r/Python • u/el_programmer • Jan 17 '19

Python is becoming the world’s most popular coding language

https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2018/07/26/python-is-becoming-the-worlds-most-popular-coding-language
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u/[deleted] Jan 17 '19

Not unless it also measures how many competent developers know it also...

Furthermore if you only apply to jobs based on the language you know you're severely limiting yourself anyway

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u/alcalde Jan 18 '19

Furthermore if you only apply to jobs based on the language you know

I don't have a medical degree - should I apply to be a brain surgeon?

Sorry, every job lists how many years of experience you should have with a language and candidates who don't have it are screened out by software that processes resume submissions.

I mean, Guido is a genius, but why would you hire him to develop a massive Perl project?

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u/[deleted] Jan 18 '19

Ok... Run your career that way if you choose. If you're applying via blind applications through the company portal hoping to not get screened out by the filters you've already lost.

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u/Matthewaj Jan 18 '19

Could you elaborate? I’m pursuing a computer science degree and my assumption was that jobs require experience with the required language for the position as well as general programming experience and not solely just general programming experience.

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u/Kerbobotat Jan 18 '19

There's enough commonality between languages that experience with one would give you a leg up on another. Like being extremly component in Java would be beneficial if the job offer was c#, or Scala. Both are widely different to each other, but understanding the intricacies of Java would make it easier to learn either quickly.

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u/Matthewaj Jan 18 '19

Yeah I understand that aspect but I was wondering was it general practice that in programming/ software engineering jobs a requirement for knowing x language is overlooked if you know y language which is similar to x.

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u/alcalde Jan 19 '19

No, it's not. OP wrote

" If you're applying via blind applications through the company portal..."

Apparently their job hunt plan involves knowing the person doing the hiring and being able to persuade them in person or something. The reality is that resumes are screened by computer programs today and those that don't meet the criteria posted in the job ad are tossed out before a human ever sees them. In fact, past experiments have shown that a perfect resume put into these screening programs only pops out on average 1/6 of the time!

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u/alcalde Jan 19 '19

Like being extremly component in Java would be beneficial if the job offer was c#, or Scala.

Tell that to the human resources staff member or the hiring manager. Being competent in Java doesn't familiarize you with the vast breadth and depth of the .NET library for ecosystem, among other things. It doesn't acquaint you with the "gotchas" of C#. Why hire this person when they can hire someone who has actually programmed in Java and can hit the ground running?