Python takes the top spot, closely followed by JavaScript and Java on the list of languages people want to learn.
This year’s survey by JetBrains on the state of the developer ecosystem shows that respondents have fairly high satisfaction in their current roles, with only a quarter of respondents feeling neutral or negative about their positions. The lifestyle section of the 2023 survey reveals that respondents are serious about learning intentionally and casually throughout their workdays.
Respondents showed great interest in learning new languages, with Python (27%), JavaScript (24%), and Java (21%) topping the list they have started or continue to learn. More than 50% of those who learn new languages do so out of interest, while 44% and 43% of students are motivated by personal projects and keeping up to date with the latest trends, respectively. Python’s popularity is confirmed by the TIOBE index, and the continued explosions in AI, automation, data analytics, and data visualization needs in many organizations make it a useful language for any developer.
How developers like to learn
Survey responses also show that the majority of developers (67%) like to learn through documentation and APIs. It is not surprising, since 75% of respondents said that they had stopped learning courses or programs before finishing them, 46% mentioned that they did not have enough time, and 39% said that the course was not interesting enough. These statistics may indicate that programmers like to master the basics through traditional means before investigating use cases similar to their project goals.
When consuming IT-focused online articles, 62% of respondents find tutorials useful for their work, followed by news (55%) and trends (54%). Developers tend to access IT news on social media (50%), IT-focused websites (48%), and YouTube (45%), where experts and professionals tend to provide much of the content. Of social sites, respondents reported actively using accounts on GitHub (76%), X (Twitter, 48%), LinkedIn (48%), and StackOverflow (47%). With the possible exception of X, each of these platforms is directly tied to professional improvement and learning. Developers are looking for professional content that makes them better at their jobs, ready to find the next thing, and prepared for the next big thing.
