What Language To Learn For Money?

[Restrikted]

Well, the summer is approaching and a lot of my friends are looking for summer jobs. However, I am going to settle on a different route. Instead of getting a summer job and getting paid $6.50 (roughly $4.75 after taxes) an hour to mindlessly wash dishes, I decided to instead learn a new programming/web language. So, instead of working like 6 hours a day for about 4 days a week, I would rather invest my time, and work for 3 hours a day for 6 days a week, and learn a new language this summer. But, I naturally have a few questions about this endeavor:

1) What language is in the most demand?
2) Is 180 hours, give or take, enough time to become proficient in it?
3) Will the amount of money I make for developing offset the time it takes to learn it?

I know you think it's a bit stupid to just pick a language and go, but I've been looking for a language to learn, and so far I'm thinking along the lines of PHP/MySQL or C++. Also, I'm going to be majoring in computer science in college, so I would get a good jump on things if I learned C++.

[Minsc]

Originally Posted by Restrikted

1) What language is in the most demand?
2) Is 180 hours, give or take, enough time to become proficient in it?
3) Will the amount of money I make for developing offset the time it takes to learn it?

Assuming you haven't written code before:

It doesn't matter which language you pick, you just need to learn how to code and the concepts used in programming languages.
Most languages are very similar and you could, say, learn PHP well in a week if you knew C++. (but probably not the other way around since C++ has pointers which you need to learn to use if you want to be good at it)

I'd recommend learning a simple language and moving on to more advanced ones with more concepts after you do. Ex:
BASIC -> PHP -> C++
HTML -> JavaScript -> PHP -> C++
(I like C++, but you could use Java or C#)

HTML is very simple.. You don't need to know about loops, math, variables, anything else in it. It's not really a programming language but will probably still help you.
JavaScript has those..
In PHP and BASIC, your code is executed more sequentially...
C++ has things like pointers, dynamic memory, ect, and you have to do more low-level things yourself. Also, I'd say software development is more complicated than web development...

You probably shouldn't start at C++ since you would need to learn pointers, classes, functions, dynamic memory, ect, to write more complicated programs. With the other languages, you could start coding more quickly and then be able to understand the more complicated ones.

1) C++ has been around for a while and is still used often.. It's quick and well supported. Also, many companies have their codebases written in C++...
C# and Java are pretty popular, and PHP is probably the most often-used web development language along with MySQL. ASP is used a lot too though.

2) Not sure what you mean by proficient(there's a big difference between someone who's been using a language for one year and someone's who's been using it for three even though they both should know the syntax). You should learn the syntax of your language easily in 180 hours...

3) You probably wouldn't make any money with 180 hours since you don't know how to code. It will take you a while to be able to code well enough to have people pay you for it(I guess if you worked cheaply, someone might hire you). Programming is a long-term thing... If you want to start making money quickly, I'd do something else...

And a portfolio matters when someone's going to have you work for them.

[Doku]

Current best bang for the buck is J2EE. (especially if you get the sun java certs to go with it)

Language with the best "staying power" is C++.

If you are going to learn J2EE, download Eclipse as your development environment (most java jobs that I have been seeing lately ask for eclipse experience)

To do some computer language vs salary research, try something like Salary Search | Indeed.com

[Yukio]

Originally Posted by Minsc

2) Not sure what you mean by proficient(there's a big difference between someone who's been using a language for one year and someone's who's been using it for three even though they both should know the syntax). You should learn the syntax of your language easily in 180 hours...

Teach Yourself Programming in Ten Years

By the way, there is a nice book: Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach

[Restrikted]

Oh, sorry I forgot to mention my experience, or lack of, in it. I know BASIC, HTML, and some CSS (which won't help me, I know), but I'm really looking to get my hands dirty. Even if I'm not going to be able to make money at it for a long time, I'm adding value to myself. Do you suggest starting out with PHP/MySQL, then move on to C++?

[Doku]

You know a few web based languages... so, again, I would suggest J2EE. (actually, start with Javascript)

[tobyhede]

I'd vote Ruby and Rails. Lot's of great tutorials, self-contained development environment, focussed on Test-Driven Development, which is crucial in the commercial world, and it's just starting to get popular. And Ruby is a beautiful language.

J2EE is great, but I think it's not for beginners ... too much stuff to configure and set up, difficult abstracted programming models. I taught J2EE at college to Master's students with years of programming behind them and lots of them had trouble.

[Minsc]

Originally Posted by Restrikted

I know BASIC, HTML, and some CSS (which won't help me, I know), but I'm really looking to get my hands dirty.

You could probably move on to the heavier languages if you're good with BASIC.
You could use JavaScript now and start using PHP after a few months... After that, you could use Java, C#, C++, ect.

I was able to use PHP after a year or so of BASIC but it was hard to understand at first(Javascript would've helped a lot). C++ was easy to learn(but it took a while to really understand pointers) for me after several months(?) of PHP.

If you want to do web development now, in my opinion, you'll need to know CSS so it will help you if you decide to use PHP.

W3Schools Online Web Tutorials is a good reference/place to learn about web development.

PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor is a good reference for PHP...

phpdev from firepages - php , mysql , apache preconfigured for windows is something that will let you use PHP for local development by installing a pre-configured Apache and some other programs(PHP, MySQL, ect). Version 5 didn't work for me, but 4 worked well.

[1000feet]

It's hard to say exactly how long it will be before you can understand more advanced concepts. The best thing to do is to just try things - read tutorials, or make something simple and look at reference guides when you're not sure to do - and if it's too complicated, come back to it later.

In 180 hours you can make several programs in a language that doesn't require too many new concepts, but that may not be enough to really learn the little details and the best ways to do things with that language. The good news is that later on, if you keep at it for a few hours a week it will add up to a much better understanding.

In the end, there's a big difference between being able to make a computer do something under the right conditions and producing good software. If you really want to get to the top, you have to always look at things you could be doing better and study concepts that apply regardless of the programming language. Sites such as this can help you understand why some code does what the programmer intended but isn't the best approach: Worse Than Failure: Curious Perversions in Information Technology - Worse Than Failure.

[Yukio]

Some good books are not language dependet.
You should be able to read most concepts without need previous knowledge of most computer languages ... Read something about Operating Systems too.

[Yukio]

It would be better and more profitable if you learn good programming practices. Later could be easier to pick the apropriated language for the desired task. It would be easy to port or translate a good program than make a platform dependent software.