Should you learn a top paying programming language (advice from a Scala developer)

In this video I discuss the importance of knowing specific programming languages. I go into my experience of working with a top paying programming language (Scala) and share lessons I have learned.

Recommended Books:

Filming Equipment:

[hotwings]

True. I got into scala as a performance test engineer, writing load tests. This involves rewriting API logic in scala, this is handy in knowing the language as you will do a lot of transforming data. But I do understand that where the language is most useful is big data and that's a different ball game that simply just knowing scala won't get me an entry

[anonanon]

Big Data is only a small part of the scala ecosystem and the highest paid jobs for the scala programming language actually are those that require skills with writing highly functional fault-tolerant and concurrent code using the like of libraries like Cats, Akka, Play and Zio. The reason behind the high pay is due to the complexity involved with writing such code and the steep learning curve of the Scala programming language and its ecosystem.

[robertoprestigiacomo]

That's true! I have a long experience in C and C++ and some experience in Python. I got into an internship in a startup where they want to use Scala. Honestly, not knowing Scala is not giving me many problems. For the most part Scala is syntactically a mix of C++ and Python so I can easily work with it and a manual for support.
The important part is to know programming in general.

Having said that, it's not always true that if you don't know specific programming languages, you can get the job. In many cases if you don't have some tools in your job application or CV, companies are not even looking at your application.

[limyohwan]

For web dev you're definitely expected to know the specifics of your stack very very well.

[kristofszasz]

Very helpful video! Thanks for uploading!

[GamerPCForever]

That's some serious advice! 👏. You should focus on thinking 'the abstract' way. Language does not matter, because you can always learn it when you need it.
I encourage all future developers out there to learn math, computer science itself is math and it is extremely useful to have that mindset, as it helps you develop your problem solving skills.

[no_more_free_nicks]

I'm a Scala dev looking for a contract now, to my surprise more Java oriented projects pay a little bit more than Scala.

[DevlogBill]

Funny you mentioned JavaScript, my first programming language was Python and was fun to learn and use, I was learning Python for Data Science but eventually found out over time (3 months) I didn't like Data Science, I feel it isn't really programming. The only programming you're really doing is when your using SQL and Python alongside a multitude of tools which have nothing to do with programming. I switched to JavaScript because one day it was recommended to me and enjoyed the idea of being creative by designing your pages on a website.
My first 4 months using JavaScript I hated the language because it was such a confusing language and poorly structured compared to Python. But now after 6 months I love JavaScript and I love languages which use Curly braces and now if I think about Python, I have zero interest. I think your able to do so much more with JavaScript in comparison to Python. You can make games, websites, mobile apps, you can automate stuff like Python and even use it for DevOps or focus on Full stack development. I feel you have more options with JavaScript over Python.

[iamworstgamer]

yeah tell that to the recruiters who will reject your resume if you have etl experience but not in scala.

[vs.]

I am inclined to learn scala but seems very overwhelming to me. And I am struggling for quite sometime. Can you provide some guide how do I learn the concepts and language with practice. because whenever I try to build my personal project, it seems overwhelming to code in scala. Or reading some open source codes like Apache Spark, where so many case classes, or implicit functions are used.

Please help

[debunklies]

Problem solving is a vague term, could you explain what it means and how to build it?

[deltaxsingh]

Dude how did you get your head so hairless? No way you just shaved it, looks so clean.