What Programming Language Skills Do Employers Want? 

Java tops Indeed’s latest list; Python, JavaScript rank high

What programming language skills do employers want? Online job-search firm Indeed took a look at three months (18 May to 18 August) of 2018 job listings in its tech software category to find out. The company ranked programming languages according to the percentage of job postings within the category that included mention of the language.

Java came out on top, both in Silicon Valley (35 percent of job postings listed the skill) and across the United States (30 percent).

When it came to number two, however, Silicon Valley job postings showed a sharp regional difference. In Silicon Valley, Python ranked second (28 percent); nationally, that spot went to JavaScript (26 percent), with Python in fourth place (17 percent).

Earlier this year, IEEE Spectrum released our weighted ranking of programming languages based on a variety of sources, including job search sites, Google search results, and Twitter. In this ranking, Python came out on top, with C++ in second and Java in third place.

Indeed’s full top ten, Silicon Valley and nationally, are listed below. (The Silicon Valley category included the broader Bay Area, encompassing the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro areas.)

Most In-Demand Programming Languages in Silicon Valley

Most In-Demand Programming Languages in United States