Almost every software engineer wants to get a job at the FAANG or FAAMG. Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Microsoft, and Google are some of the dream companies for software engineers. You must have wondered sometimes about which languages you should learn to get a job in these Tech Giants. Which programming languages the FAANG companies use? Let’s discuss the top programming languages used in the FAANG or FAAMG companies.
First of all, let me be clear about one thing. Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Microsoft, and Google are huge companies that are working on a whole variety of different technologies. There is no specific language that is used by these companies for all of their works. The languages, frameworks, and technologies mostly depend on the project on which you are working on.
The projects include fields like Machine Learning, Databases, Data Pipeline Engineering, iOS/ Android Development, Front-End/ Back-End Development, Middle Tier work, Performance-related work, etc. Still, these companies try to focus on some core languages for consistency and readability. This also makes it easier for the employee to switch between jobs. Here is a list of the top programming languages you should learn if you want to get into FAANG.
JavaScript
Javascript is one of the most popular and in-demand languages of 2021. Javascript is used mostly for front-end development. Although vanilla javascript itself is very powerful, companies prefer the frameworks of JS more since they enhance the capabilities of javascript even further. By using frameworks, we can use javascript for back-end development too.
Many javascript frameworks are used and even developed by the FAANG companies. Angular JS is an open-source framework developed and maintained by Google. React JS is developed and maintained by Facebook. React Native is another very powerful javascript framework built by Facebook. React Native can be used to make native Android and iOS apps.
Also read, How Does React Js works | Detail Explanation on Virtual DOM
Python
Python might be the most popular language in the Tech Industry. Love it or hate it, you will have to deal with python code at some point of time in your career if you are planning to become a software engineer. Companies like Facebook, Netflix, and Google implement machine learning algorithms into their products to understand the human behavior pattern on the internet. These algorithms are built using python.
Python is also used in back-end development and is used to write different APIs which could be implemented by these companies into their products. Middle Tier work like Testing of products, Maintenance, and cleaning of repositories, and other system admin works are also implemented using Python. Python along with its libraries acts as a very powerful tool and is widely used by the FAANG companies.
JAVA/ Kotlin
JAVA is one of the most widely used programming languages in the world. Almost every tech company in the world uses JAVA. JAVA is also highly used by the FAANG companies. It is primarily used for developing Android applications. JAVA is also used by companies like Google for coding servers and other back-end development work. JAVA has a large collection of libraries and frameworks which are used by companies even today.
If you are learning JAVA only for Android Development, I would suggest going for Kotlin. Kotlin is a cross-platform language and Google recently announced that Kotlin is going to be the official language for Android development. Kotlin is designed to be fully incorporate with JAVA. Same as Swift, it is gaining momentum slowly and still has a long way to go to completely replace JAVA.
Also read, This Computer Science Bundle Can Show You The Basics Of Programming For Just $39
Objective C/ Swift
Objective C is a language that is used by many big companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, etc primarily to develop and work on their iOS applications. The YouTube app for iOS uses Objective C. The Facebook app for iOS is based on the framework of Objective C++ called ‘Component kit’. It also uses Objective C to implement some of the features like the video section of the Facebook iOS app.
Objective C is still popular for iOS development but if you want to start with iOS development, I would recommend you to go with Swift. Swift is also used for iOS development and it is developed by Apple itself. Objective C will slowly be replaced by Swift but it is still a long way to go as big companies cannot afford to change all their code from one language to another all at once. This is the main reason for the slow growth of swift language, but it surely has a bright future ahead.
C++
C++ is considered the fastest language out there. It is also widely popular among programmers who are into competitive coding. The efficiency and speed of C++ is the reason that it is mostly used in performance-critical areas of the products and algorithms developed by FAANG companies.
The core searching algorithm of Google is written in Python as well as C++. The different frameworks of javascript developed by these companies also contain C++ code in them. C++ is also used for developing GUI-based applications such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Office, VS Code, etc. Cloud systems are also implemented by these companies using C++. Although Python is also being used nowadays for many things which was earlier implemented using C++.
Also read, How does JavaScript works ? A detail explanation of JavaScript’s Engine Working
Conclusion
When you go for the interview of the FAANG companies, the most important thing they require you to have is a problem-solving capability. How well are you able to tackle a problem. The approach do you take to counter it. Sound knowledge of data structures and algorithm is required too.
The programming language does not matter that much but it is always better to know various languages. It shows the employer that you are ready to adapt to change and that you are passionate enough. Many technologies used by the FAANG companies might be internal proprietary technologies and not in the public domain and you have to learn to use them. Thus, a passionate and adaptive mindset is what they seek in a person.
Leave a Reply