Is it ever worth it to learn Perl, COBOL or Fortran?

Is it ever worth it to learn Perl, COBOL or Fortran?

Are there better languages for computational finance?

>Is it ever worth it to learn Perl, COBOL or Fortran?
No. COBOL and FORTRAN are incredibly outdated and perl is a mess. It would surprise me if people used perl in the world of finance.

I'm not sure what you mean by "computational finance," but for analysis Python would probably be the best language to use.

Second this.

Python is the best language for analysis, and one of the easiest ones to learn. Once you're pretty comfortable in it, torrent data science programs from udemy.

Data analysts are heavily in demand right now.

You would be suprised that quite a lot of Inv banks still use Perl. The front end systems are all cutting edge, but a lot of the back office stuff still uses Perl.

Also agree that Python is a good choice.

fortran is still also over scientific computing and modeling software. Knowing it puts you in a nice niche since most of the old guys who wrote the shit are retiring but it all needs to be maintained. I use it a fair amount in my job and while I was in school.

I've heard it's similar with cobol in banking. A lot of the legacy backend software is written in it because it's reliable, stable, and fast.

Fortran is still used for programming supercomputers, to the extent that anybody uses those anymore.

I write Perl every day at work, but I wouldn't recommend somebody learning it.

Learn Python unless you want to do web shit, in which case learn Javascript.

Julia, ML languages, APL-based languages.

>I write Perl every day at work, but I wouldn't recommend somebody learning it.
it's cool if you're writing quick-n-dirty scripts or doint things such as data mining though

But COBOL is ded and Fortran ... no.
I second the choice of python, mainly because it works and your goal is not to become a programmer but to use it as a tool, so you don't have to learn all the advanced programming shit, while you're not missing on the goodies of advanced languages either.

>Data analysts are heavily in demand right now.
Ill bet they are, considering how much data on people is being taken atm

Yeah I know Python and Matlab, looking for a third language

XQL/XML, SQL, XBRL

Learn R.

Most powerful statistical environment and language, especially useful in finance for modeling work.

There's learning to CODE
and then
there's learning a CODING LANGUAGE

Learning to code is hard.
Learning a coding language is hard if you're also learning to code.
Learning a coding language if you know how to code is easy.

It's not even hard to learn a new language that's some stupid meme non-programmers use whilst their still stuck on mt stupid.

Learn whatever language most useful to you right now so you can go as far down the coding rabithole you possibly can in terms of learning how to solve complex problems with code and learn the various ways to implement and execute in that language.
Then when you NEED a certain language, a text book and a good weekend, and maybe a syntax cheat sheet is all you really need to get going in that other language.

Only for the next 1-2 years. It's being deskilled as we speak.

>Only for the next 1-2 years. It's being deskilled as we speak.

AAAAAAAAAAH I'M STILL IN COLLEGE I JUST WANT A NICE CS JOB

FUCK PAJEEEEET

I really like the idea of Linux. That's an operating system, right? It's not a coding language?

So I guess my question might just be a self-jerk, but is BASH a good language to start off with? I feel like it's very cool and neat.

Also, I want to learn computer science proper. And networks/internet. Any advice on that? I don't want to go to bureaucracy-controlled schools, I want to take online/private certification courses, etc.

>making your hobby into your job
If you want to learn linux go ahead.
>I want to take online/private certification courses
lolbertarian spotted. Why do you want to learn a commie OS """"""""comrade""""""""

are you sure you want to learn "proper" computer science, that shit includes finite state machines, turing machines, halting-problems.

or do you want to learn practical skills? To start learning programming read SICP and follow the online course MIT OCW puts on the web for free
>but how does an organization act out of altruism, it is*gasps* irrational *drops atlas shrugged*

for networks/internet go ask /g/ and do an internet search.

take your time, don't jump from subject to subject or skip subjects. you build a body of knowledge with time. Mastery is a function of time.

meant to quote this godawful bait
> I don't want to go to bureaucracy-controlled schools,

many tanks.

I will try. Gotta get off Veeky Forums lol.

>take your time, don't jump from subject to subject or skip subjects. you build a body of knowledge with time. Mastery is a function of time.
not OP but
I will take this piece of advice by heart, thank you very much