Hot take: most beginners should actually skip Python and start with JavaScript

I read a study on Stack Overflow's 2024 survey that showed 68% of new coders who stuck with it past 6 months started with JS, not Python. Found it buried in their annual report and it totally flipped my thinking - has anyone else found data that goes against the "start with Python" advice?

3 comments

3 Comments

drew5516d ago

I remember reading that Stanford study showing JS beginners build functional projects 2x faster.

murphy.abby16d agoMost Upvoted

That Stanford study used controlled lab tasks, not real messy projects.

grace8916d ago

That "functional projects 2x faster" claim always makes me laugh. I started with JavaScript and my first functional project was a button that changed color and then I couldn't figure out why it wouldn't go back. Took me three days to learn about event listeners and by then I'd already told everyone I was basically a programmer. I guess speed only matters if you don't count all the debugging time. Python would've saved me from that whole mess honestly. But yeah, the study data is probably legit for people who aren't me.