Learning a programming language can be one of the best investments you make in your career. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment of software developers is projected to grow 22% from 2020 to 2030, much faster than the average for all occupations. And with this growing demand comes increasing salaries.
Here are the 10 highest paying programming languages to learn in 2023:
Clojure
Clojure is a general-purpose, dynamic, functional programming language that runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). It is known for its simplicity, readability, and scalability. Clojure is often used for data science, machine learning, and web development.
Clojure is a Lisp dialect, which means that it shares the same core syntax and data structures as other Lisp languages, such as Common Lisp and Scheme. However, Clojure also has a number of unique features, such as its focus on immutability, concurrency, and macros.
One of the key features of Clojure is its focus on immutability. Immutable data structures cannot be changed once they are created. This makes Clojure programs more predictable and easier to reason about.
Clojure also has excellent support for concurrency. Clojure programs are able to run multiple tasks simultaneously, without the need for any complex locking or synchronization mechanisms.
Finally, Clojure has a powerful macro system that allows programmers to extend the language in new and innovative ways. Macros can be used to create new functions, syntax, and data structures.
Here are examples of what Clojure can be used for:
Data science: Clojure is often used for data science tasks such as data cleaning, analysis, and visualization. Popular Clojure libraries for data science include Clojure Data Science and Clojure/core.async.
Machine learning: Clojure is also well-suited for machine learning tasks such as classification, regression, and clustering. Popular Clojure libraries for machine learning include ClojureML and Scikit-Learn for Clojure.
Web development: Clojure can be used for web development using a variety of frameworks, such as Ring, Compojure, and Luminus. Clojure is also often used in conjunction with other JVM-based languages, such as Java and Scala.
Benefits of Clojure
Here are some of the benefits of using Clojure:
Simple and readable syntax: Clojure has a simple and readable syntax that is easy to learn and write.
Scalable and performant: Clojure programs are scalable and performant, making them well-suited for high-traffic web applications and data science applications.
Concurrent and asynchronous: Clojure has excellent support for concurrency and asynchrony, making it easy to write programs that can handle multiple tasks simultaneously.
Powerful macro system: Clojure’s powerful macro system allows programmers to extend the language in new and innovative ways.
Overall, Clojure is a powerful and versatile programming language that is well-suited for a variety of tasks, including data science, machine learning, and web development.
Erlang
Erlang is a general-purpose, concurrent, functional programming language that runs on the BEAM virtual machine. It is known for its scalability, fault tolerance, and soft real-time capabilities. Erlang is often used in industries such as telecommunications, finance, and healthcare, where there is a need for systems that are highly available and can handle large amounts of concurrent traffic.
Erlang is a functional programming language, which means that it emphasizes the use of pure functions and immutable data structures. This makes Erlang programs easier to reason about and less prone to bugs.
Erlang is also a concurrent programming language, which means that it can run multiple tasks simultaneously without the need for complex locking or synchronization mechanisms. This makes Erlang well-suited for building systems that need to handle a large number of concurrent requests.
Erlang is also known for its fault tolerance. Erlang programs are designed to be able to continue running even if some of their components fail. This makes Erlang well-suited for building systems that need to be highly available, even in the event of failures.
Erlang is also a soft real-time programming language. This means that Erlang programs can guarantee that certain tasks will be completed within a certain deadline, even if the system is under heavy load. This makes Erlang well-suited for building systems that need to process real-time data, such as telecommunications systems and financial trading systems.
Here are examples of what Erlang can be used for:
Telecommunications: Erlang is often used to build telecommunications systems, such as call routing systems and mobile base stations.
Finance: Erlang is also often used to build financial trading systems and other high-performance financial systems.
Healthcare: Erlang is also used in the healthcare industry to build systems such as patient monitoring systems and medical device control systems.
Benefits of Erlang
Here are the benefits of using Erlang:
Scalable and performant: Erlang programs are scalable and performant, making them well-suited for high-traffic web applications and distributed systems.
Fault-tolerant and soft real-time: Erlang programs are designed to be fault-tolerant and soft real-time, making them well-suited for building systems that need to be highly available and have predictable performance.
Powerful concurrency support: Erlang has excellent support for concurrency, making it easy to write programs that can handle multiple tasks simultaneously.
Mature and active community: Erlang has a mature and active community of users and developers, which means that there are plenty of resources available to help you learn and use the language.
Overall, Erlang is a powerful and versatile programming language that is well-suited for a variety of tasks, including building scalable, fault-tolerant, and soft real-time systems.
F#
F# is a general-purpose, functional-first programming language that runs on the .NET Framework and Mono. It is known for its expressiveness, conciseness, and safety. F# is often used for data science, machine learning, web development, and systems programming.
