According to a 2018 survey from Stack Overflow, Python is the fastest-growing major programming language. Python has risen in the ranks to be the seventh most popular coding language, surpassing C# this year. So, it’s safe to say that learning Python is something to consider for both newbies learning to code and experienced developers.
Here are eight reasons why you should learn Python:
1. Python is great for first-time programmers
For starters, Python is simple and easy to learn. Python has clean and readable syntax that makes it easy for beginning coders to grasp. As a result, it takes less time and code to build things than with other coding languages.
2. Python is widely used in data science
Data analysis has quickly become a part of many jobs across IT, software development, marketing and more. Python is one of the most oft-used languages in data science – in fact, Python has become a go-to language for data analysis and data scientists. Python programming libraries such as Panda, NumPy, and matplotlib are powerful tools for processing, manipulating and visualizing data.
3. You can use Python for anything
With its easy-to-understand syntax and powerful data analysis capabilities, Python can be applied to a wide variety of fields. Today, Python supports all kinds of software development and operations scenarios: data science, scientific computing, web development, engineering simulations, artificial learning, scripting, back-end servers for websites, augmented reality…the list is endless.
4. Python is versatile, cross-platform, and open-source
Python is super versatile – there are over 125,000 third-party Python libraries, which helps make Python more useful to programmers. Additionally, there are many resources developed for Python, including an impressive standard library with built-in functionality, a built-in unit testing framework, a variety of web frameworks, such as Starlette, Flask, Pyramid and more.
Additionally, Python is open-source and supported by most major platforms, including Windows, Linux and Macintosh, making it easy to integrate with any kind of hardware. Additionally, Python’s extensibility features allow you to integrate Java, .NET components, C libraries and C++ libraries.
5. Python engineers tend to have high salaries
According to Gooroo, Python is one of the highest-paying programming languages in the U.S., with an average salary of $116,379 per year.
6. The demand for Python is rising
According to a study from Indeed on the most in-demand programming languages between May to August 2018, 17 percent of job postings in the tech software category included Python.
Additionally, Google Trends shows that search interest in Python has been steadily rising since 2016:
Source: Google Trends
7. Python is the future of AI and machine learning
The next huge development in the tech world is artificial intelligence, or AI, and machine learning. Python has taken over as the preferred programming language for computer science research.
Python libraries such as Keras, TensorFlow, scikit-learn and OpenCV provide machine learning functionality for programmers. These libraries, combined with its flexibility and speed, help Python dominate the machine learning landscape.
8. The Python community is unparalleled
The community surrounding Python is global, diverse, welcoming and inclusive. There are many unique initiatives to include all coders from underrepresented groups such as Django Girls, an organization that empowers women to organize programming workshops.
There are also thousands of free videos, books and events across the globe.
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