Before we go to the list do you know what makes software skills most sought-after and hence more valuable than most of the other job skills? It is simply because unlike any other skill, software skills are global and are not at all location specific! With the evolution and penetration of internet technologies, the physical distance between the client and service provider hardly matters. So, with more advancement in technology, it is indeed going to rain opportunities on the right skilled developer. I’ll take the liberty to reproduce the following quotes here to prove my claims statistically:

Demand for “cloud-ready” IT workers will grow by 26 percent annually through 2015, with as many as 7 million cloud-related jobs available worldwide.

---IDC White Paper (November 2012).

In the United States, the IT sector is experiencing modest growth of IT jobs in general, with the average growth in IT employment between 1.1 and 2.7 percent per year through 2020.

---U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Zen of Python, by Tim Peters has been adopted by many as a model summary manual of python's philosophy.  Though these statements should be considered more as guideline and not mandatory rules, developers worldwide find the poem to be on a solid guiding ground.

Beautiful is better than ugly.
Explicit is better than implicit.
Simple is better than complex.
Complex is better than complicated.
Flat is better than nested.
Sparse is better than dense.
Readability counts.
Special cases aren't special enough to break the rules.
Although practicality beats purity.
Errors should never pass silently.
Unless explicitly silenced.
In the face of ambiguity, refuse the temptation to guess.
There should be one-- and preferably only one --obvious way to do it.
Although that way may not be obvious at first unless you're Dutch.
Now is better than never.
Although never is often better than *right* now.
If the implementation is hard to explain, it's a bad idea.
If the implementation is easy to explain, it may be a good idea.
Namespaces are one honking great idea -- let's do more of those!

In the ever changing landscape of software programming, it is not surprising that developers and employees have a different set of preferences for desired skills.  However the number one language that developers want to learn according to a survey of developers by technical recruiter, Hacker Rank is Python. This is not a surprise considering that Python has been in demand for several years and programmers tend to really enjoy this language for clear syntax, good OOP support and great shortcuts. Python, named “the language of the year” in 2007 and 2010 in the TIOBE Index and has climbed to #4 status in May of 2018.

According to the study, employers want developers who:

-  Have problem-solving skills, such as the ability to break down large, complex problems.
- Are proficient in their programming language and debugging.
- Can design systems.
- Can optimize performance.
- Have experience in reviewing and testing code.
- Are proficient in database design

Surprisingly, formal education is not the deciding factor when it comes to what companies care about the most. People with computer degrees or certifications on a resume are not necessarily a first choice for hiring managers. Others that have years of experience even if those individuals are partially self-taught in the field stand to be taken seriously in the field.   For those individuals with a passion to learn and master a skill, there are ample opportunities with smaller to mid-sized companies.

Some interesting FAQ’s from the study:

    On average, developers know 4 languages, and they aspire to learn 4 more.
    Younger developers between 18 and 24 plan to learn 6 languages.
    Folks older than 35 only plan to learn and additional 3 languages.
    The top languages developers said they will learn were, Go, Python, Scala, Kotlin, and Ruby.
    There is a large gap between employers seeking developers that know React than there are folks that can do it.

So, Why Learn Python?
It is now the most popular introductory teaching language in U.S. universities.  Python is easy to use, powerful, and versatile, making it a great choice for beginners and experts alike. It allows you to think like a programmer and not waste time understanding difficult syntax that other programming languages can command. And, because of its rapid growth, many developers contribute to the Python community and share Python libraries making creativity that much more a reality

Visual Studio .NET is one of many tools available at your disposal for web development. But where some programs may focus on HTML coding or graphics, Visual Studio .NET is a complete tool set that can be used to not only create XML web services and ASP web applications, but desktop and mobile applications as well. So what are some features that are included in the latest release?

·         Visual J#. This is most well-known by developers who are well-versed in the language of Java. It is best used when building services via the .NET framework, or when building applications.

·         Smart Device Applications. This enables you to generate, repair, and install applications that can be used on smart phones, PDAs, and other devices.

·         ASP.NET Mobile Design. Allows for building web applications for not only PDAs and mobile phones, but pagers as well. This also allows a designer to manipulate the mobile Web form of an application.