Is Knowing a Programming Language Enough?

Many upcoming developers, whether in tertiary education or graduates, may fall into the trap of believing that the more programming languages they know, the better their chances of securing a developer job. I, too, fell for this trap.

While knowing multiple programming languages is beneficial, it is not enough on its own. We live in a digital age where information is easily accessible. Learning a programming language and focusing on it can take as little as 3 to 4 weeks. I am familiar with PHP, Java, Python, C#, and SQL. However, do I possess in-depth knowledge of these programming languages? No.

Upon reflecting, I asked myself if I were an employer, would I hire myself? The answer was no. I then dived deeper into the reasons why. The realization was that I lacked specialization in a particular language. While it's advantageous to know multiple languages, the key lies in specializing.

Developing programs using the fundamentals of known programming languages is a skill, but is it sufficient? To find out, I conducted research within the software development industry to understand the importance of frameworks and their demand in the job market. Here's what I discovered.

Every programming language has its framework. According to an article written on FreeCodeCamp, "A software framework is defined as "a structure that you can use to build software. It acts as a foundation so you don't have to deal with creating unnecessary extra logic from scratch."

Here are some programming languages and their corresponding frameworks (The List Is Not Exhaustive):

• C#: .NET
• Java: Spring, spring-boot, Hibernate
• JavaScript: Angular, React, Vue, React Native, Node
• PHP: Laravel
• Dart: Flutter (recommended for creating cross-platform applications using a single code base)
• Python: Flask, Django

While specializing in a programming language is commendable, not specializing in one does not necessarily have to be viewed negatively. Some employers are willing to teach their employees or recruit the frameworks they use. However, to stand out and increase employment opportunities, knowing the frameworks aligned with a company's work is highly beneficial.