Image credit: flickr/matias jaramillo (license) Sorry, orange

I wrote last week about how, despite an ongoing fragmentation of the programming language universe, Java and C++ developers could still sleep well at night, knowing their languages are still widely in use. Today, we now have evidence that Python developers should also be able to get some solid winks. As if yesterday’s post about how well Python (and scripting languages in general) perform relative to compiled languages in common programming tasks wasn’t enough, the news just keeps getting better for you Pythoners (or is it Pythonites?).

Last week Dice released a list of the fastest growing tech skills, based on job demand. Specifically, they looked at the skills mentioned in 80,000 job listings and compared demand to what it was one year earlier. Puppet topped the list, with a 91% year-over-year growth in demand. The only programming language to make the list was Python, at number 10 with a 21% jump in demand over last year.

Python appears to be in increasing demand by employers. But do some of the other measures of programming language popularity show similar growth in Python usage? The results I found were yes, but the growth seems flatter.

These measure all show Python either holding steady or improving its place in the programming language universe, though the growth isn’t as dramatic as Dice found.

Finally, I looked at data on salaries and job demand for Python developers from MS Gooroo. In terms of pay, using data for developers in the UK, US and Australia, Python was one of the highest paying languages, ranking behind Ruby/RoR, VBA, Objective-C and Java. The average salary for Python programmers in the US is almost $85K and adding Python as a skill to your resume added $7,100 to annual salary, on average.

In terms of the number of job listings, MS Gootoo data shows that Python appeared in 4.8% of US job listings in July, which is up from 4.2% in February. However, demand for Python programmers still lags well behind demand for those who know JavaScript, C# and Java, and slightly behind PHP.

No matter how you slice it, all signs point to Python and its developers being in increasing demand. This all just goes to show that Python isn’t just an excellent programming language for beginners, it’s a also a solid choice for seasoned programmers who want to remain in demand. Sleep well tonight, Pythonees! Pythonistas!

Read more of Phil Johnson's #Tech blog and follow the latest IT news at ITworld. Follow Phil on Twitter at @itwphiljohnson. For the latest IT news, analysis and how-tos, follow ITworld on Twitter and Facebook.

This story, "More proof that it’s Python’s world and we’re just living in it" was originally published by ITworld .