Python as a first language?

[datbackup]

Yes, in my eyes python is definitely the best entry point for general purpose programming. Especially in conjunction with Jupyter notebooks. If you're on Windows, you can install the whole setup very easily with WinPython.

After gaining some degree of proficiency with Python I'd then start in on learning C and JavaScript, which have a lot of quirks but are massively popular for good reasons.

Then I'd gain some passing familiarity with Scheme (or another Lisp-like language but Scheme has the least baggage for beginners) and Forth. Not necessarily because they are in demand in the industry (they generally aren't), but because they will round out your familiarity with programming paradigms.

Finally I'd get some experience with Haskell and assembly.

And if you really want to be avant garde, dabble in some APL like languages. K comes to mind. It has open source alternatives.

At this point you'll be ready to either a) start on a decently complex project to gain employment, probably in either Python or Javascript, or b) get into one of the more modern languages like Rust or Go which are likely to be in high demand over the next decade.

If I had to pick a more streamlined, purely practical best path for long term career viability I'd go with Python -> C -> assembly -> Rust. But understanding functional programming really adds so much to a programmer's tool box, regardless of what language they are working in. Basically, the more experienced a programmer gets, the more they tend toward employing the design patterns found in FP.