Historically it was a much more productive choice, than just about anything. Today it's merely an arguably more productive one. In any case it remains a good

Historically it was a much more productive choice, than just about anything. Today it's merely an arguably more productive one. In any case it remains a good choice, and one of the most popular languages. Despite years of FUD from the likes of Microsoft and others, "investing in a second language" is not a big deal at all and just short of required for projects of any complexity.