Highest Paying Programming Languages: Even though the history of computing stretches back to 1822, when Charles Babbage invented a new engine, the real coding tools did not exist until the 1950s. The computing world transformed to get into shape as programming languages became the centre of attention. Programming languages are created to allow humans to communicate with computers. Seven decades later, the essential capabilities of coding remain the same, with new features being added all the time. Programming languages are the brains behind the machinery, gadgets, and software that alter our daily routines.
In 2024, people can choose from a myriad of programming languages. As the need for software engineers grows, so does the necessity to learn the finest programming language. However, not all programming languages are valued equally in the market and do not pay similarly. The popularity of a programming language raises the demand for proficient programmers, resulting in job creation and higher pay. To make an outstanding career, software professionals chose the highest-paying programming languages.
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Factors that affects the salary for a programming language
It is pertinent to know that the salary of the programming languages mentioned above are not static. In other words, there are many factors that are likely to affect the salary for a programming language. These factors include:
1. Experience of the developer/programmer: No matter the amount fixed for a particular programming language, the experience of the developer is always considered by emplyees during payment. Consequently, a Junior Java developer may not be earning the same thing as a senior developer because they both don’t have the same experience in the language.
2. Size of the company: Another important factor to put into consideration is the size of the company. What this means is that, even though the average salary fixed for python programming language is $99,000, a small company that is not capable of paying that amount will pay lesser.
In the same light, big companies might even pay higher for the same programming language.
3. Location: By Location i am referring to the country of the developer or where the employee’s company is located. Apparently in most developed countries, programmers are paid higher than in less developed countries. Consequently, a professional Python programmer in the United States of America (USA) will not earn the same amount as a professional python programmer in Nigeria.
Let’s have a look at these highest paying programming languages
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Top 17 Highest Paying Programming Languages 2024
1. C: C is among the most used programming languages while being one of the oldest. C is a general-purpose programming language that was created in 1972 by an American computer scientist. It does not limit programmers in what they may create with it.
C programming language provides the foundation for other widely used computer languages such as Java, JavaScript, and PHP. Depending on their job title and amount of expertise, C language programmers earn an average of $125,000 per year building operating systems, databases, and compilers, according to Statista.
2. Go: Go, often known as Golang, was created in 2007 and released in 2009. Go, like Java and PHP, is based on the C programming language and was intended as a replacement for C++ and Java. According to the code-hosting portal GitHub, it is one of the fastest-growing programming languages.
Go is a system-level programming language used by programmers on large-scale network servers and distributed systems. Using the open-source platform, Go programmers earn an average of $140,000 a year, according to Statista. Among other businesses, Go programmers deal with streaming services, file-sharing programs, and music distribution systems.
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3. Haskell: Haskell was originally released in 1990. This language was designed by a committee to address issues raised by its predecessors, such as ML, Hope, and Miranda. Haskell is used by programmers for research and teaching functional block coding.
Shorter development periods, excellent dependability, and cleaner code are all advantages of this language. The ACM Haskell Symposium is held every year by developers to collect and share information about the language. Haskell programmers earn an average of $121,000 annually, according to Statista.
4. Kotlin: Kotlin was initially introduced in 2011, and by 2017, it has established itself as the official programming language for Android development. It’s similar to Java, except it demands programmers to write less code to do the same tasks. Kotlin also contains a function that assists programmers in avoiding typical programming errors.
Kotlin, like Go, is one of the fastest-growing programming languages, according to GitHub. Kotlin programmers earn an average of $130,000 per year, according to Statista, with the multi-platform mobile, server-side web frontend language. Search engines, mobile payment firms, and project management systems, among other sectors, use Kotlin programmers.
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5. Objective-C: Although Objective-C was invented in the 1980s, it became more well-known in the 2000s when mass-market virtual application stores were introduced to the public. Objective-C, like Go and Java, is touted as a “superset” of the C language.
Its main purpose is to create iOS apps and operating systems. Despite a drop in popularity since the release of Swift, this language is still popular enough to pay its programmers an average of $135,000 yearly, according to Statista.
6. Perl: Perl is a 30-year-old programming language that has evolved into a family of languages that includes Raku. Perl is a powerful programming language that operates on a wide range of systems, from laptops to mainframes.
Prototyping, text manipulation, web development, and network programming are all tasks that programmers utilize. Perl programmers make an average of $130,000 per year, according to Statista.
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7. Ruby: Ruby is a programming language that was developed by a Japanese programmer and launched in 1995. It is based on several programming languages. The programmer created Ruby to increase coder productivity as well as to be a pleasant language for people to use. The basic goal of the Ruby programming language, which is based on the philosophy of “minimal astonishment,” is to produce strong products with easily comprehensible codes and a short development time.
It also has a lot of clarity, is easy to use, and takes a minimal amount of time to design. For 26 years, Ruby has created many conferences and yearly meet-ups for its developers. Ruby programmers earn an average of $130,000 annually, according to Statista, for creating web applications and websites, among other services.
8. Rust: Rust debuted in 2010 as a side project of a computer firm employee. The language is similar to C and C++, having many of the same commands and keywords in both languages, as well as other features that are unique to Rust. According to GitHub, it is one of the fastest-growing programming languages.
Rust’s bug avoidance and memory efficiency are two of the language’s characteristics, both of which are focused on safety and performance. The language is compatible with both hardware and networking services. Rust programmers may make an average of $130,000 per year working in areas such as web browsers, file-sharing platforms, and online marketplaces, according to Statista.
