HackerRank published their report on hires in 2018, showing the Developer Skills based on 39,441 respondents. The report includes the latest patterns in a programming language as well as things like employer and employee expectations. You are about to find out why companies are struggling to find JavaScript developers.
Starting Young
Like most languages, the earlier you start learning computer programming language the better. For example, in Ukraine, children start programming as young as 5 years old. It’s no surprise that Ukraine is one of the leading tech hubs in Eastern Europe.
Over 25% of the developers in the HackerRank report could write code before their 16th birthday!!!
The UK is the leading country in software development education from a young age. 10.7% of the developers began coding between the age of 5 and 10. Australia is not far behind with 10.3 percent.
How are they becoming developers?
As you would expect, 69.4% of software developers started their coding education at school. While it was enough to get them started, 73.7% felt they had taught themselves some skills.
As a general rule, software developers know four programming languages and would like to grasp four more. This number changes with age. 18-24 year-olds want to learn 6 more programming languages but this drops to 3 for over 35 year-olds.
Developers in the most demand
As technology grows, so does the number of programming languages, but it always comes back to JavaScript, Java, Python, C, and C++. Over 40% of employers look for JavaScript. Over 30% look for Python. Just over 20% look for skills in C++ and just under 20% look for C programming skills.
The industry plays a part in demand. Java Developers are highly desired in the world of finance. C and C++ developers get a lot of work in computer hardware while the C# developers get to work with the government.
Why is it so difficult to find these developers?
JavaScript is such a versatile language that can be used in front-end, back-end, mobile and browser extensions. Frameworks used within JavaScaript include AngularJS, Node.js, and React.js. While there are plenty of JavaScript developers, there are not enough developers proficient with these frameworks.
What do Software developers want to learn next?
Generally, software developers are keen to study the programming languages used by major companies in the tech industry. Learning trends change when companies change the programs they use. Google’s Go is now the top program developers want to learn, followed by Python.
Which Technology do we love the most?
JavaScript developers are by far the most in-demand but it doesn’t mean that JavaScript is the most loved program. Python takes the lead here, mainly because of its easy use and the number of possibilities it has.
One thing that surprised us is that new programming languages like Go and Kotlin were favored by developers aged 45-54 but the younger developers preferred JavaScript.
How are potential hires evaluated by executives?
When more than 7000 business owners were asked this question, 81% said they screened CVs but 45% felt that the CV’s were not an acute reflection of the candidates’ skills. CVs are not the best way to accurately assess the skills of a software developer.
After CV screening, problem-solving and logic challenges were the favored methods for evaluating candidates. 50.8% of business owners relied on referrals to assess a candidate.
How employers can help prevent developers from leaving.
Money is no longer enough to keep employees happy in their job…or even in their job. Priorities will vary from country to country but 56% of those asked in the HackerRank research felt that a good work-life balance was important. 55 percent want some kind of professional education and growth. Only 45.4% of people listed money as a reason to stay.
How can you improve the work-life balance?
Due to the nature of software development, there is not so much need for the traditional 9-5 office hours. Regardless of age, 89.3% of people would like to be able to work flexible hours. 80.5% liked the idea of being able to work from home and an impressive 78.5% would prefer to see more emphasis on the outcomes rather than on the hours spent on the job.
Which country has the best developers?
We need to realize here that while countries like the US and India have more developers than other countries, it doesn’t rank them as the best. China, Russia, and Poland (in that order) are the top three countries with the best software developers.
Countries like Romania (20th), Bulgaria (12th) and Ukraine (11th) are work mentioning. Their growth and expansion over the last 20 years have been something almost unseen in the IT industry, especially when you compare their sizes and resources with the top countries.
In Summary
- The younger people start, the better educated they will be in software programming languages.
- Large tech companies play a huge role in the learning trends of developers.
- CV’s are not the be-all and end-all when it comes to assessing candidates.
- Work-life balance is the most important aspect of a job for software developers.