Java and Python Top List of Languages People Most Want to Teach Themselves

Here's a report for the times: Specops Software sifted data from Ahrefs.com using its Google and YouTube search analytics tool to surface a list of the programming languages people most want to teach themselves. Python and Java topped that list of most "self-mastered" coding languages, not surprisingly. And YouTube was the primary tutor.

Specops found the most commonly searched for programming languages on Google and YouTube within the last month, and then, using Ahrefs.com, teased out the 13 languages with the most global searches, relying on phrases like "Learn Python" and "Learn Java." That search was further refined and the results merged the results to find the most searched for language overall around the world.

The researchers then investigated search volumes in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, to see which programming language these countries have been searching for the most on Google and YouTube.

Python had the most global searches on Google (182,000 monthly searches) and YouTube ( 53,000 monthly searches) for a combined volume of  235,000 each month.

"On a global scale, Python is the most searched for programming language to learn," the report states…. As one of the most versatile coding languages today, it should come as no surprise that this is one of the most popular programming languages for those wanting to learn how to code – particularly beginners. What's more, our recent study found that it is one of the most sought-after programming languages by employers around the world too."

Coming in second was Java, with 64,000 Google searches and 20,000 YouTube searches, for a total volume of 84,000 monthly. "Learn Java" was the second most popular keyword search for those wanting to learn how to code," the report states.

SQL, PHP, and R placed fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, with the combined Google and YouTube searches reaching 45,000, 31,400, and 14,000.

C++ came in third, with 56,000 total searches per month. The least in-demand programming language in this report was Rust, with only 2,150 total searches monthly. Next to last on the list was JavaScript, with only 1,900 searches

The US ranks the highest among the UK, Canada, and Australia, for the highest volumes of collective searches across the 13 languages, which totaled 182,150.

"As the employment market becomes more competitive, self-taught skills and experience have become increasingly valuable across the globe, and programming languages are no exception," the report states.

Posted by John K. Waters on November 12, 2020