Question

If I wanted a job in the future as an IT specialist, does it matter what programming language I learn first?

Answer 1

No, not really. You can always learn another one. I will say though that sometimes people have a hard time picking up a new style of programming when they've coded using a different paradigm for a long time.

For example, if you're an old-school C programmer, you might have a tough time transitioning to object oriented programming (OOP) in a language like Java. I've seen people use to writing procedural code struggle to write good OO code because they're reluctant to fully commit themselves to the transition.

The only advice i'd give you then would be to start out learning both a procedural and OO language in parallel, or soon after one another. But really, it doesn't matter all that much. Go for something mainstream, like python, or C++, or PHP if you're working on the web.

Answer 2

As an IT guy, you don't need to know a programming language as much as you'll need to know networking theory and the basic architecture of a computer. If you want to learn a language that's easy and modern, I think python is your best bet (because it runs on any system), and a good runner up would be vbscript (windows only, last time I checked).

Answer 3

I think to an extent that comes down to your interpretation of IT - in the UK (as much as I don't like it) in some circles IT === Computer Science. I know a lot of CompSci grads in IT departments coding in things like Java and C++ and even in one case Assembly. As a CompSci grad you're also expected to be well-versed in Information Systems, System Architecture, Network Architecture and Organisational Structure, amongst other things.

Answer 4

No I dont think so but you need to have the concept of programming meaning the concepts and some times the tools that are used in different languages could be similar I think understanding of one programming language should be sufficient

Answer 5

As long as you understand one programming language thoroughly, and you realise that there are fundamental differences between programming languages, you should get by fine.

To better prepare yourself, however, you should try a variety of languages. There are subtle differences between C# and Java, while there are some substantial differences between C++ and C#. In C# for example, each bool (true or false) value is stored in memory as a full byte. Whereas in C++, a bool will only take one bit (a byte is 8 bits).

And that's just the 'C family' of languages, which are very similar structurally.

The language I would personally suggest first is Python. It lets you do a whole lot really quickly and isn't difficult to pick up for non-coders. There is a bit of a transition going to a new language from python, though. Which is why it's good to branch out after your first.

Answer 6

Not really, no. Once you know one language, moving on to another language of a similar paradigm is pretty trivial.