No Prolog didn't help with C or any other languages; Prolog is a very different language model, it's a rules / inference engine, for backward chaining; not much else. We used it for what were called expert systems back then.
Assembler was the most important fundamental language I learned, and it got me interesting work for many years. Knowing and having years of experience in assembler would separate me from many other applicants, as did AI. Assembler made it easy to teach myself other languages, e.g., I taught myself C (using Kernigan and Ritchie book, "The C Programming Language"), and neural networks (using MeClelland and Rumehart's, book "Parallel Distributed Processing").
For AI and many other areas, I still think Scheme is the best and most powerful language IMO, but it seems Python and R, Java and JavaScript are the most popular languages. MIT was the biggest proponent of Scheme, they used it as their main CompSci language for many years. Like many languages, I taught myself Scheme, using the MIT textbook, "Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs"
C is a step or two above assembler; I learned OO using Smalltalk; Java basically took the more common syntax of C and used the virtual machine model of Smalltalk - removing memory management from application programmers. In most cases, virtual machine-based languages are more efficient and less prone to errors. IMO. Now we have AI writing code.
My early years of pre-AI and AI were in the insurance industry; I moved on to finance, logistics, healthcare, military-industrial complex and direct DoD work.
Over the years, I did AI on and off, there were periods where interest and jobs in AI were low (except in DoD related projects), so I had to do other mainstream tech work: databases, front end development / UI, applications development, etc.
IME/IMO