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9. Scala: Scala is an acronym for Scalable Language, which was created by a German computer scientist in the early 2000s. The language was first used on January 20, 2004. Though not a Java extension, Scala interfaces with it and is used by many native Java developers. It is used to improve the productivity, reliability, and scalability of business applications.
It was also created to avoid typical flaws seen in competing and comparable coding languages. Scala is a multi-paradigm language, which means it may support a variety of programming paradigms or patterns. Scala programmers earn an average of $150,000 yearly working with social media programs, internal content management systems, and back-end platforms, according to Statista.
10. Swift: Swift was released in 2014, and it quickly was among the most popular programming languages in the late 2010s. Swift is a multi-paradigm, general-purpose compiled programming language with a significant open-source community. It was created to facilitate producing iOS apps for mobile and desktop devices, as well as artificial intelligence (AI) applications, easier.
The key benefit of Swift for development is its quickness, both when working on a project and when releasing it. Swift programmers earn an average of $125,000 yearly, according to Statista, working on apps for ride-share, vacation rental, and mobile payment firms.
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11. Python: It is a High-level programming language developed by Python Software Foundation and designed by Guido van Rossum in 1991. In the world of programming, Python is considered one of the easiest languages to learn before of it easy-to-understand syntax. It is used in both mobile and Web applications and is very popular amongst developers.
The average salary of a python developer is $99,000. But of course, this also depends on the location, size of company and experience of the developer. Python developers usually get employed quickly because the programing language is popular and many companies use it. It is undoubtedly one of the highest paying programming languages in the world based on the above facts.
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12. Elixir: Programming language Elixir was created in 2012 by Jose Valim, a former Ruby contributor, and is based on Erlang. System processes communicate with one another using Erlang. Although Elixir is a relatively young language, developers like it because of its quick runtimes and capacity for handling enormous volumes of data.
Elixir is frequently used to maintain and scale web apps, and significant businesses like Discord and Pinterest utilize it to create new applications. However, Elixir’s talent pool is somewhat tiny because it is a more recent programming language. Developers of elixir earn a median salary of $170,000 in the US and $92,595 internationally.
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13. Erlang: The programming language Erlang is not as well known. Yet it works invisibly to power well-known messaging programs like WeChat and WhatsApp. Programming messaging apps, blockchain technology, and other distribution-based services with Erlang is particularly advantageous.
Its main function is to facilitate communication between system operations.US median pay for Erlang developers is $170,000, whereas the global median pay for these professionals is $103,000.
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14. JavaScript: One of the foundational technologies of the World Wide Web is the high-level computer language known as JavaScript. Most websites utilize it for client-side development. JavaScript was once exclusively used to create web browsers, but it is now also employed in server-side website deployments and non-web browser applications. LiveScript was the original name of the 1995-born JavaScript language. It was promoted as the “younger brother” of Java, which was at the time a widely popular language. JavaScript developed to become a fully independent language.
Although the two languages share significant similarities and are frequently misunderstood nowadays, JavaScript and Java are separate languages. JavaScript is one of the world’s most widely used programming languages sought after by numerous businesses. The current salary range for a JavaScript programmer is $82,000 to $128,000, with the highest-paid paid individuals earning $149,500 annually.
15. Clojure: Clojure is one of the highest-paying programming languages, with programmers in this field making an average of $146,944 per year. A given language’s payment is highly correlated with the number of developers who use it. The average salary is quite high because it appears that there aren’t many developers who use or are familiar with Clojure.
Lisp, functional programming, the ideas of immutable data, and concurrency are often skillsets of Clojure developers. They might also be acquainted with other platforms and frameworks that are frequently used in conjunction with Clojure, such as the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), the Apache Kafka distributed streaming system, and the Hadoop data processing framework.
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16. C++: C++ is an object-oriented programming language with some extra features like encapsulation, data hiding, data abstraction, inheritance, polymorphism, etc. A complex project benefits from having more security and flexibility as a result. It is an extension of the C language and an object-oriented programming language (OOPs) that offers the benefits of security, improved performance, speed, scalability, a built-in library, and many other things. As a result, C++ is favored if someone wants to work on complicated projects.
Operating systems, video games, and virtual reality are all regularly made with it. Video games, system software, and desktop apps are among the most common industries that use the robust programming language C++. C++ programmers typically make $110,110 per year.
17. PHP: The programming language PHP was developed in 1990 and is open-source. Since PHP is used to create more than 80% of websites on the Internet, including well-known websites like Facebook and Yahoo, many web developers consider it vital to learn it. For writing server-side programs, programmers primarily utilize PHP. Nevertheless, programmers with advanced PHP coding abilities can also utilize this language to create command-line scripts and desktop apps.
Beginner developers are thought to find learning PHP to be rather simple. It is simple to acquire support and answers to problems for PHP experts because of their access to various dedicated online groups. The typical annual salary for PHP programmers is $107,409.
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Conclusion
The market’s dearth of qualified developers has always been and continues to be, an essential issue. Experts with knowledge of any of the mentioned programming languages in the previous section and appropriate job experience have a lot of options. It’s also worth mentioning that, despite mastering the highest-paying programming languages, wages vary depending on how much practical experience developers have. Secondly, there is no need to restrict yourself to a single language. You can always begin learning new languages in principles and applications to expand your knowledge in different areas. What you need is just a willingness to study, because there are plenty of opportunities to do so presently.
Edeh Samuel Chukwuemeka, ACMC, is a lawyer and a certified mediator/conciliator in Nigeria. He is also a developer with knowledge in various programming languages. Samuel is determined to leverage his skills in technology, SEO, and legal practice to revolutionize the legal profession worldwide by creating web and mobile applications that simplify legal research. Sam is also passionate about educating and providing valuable information to people.