F# is a functional programming language, which means that it emphasizes the use of pure functions and immutable data structures. This makes F# programs easier to reason about and less prone to bugs.
F# is also a strongly typed language, which means that the compiler can check for many types of errors at compile time. This helps to prevent errors from occurring at runtime.
F# is also a concise language. F# code is typically shorter and more readable than code written in other languages, such as C# and Java.
Finally, F# is a safe language. F# has a number of features that help to prevent common programming errors, such as null references and memory leaks.
Here are examples of what F# can be used for:
Data science: F# is often used for data science tasks such as data cleaning, analysis, and visualization. Popular F# libraries for data science include F# Data Science and FsLab.
Machine learning: F# is also well-suited for machine learning tasks such as classification, regression, and clustering. Popular F# libraries for machine learning include Accord.NET and Fable.ML.NET.
Web development: F# can be used for web development using a variety of frameworks, such as ASP.NET Core, Fable, and Giraffe. F# is also often used in conjunction with other .NET languages, such as C# and Visual Basic.NET.
Systems programming: F# can also be used for systems programming tasks such as operating system development, embedded systems development, and distributed systems development. F# has a number of features that make it well-suited for systems programming, such as its support for native interop and its ability to generate high-performance code.
Benefits of F#
Here are the benefits of using F#:
Expressiveness and conciseness: F# is a very expressive language, which means that you can write code that is short, readable, and easy to maintain.
Safety: F# is a safe language, which means that it has a number of features that help to prevent common programming errors.
Performance: F# code can be very performant, especially when using native interop and other advanced features.
Versatility: F# can be used for a wide variety of tasks, including data science, machine learning, web development, and systems programming.
Overall, F# is a powerful and versatile programming language that is well-suited for a variety of tasks. If you are looking for a language that is expressive, concise, safe, and performant, then F# is a good choice.
Lisp
Lisp (historically LISP, an acronym for LISt Processor) is a family of programming languages with a long history and a distinctive, fully parenthesized prefix notation. Originally specified in 1960, Lisp is the second-oldest high-level programming language still in common use, after Fortran.
Lisp is known for its flexibility and power. It is a general-purpose language that can be used for a wide variety of tasks, including:
Artificial intelligence
Data science
Machine learning
Natural language processing
Web development
Systems programming
Lisp is also known for its strong community and ecosystem. There are many Lisp libraries and frameworks available, and the Lisp community is very active and supportive.
Benefits of Lisp
Here are some of the benefits of using Lisp:
Flexibility and power: Lisp is a very flexible and powerful language. It can be used for a wide variety of tasks, and it has a number of features that make it well-suited for artificial intelligence, data science, and machine learning.
Strong community and ecosystem: Lisp has a strong community and ecosystem. There are many Lisp libraries and frameworks available, and the Lisp community is very active and supportive.
Readability and maintainability: Lisp code is generally very readable and maintainable. This is due to its simple syntax and its use of symbolic expressions.
Here are some examples of Lisp dialects:
Common Lisp
Scheme
Clojure
Racket
Emacs Lisp
Each Lisp dialect has its own strengths and weaknesses. Common Lisp is the most general-purpose Lisp dialect, while Scheme is known for its simplicity and elegance. Clojure is a Lisp dialect that runs on the Java Virtual Machine, and Racket is a Lisp dialect that is designed for teaching and research. Emacs Lisp is a Lisp dialect that is used to extend the Emacs text editor.
Overall, Lisp is a powerful and versatile programming language with a long history and a strong community.
Ruby
Ruby is a dynamic, reflective, object-oriented programming language that was designed and developed in the mid-1990s by Yukihiro “Matz” Matsumoto in Japan. It is a general-purpose language that is used for a wide variety of tasks, including web development, data science, machine learning, and scripting.
Ruby is known for its simplicity, readability, and expressiveness. It has a clean and concise syntax that is easy to learn and write. Ruby is also a very flexible language, and it can be easily extended to meet the needs of specific applications.
Benefits of Ruby
Here are some of the benefits of using Ruby:
Simple and readable syntax: Ruby has a clean and concise syntax that is easy to learn and write.
Flexible and expressive: Ruby is a very flexible language, and it can be easily extended to meet the needs of specific applications.
Powerful libraries and frameworks: Ruby has a large and active community, and there are many powerful libraries and frameworks available for Ruby.
Portable and scalable: Ruby is portable and scalable, and it can be used to develop applications for a variety of platforms.
Here are examples of what Ruby can be used for:
Web development: Ruby is often used for web development using frameworks such as Ruby on Rails and Sinatra.
Data science: Ruby is also used for data science tasks such as data cleaning, analysis, and visualization. Popular Ruby libraries for data science include NumRuby and SciRuby.
