Which language?

I'm looking to take a course soon so I can learn something new and command higher rates.

At the moment I know VBA and SQL, and most of my work tends to be for banks (generally Excel-based financial modelling).

Which language/technology is likely to make me the most money over the long term? And which are going to have some longevity? Depending where I look and who I speak to, it seems that Python, Java and C# come up as viable options, but having had no exposure to any of them so far it's a difficult choice

This will be my first "proper" language.

Anyone have any comments? Pros/cons of Python/Java/C#? Other suggestions?

I want something that pays well, with good longevity, and that isn't too obscure/specialised - if such a thing exists

Thanks!

[stek]

Korn shell

[lilelvis2000]

Any one of Ruby, C#, python etc.. will do. By looking on job ads I can see plenty of jobs in almost any language. And , generally, you can easily pickup a different language on the job. eg: coldfusion

[SpontaneousOrder]

Java & C# are practically the same language - just with different standard libraries backing them. .net (so relating to C# etc) is almost all open source now too, so cross platform might be a real thing.

I was recently told that Python is the new thing at BAML - with the focus moving to hiring Python guys, and Java if they are exceptional - with the view to cross train them. I see more and more scala now too - so Java might be a good start from that perspective.

[DimPrawn]

Best Tech Skills To Have On A Resume, Ranked By Salary - Business Insider

I would suggest JavaScript as it's used on every web development and more and more on the serverside too. http://nodejs.org/

If you want to learn something cutting edge and be the leader of the pack in the future:

If you believe Apple will continue to rule the world https://developer.apple.com/swift/
If you believe Google will continue to rule the world https://golang.org/

[DimPrawn]

But as programmers earn feck all, I wouldn't bother with any of them.

my work tends to be for banks (generally Excel-based financial modelling).

In which case learn R.

Big Data and R is where the big money is.

[oracleslave]

Big Data

That phrase never fails to raise my blood pressure.

[DimPrawn]

That phrase never fails to raise my blood pressure.

I'm an expert in Bigger Data

[Sysman]

But as programmers earn feck all, I wouldn't bother with any of them.



In which case learn R.

Big Data and R is where the big money is.

Wot 'e said.

JavaScript is now handy for a lot more than just web pages. R might be a good one as well.

[yasockie]

But as programmers earn feck all, I wouldn't bother with any of them.



In which case learn R.

Big Data and R is where the big money is.

It seem that R is good for Math and math only and you frequently have to jump out ot another language for things like outputting a PDF or whatever.
With Python (and its libraries) you can pretty much achieve the same things, but all within the Python ecosystem.
Probably Python + JavaScript is the winning combo in terms of getting the job done, not sure about money-wise.