Which coding language will get you the highest salary in finance?

If you're thinking of learning how to code with the express purpose of getting an engineering job in a bank or a hedge fund, which coding language should you learn first? And which will pay you the highest salary once you're proficient?

While Python is undoubtedly the most popular first language to learn for finance jobs, there's been some dispute on these pages as to whether Python or Java is the best coding language to learn first - and whether the best language to learn of the lot might in fact be Scala instead.

Which programming language pays the most?

Now we can say that in terms of pay at least, you're probably best off focusing on Python. An analysis of the coding jobs advertised on eFinancialCareers in New York and London suggest that Python coding jobs come with an average salary of $117k (£92k) versus $77k for C#, as per the chart below. 

Python's preeminence is likely to further fuel interest in the language. However, before you rush to sign up to Python courses on Udemy or CodeAcademy, it's worth bearing in mind that most finance jobs require proficiency in multiple coding languages rather than just one. It's more about knowing Python and Java than one or the other. 

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