Machine learning: Ruby is also well-suited for machine learning tasks such as classification, regression, and clustering. Popular Ruby libraries for machine learning include RubyMachineLearning and Rubiks.
Scripting: Ruby can also be used for scripting tasks such as system administration and automation.
Ruby is a powerful and versatile programming language that is well-suited for a variety of tasks.
Elixir
Elixir is a functional programming language that runs on the Erlang Virtual Machine (BEAM). It was created by José Valim in 2011, and it is now one of the most popular programming languages for building scalable and fault-tolerant applications.
Elixir is a functional programming language, which means that it emphasizes the use of pure functions and immutable data structures. This makes Elixir programs easier to reason about and less prone to bugs.
Elixir is also a concurrent programming language, which means that it can run multiple tasks simultaneously without the need for complex locking or synchronization mechanisms. This makes Elixir well-suited for building systems that need to handle a large number of concurrent requests.
Elixir is also known for its fault tolerance. Elixir programs are designed to be able to continue running even if some of their components fail. This makes Elixir well-suited for building systems that need to be highly available, even in the event of failures.
Here are examples of what Elixir can be used for:
Web development: Elixir is often used for web development using frameworks such as Phoenix and Absinthe.
Data science: Elixir is also used for data science tasks such as data cleaning, analysis, and visualization. Popular Elixir libraries for data science include Nx and ElixirML.
Machine learning: Elixir is also well-suited for machine learning tasks such as classification, regression, and clustering. Popular Elixir libraries for machine learning include ElixirML and Scikit-Learn for Elixir.
Distributed systems: Elixir is also well-suited for building distributed systems. This is because Elixir is built on top of the Erlang Virtual Machine, which is known for its ability to handle a large number of concurrent connections and its fault tolerance.
Benefits of Elixir
Here are some of the benefits of using Elixir:
Scalable and fault-tolerant: Elixir programs are scalable and fault-tolerant, making them well-suited for building high-traffic web applications and distributed systems.
Concurrent and asynchronous: Elixir has excellent support for concurrency and asynchrony, making it easy to write programs that can handle multiple tasks simultaneously.
Powerful macro system: Elixir’s powerful macro system allows programmers to extend the language in new and innovative ways.
Mature and active community: Elixir has a mature and active community of users and developers, which means that there are plenty of resources available to help you learn and use the language.
Overall, Elixir is a powerful and versatile programming language that is well-suited for a variety of tasks, including building scalable, fault-tolerant, and distributed systems.
Scala
Scala is a general-purpose, multi-paradigm programming language that supports both object-oriented programming and functional programming. It is designed to be concise, and many of Scala’s design decisions are aimed to address criticisms of Java. Scala source code can be compiled to Java bytecode and run on a Java virtual machine (JVM). Scala can also be compiled to JavaScript to run in a browser, or directly to a native executable. On the JVM Scala provides language interoperability with Java so that libraries written in either language may be referenced directly in Scala or Java code.
Scala is known for its expressiveness, conciseness, and scalability. It is often used for data science, machine learning, and web development.
Benefits of Scala
Here are the benefits of using Scala:
Expressiveness and conciseness: Scala is a very expressive language, which means that you can write code that is short, readable, and easy to maintain.
Scalability: Scala programs can scale to very large sizes, making it a good choice for building high-traffic web applications and distributed systems.
Interoperability with Java: Scala is interoperable with Java, which means that you can use Scala and Java libraries together in the same project.
Strong community and ecosystem: Scala has a strong community and ecosystem. There are many Scala libraries and frameworks available, and the Scala community is very active and supportive.
Here are examples of what Scala can be used for:
Data science: Scala is often used for data science tasks such as data cleaning, analysis, and visualization. Popular Scala libraries for data science include Spark and Scala Data Science Library.
Machine learning: Scala is also well-suited for machine learning tasks such as classification, regression, and clustering. Popular Scala libraries for machine learning include MLlib and Scalaml.
Web development: Scala can be used for web development using a variety of frameworks, such as Play Framework and Lift.
Distributed systems: Scala is also well-suited for building distributed systems. This is because Scala is built on top of the Java Virtual Machine, which is known for its ability to handle a large number of concurrent connections and its fault tolerance.
Perl
Perl is a general-purpose programming language originally developed for text manipulation and now used for a wide range of tasks including system administration, web development, network programming, GUI development, and more. It is known for its flexibility, power, and expressiveness. Perl code is often very concise and can be written in a variety of different styles.
Perl is a popular language for system administrators because it is well-suited for automating tasks, such as configuring systems and managing log files. Perl is also a popular language for web development because it is fast and easy to use. Perl can be used to develop both dynamic and static web pages, as well as web applications.
