survey is $54,491.
The salary for this language is 2.2% higher than the global average salary.
Where to learn it: Software engineering teacher Mosh Hamedani has a free YouTube course on Javascript, CodeAcademy has a free beginner class, and Learn JS has a free, interactive tutorial.
The salary for this language is 4% higher than the global average salary.
Where to learn it: YouTube channel CS Dojo has a video explainer for absolute beginners, software engineering teacher Mosh Hamedani has a helpful YouTube video as well, and Udemy also has this free introductory course.
The salary for this language is 5.4% higher than the global average salary.
Where to learn it: It helps if you know JavaScript, as TypeScript builds off this language. However, FreeCodeCamp has a beginner course in TypeScript and KoderHQ has a free interactive tutorial.
The salary for this language is 6.8% higher than the global average salary.
Where to learn it: FreeCodeCamp has a beginner YouTube explainer and KotlinLang.org offers an interactive tutorial for people with coding knowledge.
The salary for this language is 7.3% higher than the global average salary.
Where to learn it: CodeEasy.Net has a beginner tutorial on the basics of the language, and there are multiple videos on the language available on YouTube.
The salary for this language is 11.3% higher than the global average salary.
Where to learn it: There are a few websites that offer free instruction on how to learn Prolog.
The salary for this language is 13.1% higher than the global average salary.
Where to learn it: Edureka! has a helpful YouTube tutorial for beginners and Codecademy has a course for beginners.
The salary for this language is 15.2% higher than the global average salary.
Where to learn it: Pascal Programming has a bunch of free online tutorials and Udemy has a course that costs $12.
The salary for this language is 19.6% higher than the global average salary.
Where to learn it: FreeCodeCamp.org has a YouTube series on the language and Hacking with Swift has a helpful online course.
The salary for this language is 22.4% higher than the global average salary.
Where to learn it: Udacity has a free course on the language and Tutorials Point has a helpful intermediate-level guide.
The salary for this language is 32.3% higher than the global average salary.
Where to learn it: Codecademy has a great course for beginners, and FreeCodeCamp.org has a helpful YouTube explainer.
The salary for this language is 33.4% higher than the global average salary.
Where to learn it: This helpful e-book is great for people with a coding background. Beginners can also look to this online course or Udemy's $12 class.
The salary for this language is 41.6% higher than the global average salary.
Where to learn it: CognitiveClass.ai offers a great beginner tutorial. You can also check out this interactive course.
The salary for this language is 54.2% higher than the global average salary.
Where to learn it: Many online Perl courses assume a basic understanding of coding. If you have no basic coding experience, check out this "Perl for Newbies" course, or consider taking a free, introductory course in another, more common language like Python or JavaScript before venturing into Perl. If you have a basic understanding of coding, check out TutorialsPoint.com or LearnPerl.org.