Which programming language should you learn first?

Published: 8/22/2025

Python? JavaScript? Haskell?

Most beginners struggle to pick their first programming language because they think all they need to learn is one language.

And they think that learning their second language will be as difficult as learning the first.

The first language I learnt was Python. It took me roughly 3 months. My second language is JavaScript, and guess how long it takes?

3 days.

The reason why I can learn so fast is that programming languages have a lot in common. A lot of what you learn in one language is transferable to another.

I mean you need to write function, logs, and loops in every single language, they just have different syntax.

So does it mean you can pick whatever programming language as your first? Yes. If doing what you love gets you into programming, I’m all for it.

But for people who don’t have a favourite programming language, I will suggest starting with your goal in mind.

If you want to do software engineering and web development in general, start with JavaScript.

If you want to do machine learning or data science, go with Python.

If you want to be a game developer, start with C#.

You want to go with a popular programming language, so you can find a solution when you are hard stuck.

And if you still have no idea what you should learn after reading all these...

Google coin flip.

If the result is head, learn Python.

Else, learn JavaScript.

Chances are, you will have to learn both in the future anyways if you want to become a developer, and it really doesn’t matter which one you do first.

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