What programming languages are useful for robotics?

A lot of your real-time software will be developed in C/C++, though, as Wayne said earlier, Java is becoming a bigger player in these fields (as in FIRST Robotics). The real answer to what computer programming languages to know is all of them ;)

Different languages have different features, and different areas in which they excel. Knowing C/C++ and Java is a great start for almost anything in the Computer Science and Robotics fields. Knowing Python and Perl are useful no matter what you do. And if you know older languages like FORTRAN or even COBOL, you have an in-demand skill that few poeple can match.

The great part about programming is that once you understand HOW to program, a new language is just another challenge!

O*net online may provide some helpful information and it also provides technology skills, education, salary, etc.. to go along with the career path. Use keyword search or explore via the "Career Cluster" drop down.

The O*NET Program is the nation's primary source of occupational information. Central to the project is the O*NET database, containing hundreds of standardized and occupation-specific descriptors on almost 1,000 occupations covering the entire U.S. economy. The database, which is available to the public at no cost, is continually updated from input by a broad range of workers in each occupation. The Occupational Information Network (O*NET) is developed under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration

Usually the robotics kits have a specific SDK (software development kit) associated with them. Most of them use some sort of Java. So First Robotics uses a different interface than Lego Mindstorm even though they are both Java based.