It’s possible to build a successful career in tech without any in-depth knowledge of programming languages, but you will find many more job opportunities if you have learnt at least one programming language.
Coding skills can be applied to many different domains, including automated testing, data science, machine learning, and database engineering, to name a few areas.
So, if you are looking to add a new ‘in-demand skill’ to your resume next year consider learning one programming language.
But, what language should you learn?
Of course, there are many to choose from, but in our opinion, you cannot go wrong with Python.
In this article, we will explain more about Python, and we will tell you why you should learn Python in 2021! We’ll also look at why this language is so popular nowadays, we’ll tell you about companies that use Python, and we’ll take a look at a Python programmer’s salary.
What is Python and why is it so popular?
Python was created in the late 80s by a Dutch programmer called Guido van Rossum. It has been updated regularly with new features since then, but its core philosophy remains the same.
This programming language emphasizes the need for code readability, clean syntax, and well-structured code.
In other words, “Beautiful is better than ugly,” “Simple is better than complex,” and “Readability counts” states the Zen of Python — a collection of guiding principles for writing computer programs.
In a nutshell, Python is a general-purpose coding language that can be used as a tool for web and mobile application development, processing data, and writing system scripts.
According to RedMonks ratings from June 2020, Python is the world’s second most popular programming language. Of course, there are multiple reasons for its popularity, so let’s have a look at the top three reasons.
Python is easy to learn and to work with
Python is a very beginner-friendly language. For example, its code syntax is simple and uses English keywords. Furthermore, Python needs shorter lines of code in comparison to other programming languages, which means that Python’s code can be written faster and is easily understood by new developers.
Hundreds of libraries and frameworks
Another important reason why Python is so popular is because it has a rich ecosystem. You can choose from numerous libraries and frameworks to simplify and speed up the code writing process. For example, frameworks like Django and Flask are used in web development, and Pandas, SciPy, NumPy, and Matplotlib, are used by Data Analysts.
There are even additional libraries and frameworks for mobile application development, machine learning, and HTML parsing.
Python is flexible, scalable, and versatile
It’s a powerful tool that is widely used in different domains because it can be scaled according to the project. It’s flexible system also means that it can be used in different areas too.
Here is a list of areas where Python is used:
- Web Development
- Automated Testing
- Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
- Internet of Things
- Game Development
- Data Science: Analysis and Visualization
- Mobile App Development
- Computer Vision and Image Processing
Of course, this list is not complete, but it shows the wide range of projects where coding in Python can be applied.
Companies Using Python
To give you an even better idea of the real-world opportunities for Python developers, we’ll not take a look at which companies actually use this programming language.
- Google uses Python, and has done from early on. Nowadays, Python is one of their official server-side languages among C++, Java, and Go.
- Facebook has also adopted Python in its technology stack. It uses this language mostly for production engineering.
- Instagram uses Python on its backend. In 2016 the company’s engineering team announced that they were running the world’s largest deployment of the Django web framework, which is written entirely in Python.
- Spotify and Netflix use Python primarily for data analysis and backend services.
There are many more impressive names like Reddit, Amazon, Uber, Dropbox, and NASA that use Python too, but we will let you do some research into these!
As you can see, Python is actively used by many IT giants, as well as in thousands of small companies. It’s incredibly popular and it’s something you should consider learning in 2021.
The demand for skilled professionals is increasing each year too! According to Glassdoor in December 2020, there were 72,704 Python-related job openings in the US, ranging from QA Engineer and entry-level Software Developer roles, to Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Engineer positions. So, there are plenty of Python-related jobs out there to choose from, and those figures were just in the US — check out what the figures are like near you.
What’s their salary like?
So, now you know more about Python and where it is used, your next question is probably, ‘How much do Python Developers earn?’
It’s a tricky question to answer as there are a number of factors that impact their salary. These include the level of experience an individual has, additional skills, locality, and company.
Salaries can range from $50,000 a year to $130,000 a year in some places!
Below is a list of salaries for Python-related jobs as seen on Glassdoor — these are average salaries:
- Junior Python Developer — $64,056 a year
- Python Developer — $76,526 a year
- Senior Python Developer — $91,727 a year
- Python Developer Data Engineer — $102,864 a year
Conclusion
No matter which domain you want to work in, learning Python will undoubtedly take your career to the next level.
Python is used across many industries and applications, and it’s considered to be the fastest-growing programming language today. Given Python’s rising popularity, skilled professionals are constantly in demand, and not only in the US but worldwide, so there are plenty of opportunities.
If you are interested in Test Automation, and you already know the basics of Python, check out our Automation QA course. It could be the gateway to your next big career change.
