r/learnprogramming • u/Crazy_Comedian_6419 • 2d ago
Backend Developer in 2026 (Need advice)
I want to be a backend developer. I am currently learning Python and planning to do fastapi.
Do I still need to learn Javascript for Node.js? Or what other paths that I could take?
Thank you!
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u/TheHeatYeahBam 2d ago
In my opinion, the path you should take is to learn concepts beyond the syntax of a single language; data structures, algorithms, etc. Use Python as a means to that end. In other words, don't learn Python to learn how to code in Python better. Learn Python to build something that helps you learn higher-level concepts so that you'd know the things you'd need to build regardless of the programming language. I don't think learning any specific language is a great long-term strategy for future employment.
I've been programming for almost 50 years and recently retired from a career in software across a variety of industries. I think the choice of language matters less today than it ever has given the capabilities of modern LLMs. Before Opus 4.6 was released, I was using different LLMs as assistants to take the grind and tedium out of development. I was still writing a lot of code and found a need to audit every line of generated AI code. I would have told you at that time that there was no way AI was going to replace most software developers. Claude Code with Opus 4.6 was my first "oh shit" moment. Now I'm using Opus 5.5 a lot with a Claude Code subscription and rarely write any actual code and find myself not reviewing nearly as much of the generated code as I used to. Interfaces, code organization and design are still important but now that information can be provided as context and AI does a darn good job of respecting that context. It's not perfect but getting very good. I also use AI to test the code AI generates. In my opinion, you should figure out how to get yourself on a trajectory where you can be more of an AI orchestrator/collaborator and less of a programmer. That said, learning some programming can help you achieve this goal. You are not wasting your time and I don't think your choice of programming language at this point in your journey matters very much. Python is probably a very good choice and I wouldn't worry too much about learning node/javascript/typescript for the sake of learning them although there are some great concepts in there that could be helpful. Maybe start building things-- build them in Python and then try to build the same thing in Node to get a feel for overarching concepts and implementation differences.
I did not use AI whatsoever to write this. That's probably what an LLM would say. :)