Java

Java reputation as boring and verbose has made it chronically underestimated by developers chasing trends. It remains the language of choice for large-scale enterprise systems and a huge portion of financial services infrastructure. Java 21 LTS introduced virtual threads via Project Loom — which gives Java Node.js-level concurrency with none of the callback complexity. The ecosystem maturity of Spring, Hibernate, and Maven is unmatched. The unsentimental argument for Java: the median developer salary of $136k remains high because the volume of existing Java code at banks, insurers, and logistics companies requires Java expertise for decades regardless of trends.