Here are examples of what Perl can be used for:
Text processing: Perl is often used for text processing tasks, such as parsing log files, extracting data from web pages, and manipulating text files. Perl’s regular expression support makes it ideal for these types of tasks.
System administration: Perl is also used for system administration tasks, such as automating system backups, managing configuration files, and monitoring system resources.
Web development: Perl is used for web development using a variety of frameworks, such as Catalyst and Dancer.
Network programming: Perl can be used for network programming, with modules available for tasks such as sending email, communicating with web services, and building network protocols.
GUI development: Perl can be used for GUI development with toolkits such as Perl/Tk, allowing developers to create cross-platform desktop applications.
Benefits of Perl
Here are some of the benefits of using Perl:
Powerful and expressive: Perl is a very powerful and expressive language. It has a wide range of features and can be used to solve a wide variety of problems.
Flexible: Perl is a very flexible language. It can be written in a variety of different styles, and there is usually more than one way to solve a problem in Perl.
Mature and active community: Perl has a mature and active community. There are many Perl libraries and frameworks available, and the Perl community is very helpful and supportive.
Go
Go, also known as Golang, is a general-purpose programming language developed by Google. It is a compiled language that is known for its simplicity, concurrency, and performance. Go is often used for cloud computing, web development, and distributed systems.
Go is a statically typed language, which means that the compiler can check for many types of errors at compile time. This helps to prevent errors from occurring at runtime.
Go is also a concurrently language, which means that it can run multiple tasks simultaneously without the need for complex locking or synchronization mechanisms. This makes Go well-suited for building systems that need to handle a large number of concurrent requests.
Go is also known for its performance. Go programs can be very fast, especially when compared to other interpreted languages.
Here are examples of what Go can be used for:
Cloud computing: Go is often used for cloud computing tasks such as building microservices and developing serverless applications.
Web development: Go can be used for web development using a variety of frameworks, such as Gin and Echo.
Distributed systems: Go is well-suited for building distributed systems because of its support for concurrency and performance.
Command-line tools: Go is also often used to build command-line tools.
DevOps: Go is also popular in the DevOps community, where it is used to automate tasks and build infrastructure tools.
Benefits of Go
Here are the benefits of using Go:
Simple: Go is a very simple language to learn. It has a small syntax and a few basic concepts.
Concurrent: Go is a concurrently language, which makes it well-suited for building systems that need to handle a large number of concurrent requests.
Performant: Go programs can be very fast, especially when compared to other interpreted languages.
Portable: Go programs can be compiled for a variety of platforms, including Linux, macOS, Windows, and ARM.
Tooling: Go has a good set of tooling, including a compiler, a linker, a debugger, and a package manager.
Rust
Rust is a multi-paradigm, general-purpose programming language designed for performance and safety, especially safe concurrency. Rust is syntactically similar to C++, but can guarantee memory safety by using a borrow checker to validate references. Additionally, Rust has ownership rules that help to prevent dangling pointers and data races.
Rust is known for its performance, safety, and concurrency. It is often used for systems programming, embedded systems, and web development.
Here are examples of what Rust can be used for:
Systems programming: Rust is often used for systems programming tasks such as operating system development, device drivers, and file systems.
Embedded systems: Rust is also well-suited for embedded systems development because of its small size and performance.
Web development: Rust can be used for web development using a variety of frameworks, such as Actix Web and Rocket.
Cloud computing: Rust is also used for cloud computing tasks such as building microservices and developing serverless applications.
Benefits of Rust
Here are the benefits of using Rust:
Performance: Rust programs can be very fast, especially when compared to other garbage-collected languages.
Safety: Rust guarantees memory safety and prevents data races, making it a very safe language to use.
Concurrency: Rust has excellent support for concurrency, making it well-suited for building systems that need to handle a large number of concurrent requests.
Tooling: Rust has a good set of tooling, including a compiler, a linker, a debugger, and a package manager.
Rust is a powerful and versatile programming language that is well-suited for a variety of tasks. If you are looking for a language that is performant, safe, concurrent, and has a good set of tooling, then Rust is a good choice.
Rust is a great choice for programmers who are looking for a language that is performant, safe, concurrent, and has a bright future.
Which programming language should you learn?
If you’re interested in learning a programming language with high earning potential, any of the languages on this list would be a good choice. However, it is important to choose a language that is aligned with your interests and goals. For example, if you are interested in data science, you might want to learn Python or R. If you are interested in web development, you might want to learn JavaScript or Ruby.
Learning a new programming language can be challenging, but it is also rewarding. With the right skills and experience, you can earn a good salary and work on challenging and interesting projects.
