This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by The TechPreneur
When I was starting my journey to become a developer, I made so many mistakes. I learned things that didn’t help me, and it felt like I was running in place. It took me two years to get my first job. Now, as a senior developer, I see so many people making one of the biggest mistakes I almost made: starting with Python.
It’s not your fault. Influencers are telling you it’s the best first step. But i think they’re selling you a broken career path.
The Python Trap
Influencers love selling Python courses because it’s easy to teach, which makes it a great business for them. They show you big tech salaries and imply their course will get you there, but it won’t. They promise to teach you Python, and that’s it. They don’t promise you a job.
The problem is, “Python developer” isn’t really a common junior job. Python is used in many fields:
- Data Science
- AI/Machine Learning
- DevOps scripting
- Web Backend
But each of these requires a lot of specialized knowledge beyond just the Python language. A data analyst needs to know SQL and statistics. A DevOps engineer needs to know cloud platforms like AWS, Docker, and CI/CD.
Just learning Python is like going to the gym and only ever training your left bicep. You’re not ready to compete. The industry needs specialists, but the education system is creating Python generalists.
Don’t Trust Me, Trust Data
I got tired of the hype, so i did my own research. You should too. Here’s how:
Go to LinkedIn. Pick the countries where you want to work. I chose the US, UK, Germany, Poland, and Australia.
Search for entry-level jobs. Use keywords like “Python,” “Java,” and “JavaScript,” and filter for “entry-level” or “internship.”
Count the results. Just look at the raw numbers.
Check the quality. This is the most important step. i found that for every 10 “Python developer” roles, only a few were actually for backend developers. Most were for things like data science, or they were full-stack roles where Python was a secondary language to Java or JavaScript.
What I Found
Even without filtering out the irrelevant jobs, Python wasn’t on top. My research showed that the job market for Java and JavaScript developers is more than three times bigger than for Python.
There are clear paths with lots of open positions:
Like seeing visual results? Go for frontend with JavaScript.
Like logic and building systems? Go for backend with Java/C#/Go.
These paths are much clearer and have more opportunities.
Don’t just take my word for it. Please, do this research for your own area. The market might be different, but I doubt it.
I break down my full research, with graphs and numbers, in my latest video. Go watch it. Unless you enjoy applying to jobs that aren’t really for you, then you can probably skip it.
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by The TechPreneur