Slovakia and Ukraine are two of the most popular destinations for outsourcing software development in Europe. The market in Slovakia has grown a lot recently thanks to strong STEM education, skilled talent, and a stable economy. Ukraine, on the other hand, is not only a cost-efficient solution for IT outsourcing but also the second-largest tech talent pool in Eastern Europe.
If you are considering outsourcing your project to one of these two countries, here is a bit more information on software development in Slovakia and Ukraine.
Expertise
There are more than 39,000 tech specialists in Slovakia and software development employs around 32%, but only 22% work in outsourcing. The most skilled and knowledgeable experts in Slovakia are Python developers, according to SkillValue report. Slovanian developers usually work with businesses in leisure, fintech, government, and others.
In Ukraine, there are over 192,000 software developers – probably the most significant number in any Eastern European country. Even more fascinating is that the majority – around 60% – work in outsourcing companies. The most popular programming language is JavaScript – 24% of professionals use it as a first language and 41% use JavaScript as an additional one. Following are .NET, C#, PHP, Java, and Python. According to SkillValue, Ukrainian developers are among the top 5 tech experts worldwide.
Tech education
There are five major universities in Slovakia that offer programs in computer science and are recognized by the Times Higher Education.
In Ukraine, more than 23,000 IT professionals graduate every year in one of the 38 tech universities. This makes for a regular talent inflow to the IT outsourcing market, and even more – the government and local IT outsourcing providers regularly launch tech programs in the Ukrainian universities.
English proficiency
92% of software developers in Slovakia are proficient in English, followed by German, Russian, and French languages. Slovakia is recognized as a country with high English proficiency by the EF English proficiency index.
81% of IT experts in Ukraine are speaking English at least on an intermediate level. When it comes to top management positions, business analysts, and project managers the English level is fluent.
Tech conferences
There are around 50 conferences organized in Slovakia annually that are a great source of new information. Most of them happen in the capital, Bratislava – examples are International ITAPA Congress, International Conference on Computer Science, Machine Learning and Big Data, and many others.
A great number of conferences happen in Ukraine as well, with the majority being hosted in the capital Kyiv, but the largest event – IT Arena – is in another tech hotspot, Lviv. Other tech conferences include Saas Nation, iForum, Games Gathering, AI&Big Data Day, Analyze!, and more.
Cost
Compared to other Eastern European countries, the cost of living in Slovakia is high. As a result, rates for software developers are also higher but still, significantly lower than those in Western European countries. An average monthly salary for software developers in Slovakia ranges from $1,125 to $3,900, depending on experience, education, and location.
In Ukraine, the cost of living is lower than in Slovakia, which leads to lower rates. This will again depend on the city, position, and years of experience, but generally, salaries will range from $700 for junior software developers to $5,000 for senior professionals.