It has been 3 years since I finished my PhD and 15 years since I started coding. I can say that being experienced in scripting helped me a lot in data processing, understanding and visualisation. It was a time saver. Since 2005, when I started my matrix journey, a lot changed and evolved. Today, there are 3 main options for data analysis: Matlab, Python and R.
All three platforms offer strong number manipulation, have extensive libraries; but which one is best to start with?
If you don’t have scripting/programming experience, my answer is R.
The learning curve of R is not that steep, especially compared to other alternatives. You need just a couple of lines to import your data (.csv tables), extract columns from your data, and make beautiful plots. Besides, R is the best option for statistics - easy for performing multivariate statistics (e.g. PCA).
However, if and when you get some programming experience, adding PYTHON to your list of skills is not a bad investment. It is indeed one of the most powerful programming and scripting languages.
However, Matlab would not be my advice at all, unless the field and group you are working in are already substantially developed around it. It is also a question will your next university/company have the licence, while both R and PYTHON are free.