I want to learn another programming language now that I’ve been using Python for over 2 years now. I am kind of leaning on learning JS so that I can use it for the backend and also for the frontend. But the syntax is kind of weird. I heard Go is pretty good for the backend and also is compiled. What do y’all say? I also welcome other language recommendations.
Go has a much cleaner syntax, and is better suited to its specific niche which is (relatively) low-level BE development. If you are attracted to that niche then Go is an excellent option. Also, Go is almost a default for developing for K8S, which might be another plus.
On the other hand, JS is a more general-use language. It has a very loosey-goosey syntax and lots of weird behaviors. It is applicable on both FE and BE but be aware that in each of those, knowing JS is just a first step, since (for example) for FE development you will also need to know at least one of the major frameworks (React, Vue, Angular etc) as well as the page object model and a ton of other stuff.
Bottom line- usually the language is the tool, not the objective. Figure out what you want to develop, then choose the optimal language to do it with.