The rise of technology and digital tools in today’s modern world is evident. Everywhere you turn, you can see a student working on their laptop in a coffee shop or a kid playing games on their parent’s smartphone. The widespread use of smart devices is set to expand in the coming years, until one day, no one will be able to recall what life was like before phones and other gadgets.
Because of this, the demand for technical professionals has naturally increased. In fact, the role of software developer is the reigning “best job” in the U.S., according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Said survey identified jobs with the highest hiring demand, best work-life balance, and most competitive pay, among others.
Programmers aren’t just relevant in software development companies or industries that are “obviously” tech. Demand is growing in practically any industry that needs talented individuals to create digital applications. With the digital transformation many institutions are undergoing today, this growth in demand applies to the health sector, financial service industry, and education, to name a few.
What does this say about the future of software development and the increasing involvement of tech in various industries?
The Growth of Software Demand
More and more companies are on the hunt for software developers, but there aren’t enough people to fill the role. In the U.S. alone, there are over 200,000 open jobs for this role, and yet data shows that there are only around 30,000 computer science majors who graduate every year.
Following this trend, there will always be a shortage of software developers in the industry. It could take almost seven years to fill the current open roles. That’s not even accounting for the future projection that there will be about a million computer programming jobs expected to open by 2020.
Companies are understandably frustrated with this situation, but they still try to address the shortage in other ways. They are hard at work to make employees interested and excited about additional knowledge in programming, creating an emphasis on teamwork rather than technical know-how.
This means building opportunities in training workshops on coding, programming, and software development to current employees who might be interested in the field.
Homegrown talent is also a major trend in addressing the lack of qualified software developers.
Bloomberg featured the strategy of two businesses, JDA Software Inc. and Social Tables, who both have programming internship programs. A senior engineer is paired up with a rookie, and from there, the company will decide if a candidate will get absorbed or not.
While these techniques work for some businesses, not every organization is so lucky. There may be a lack of general interest in programming or too little resources to implement a training program, which points back to the need for software developers.
Quality Developers are Still Few and Far Between
Just as with any position, having people interested in the job is not enough for them to get hired. There may be existing programmers on the market, but their inexperience may throw off companies who want to hire someone with better skills.
Therefore, it’s not just the question of having a shallow talent pool to begin with, but also the skill level of those who do want to apply. Lack of experience is one of five hiring challenges for software developers, including lack of technical skills, high salary demands, lack of workplace competencies, and lack of formal engineering education.
Besides this, there is also a great struggle retaining talent in the software development industry.
Because of budget restrictions, start-ups have no choice but to hire entry-level programmers, whose skillsets may not quite cover all of the company’s needs. As the company grows, they will be able to afford mid and senior level developers who will inevitably spot the errors of their predecessors and fix it.This issue can get repetitive and tiresome for programmers. Instead of creating something new, they get trapped in an endless cat-and-mouse chase with errors and poor coding.
In effect, some developers willingly exit the industry after over-fatigue from repetitive work. It’s a difficult situation to escape from, seeing as the scenario above can turn into a vicious cycle.
Final Words
Here’s food for thought: How can software developers take your business to the next level? Just imagine all the possibilities.
Technology will continue to evolve at a much faster pace than most humans will understand. Even if there are enough software developers in the world, the opportunities that new tech will bring are infinite. There will always be something new to learn, and that’s an exciting thing!
In practically any industry you put them, software developers can help make the businesses more effective. There’s a high demand for them, and this will only grow in the coming years. Supporting educational programs and opening up training for people who are interested are good ways to contribute to the reproduction of software developers worldwide.
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