What programming language should I learn first?

Thinking to learn programming? Confused which language should I learn first? Don't worry I got you covered.

In my first semester of engineering, we were taught the C language which is a programming language developed in 1972. C language includes low-level memory access and a clean style. We were taught the basics of programming like for loop, strings, etc. But I just studied this subject to pass my semester, which is wrong. If you have taken engineering as your degree course I will suggest you first build your basics strong with the language that is already part of your curriculum and then choose a different language.

Now coming to the main question, there is not any definite answer to this. The answer somewhat depends upon why do you want to learn that language. For example, if you want to develop websites or web apps then JavaScript should be your first choice, if you're into machine learning or AI then Python should be your choice. If you want to develop Android apps then Java should be your language and lastly, if you're into game development then C++ is that language to learn.
But can only this factor can be taken into consideration for a beginner? For instance, Java is difficult to learn and master compared to Python for a beginner. Also the job market? Isn't that one of the reasons why you wanted to learn to program?

Scripting language like Python and JavaScript is quite easy to learn compared to languages such as C++ or Java. So here I will suggest you learn a scripting language like Python or JavaScript first and then move to a second language. Learning the second or third programming language becomes quite easy and less time-consuming compared to the first one.

The easiest way you can get into the programming jobs is by learning Frontend development .i.e HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. You will find a good amount of jobs in that field. Although there are larger job openings for Java or Python but that will require you to be experienced or have a traditional CS degree. So here you see JavaScript has a clear advantage.

Building projects nowadays is the way to showcase your skills and learning. I personally love JavaScript as you can easily build small or large projects with JavaScript in the browser. You can easily see the change you are making. Also sharing your project with your friends or recruiters is quite easy. You can host your projects easily on sites like Netlify or Github and all you need is to send them the hosted link.

But you want to learn mobile app development or apps for PC? Don't worry even JavaScript has that solution. You can build native mobile apps (the ones which run on both Android and iOS) with React Native which is a JavaScript framework created by Facebook. You can use Electron.js which is also a JavaScript framework to build PC applications. So you see? JavaScript got you all covered. But before heading to these frameworks you should be good with JavaScript.

So my final suggestion is to learn JavaScript and the rest will follow. Good Luck.