Which programming language you would bet on ?

Python is part of the highly popular "quickly write crappy throw away code that works" trend (with JavaScript clownery leading that pack).

Obviously I'm biased, because I like to write well thought out and maintainable software... unfortunately the "get it done today and I don't care if the code is complete garbage as long as it does the thing" seems to be winning out.

I have been studying Java for more than 10 years in different ways now.  First for Automaiton Testing, then I thought I'd become a Java programmer.  Now I'm learning it as a hobby hoping something catches my attention where I can use it.

I wrote code for my last tesing project that would have been wonderful for changing JCL and Cobol code.    I got it working, it tested it and was ready to demo it to the team and client.  Boom! all of a sudden the project was cancelled.   It was sad for me because I felt it would be a way to break into Cobol professionally.

Now I'm looking at job postings for QA again.  Many places use it with Selenium.  

I see lots of other postings for Python when looking on Indeed.com.  I'm not sure how it is being used.

This post deviated away from picking the next new language, but I saw some comparisons of Java and Python in the thread.

Keving

Ten years too late, but I would (well have) bet on Solidity which is used for smart contract development on the Ethereum (and now other layer two systems).  

"'If you don't believe me or don't get it, I don't have time to try to convince you, sorry.'" [Satoshi Nakamoto]

Python is a pretty solid language and considering that you cannot even boot a Red Hat system without Python running its Anaconda hardware configuration subsystem, not likely to vanish soon.

However, you're correct in that its primary use is in "git 'r Dun!" projects where making something look functional is more important that actually being fully functional.

One of the major social media companies zoomed their way up by coding in Python, but later wrote their own Python add-ons to attempt to detect and squash the type of bugs that a language that does compile-time type checking is immune to.

But, as I've noted before, the amount of time and work required for any major system is pretty much the same regardless of language. The difference is what part of the lifecycle the most work is done in. For strong-typing languages, you spend more time in design and implementation. For scripting-style languages, you spend the time repairing bugs in production systems and explaing to the public why your home page got hacked to display "Elect Putin/Trump, USA 2024!" or "Discount Viagra 20¢ 100-ct bottle! Click Here" and how how client credit cards are now available from a broker in Bulgaria.