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The 2020 HackerEarth developer survey

The
2020
HackerEarth
developer
survey

(16,655 developers to be precise!)

Download the full reportDownload Icon

Developer Skills Toggle nav icon

  1. It’s 2020 and Data Science still reigns supreme
  2. Most sought after programming language
  3. Upskilling platforms
  4. Programming experience

Developer Assessments Toggle nav icon

  1. Developers love take-home coding challenges
  2. Online Video Interviews

Developer Benefits Toggle nav icon

  1. A great career path matter the most to students
  2. Roles and compensation
  3. ESOPs and company reviews

How Developers Unwind Toggle nav icon

  1. Developers love watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S :)

View All Sections

Survey Banner

The 2020
HackerEarth
developer survey

(16,655 developers to be precise!)

Next Item

The
2020
HackerEarth
developer
survey

Sachin Gupta

Hello
from our CEO

The explosion of tech over the last decade has, quite literally, changed everything. It has changed how we live, how we work, how we interact with one another— in fact, it is difficult to find something that tech has not changed.

It’s no surprise that organizations across the globe feel that there’s a tech talent shortage. But that shortage may be even more significant than you’d expected. According to a recent survey, the shortage of tech talent recorded today is at its highest level since 2008. Hence, it is imperative for recruiters and hiring managers to understand the developer landscape and understand the mindset of today’s tech workforce if they hope to meet their demand for tech talent.

One of the key changes that organizations need to do to hire better is to shift their focus from the traditional methods of recruiting to a skill-based hiring process. If we move beyond our current fixation on resumes or degrees and include all the postsecondary pathways at our disposal, far more options will emerge. Skill-based hiring practices can help you cut down recruiting costs and time-to-hire, improve diversity, fill open positions faster, and find the right tech talent your organization needs in a tight labor market.

At HackerEarth, we have a 4 million strong developer community and our mission is to match them to the right opportunities. To continue supporting our mission, we are very excited to bring to you The 2020 HackerEarth Developer Survey. For the first time ever, HackerEarth is sharing the response gathered by surveying 16,000+ developers from across 76 countries.

We believe the data and insights provided in the survey will thoroughly help recruiters to understand the developer ecosystem better, adopt a skill-based hiring approach, and tap into a highly coveted market of stellar tech talent. Additionally, this survey will provide an opportunity for developers to gauge an understanding of what the market looks like today, learn what’s trending, and how to upskill themselves.

I look forward to seeing you use this data to further your technical hiring efforts. Thank you for your time!


Sachin Gupta
Co-Founder and CEO
HackerEarth

Home Developer skills

01 Developer Skills

It’s 2020, and Data Science still reigns supreme

Data Science knows no bounds! From student developers (63%) to working professionals (61%), everyone wants to have a slice of the Data Science pie.

Other domains of interest for student developers include Cybersecurity and IoT, while working professionals are interested in IoT and Blockchain.

Students Professionals
Hello from our CEO Most sought-after language

Most sought after programming language

Go is this year’s most sought-after programming language

Among students (29%) and experienced developers (32%), Go has emerged as the clear winner for the most sought-after programming language.

Student developers also prefer JavaScript, Kotlin, and C#, while working professionals are looking to learn Python and Kotlin.

Top programming languages that student developers currently know include C++, Python, and HTML/ CSS, while senior developers frequently code in SQL, Java, and HTML/ CSS.

Students Professionals
Students Professionals
Known languages Languages to learn
Developer skills Upskilling platforms

Upskilling platforms

Developers use online competitive coding platforms and YouTube tutorials to learn new skills

A majority of developers, 70% of students and 53% of working professionals make use of online coding platforms such as HackerEarth to upskill themselves. They also depend significantly on YouTube tutorials to acquire new skills.

Other upskilling avenues include online educational platforms such as Coursera and Udemy and developer platforms.

Students Professionals
Most sought-after language Programming experience

Programming experience

Developers are most experienced in full-stack development and least experienced in Machine Learning

Most developers, be it a beginner or experienced, have expertise in full-stack development, followed by front-end and backend development.

Though most developers have expressed a desire to work on Data Science projects, not many are experienced at Machine Learning.

  • Years of experience vs. area of expertise
Upskilling platforms Developer Assessments

02 Developer Assessments

Developers love take-home coding challenges

Most experienced developers favor take-home coding tests, followed by an onsite interview for assessing coding skills. Surprisingly, 10% of developers have said that they wanted an option to decide their interview process.

  • Interview preferences
Programming experience Online Video Interviews

Online Video Interviews

Online video interviews trump whiteboard interviews any day!

Irrespective of the YoE, most developers prefer live video interviews to whiteboard interviews. This could be because the whiteboard approach makes use of a potentially outdated scenario to test a developer’s skill.

Live video interviews, on the other hand, allow candidates to develop and compile code in real-time and give hiring managers a chance to test them for job readiness.

  • Live video interview vs. whiteboard interview
Developer Assessments Developer Benefits

03 Developer Benefits

A great career path and a stable job matter the most to student developers

Are you looking to hire great developers and retain them in the long run? It’s time you created a great career growth plan for your developers. Around 53% of students said a career path is a must-have benefit.

Other must-have benefits include a company’s financial stability, challenging projects, and a good compensation plan.

  • Must-have benefits for students
Online Video Interviews Roles and compensation

Roles and compensation

Experienced developers are looking for a challenging role and good compensation

Experienced developers are looking for challenging roles and high compensation.

Other benefits they look for include flexibility, such as work from home options, and diversity at work.

  • Must-have benefits for working professionals
Developer Benefits ESOPs and company reviews

ESOPs and company reviews

ESOPs and Glassdoor reviews? They don’t matter to most developers

Are you using Employee Stock Options (ESOPs) to lure developer talent? Think again!

Most developers are not looking for ESOPs. It is one of those benefits along with Glassdoor reviews that most developers don’t care for.

Students Professionals
Roles and compensation How Developers Unwind

04 How Developers Unwind

When they’ve some extra time on their hands, they love watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S :)

When asked about their favorite TV show, both students (43%) and experienced developers (42%) said it was F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Other TV shows that they love watching include Game of Thrones and Big Bang Theory.

Around 52% of students and 47% of experienced developers liked movies in the science fiction genre, followed by comedy and action.

Students Professionals
Students Professionals
TV Shows Movie Genres
ESOPs and company reviews Conclusion

Conclusion

Methodology

Our thinking was global

HackerEarth’s mission is to match developers around the globe to the right opportunities. A community of 4 million developers globally uses our platform to hone their skills and learn from each other. Hence, to identify trends in the developer community, we surveyed developers (students and working professionals) worldwide to get their valuable feedback.


Our understanding was derived from several developer responses around the globe

This study presents the results of a survey we conducted in January 2020 to February 2020. We received a total of 16,655 responses from developers across 76 countries.


Our approach was comprehensive

We tried to cover all aspects that have an impact on the developer community, including but not limited to, the most sought-after programming language, the most preferred operating system, the most preferred medium for finding new jobs, and more. Our in-house team of experts analyzed the results. Percentages may not always add to 100% due to rounding.


List of abbreviations

AoE : Area of expertise
ESOP : Employee stock option plans
YoE : Years of experience

How Developers Unwind Home
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