Software, says Marc Andreesen, co-founder and general partner of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, which has invested in many big tech companies like Facebook and Twitter, is eating the world. What does he mean? In an article published in The Wall Street Journal, Andreesen explains that “all of the technology required to transform industries through software finally works and can be widely delivered at global scale”. In addition, software programming tools and Internet-based services, including the Cloud, make it much easier for start-ups to launch new global software packages in many industries. Start-up costs are way lower. The end result: developer demand is growing across the range, from the big guys to small garage start-ups.
Think about it. You wake up in the morning, and what do you do?
- Check your day using Trello, a way to organise your to-do lists and projects.
- Catch an Uber to work or use Google Maps to assess the quickest traffic routes.
- Get to work and organise project with remote employees via Google Hangouts.
- Catch up briefly with your mum or sister via Skype, Viber or WhatsApp.
Of course, the list doesn’t end here. From entertainment (Netflix) to travel (Airbnb) to increasing work productivity by limiting your time on social media (RescueTime), apps and software have infiltrated every aspect of our lives.
Developer Demand: Key Industries
Besides the apps and the software packages you use on a daily basis at work, almost all business (and even professionals) require a web presence these days. Forbes mentions a number of key industries that have demand for developers including:
Business technology companies: These are companies that are willing to invest in developers who can solve core business problems.
Payment companies: Think PayPal, Google Wallet – companies that allow you to pay 3rd parties. They need masses of developers.
Media companies: Companies like Huffington Post and Upworthy need developers to build custom solutions to allow the mass publishing of content.
Academia: Not only are libraries of digital knowledge needed, but many institutions are offering online digital learning. Find MOOCs (on any topic) online from a large variety of organizations here.
Car companies: Think about self-driving cars and how that’s going to impact on the need for developers.
Developer Demand: On the Up
The point is that a developer could just as easily find themselves working for Amazon as for a hospital or a school. The stats confirm that the demand for developers is on the up. According to the US Bureau of Labor statistics, software developer jobs are predicted to grow by 17% from 2014 to 2024. This is much faster than the average for other occupations.
Breaking that down further, application developers are projected to grow 19% – and systems developers by 13%. The US Bureau of Labor statistics explains that the main reason for the rapid growth is due to “a large increase in the demand for computer software”. Because so much software is now offered over the internet, costs are lowered and there is greater customization for businesses.
System developers will be in high demand because of the number of products that use software – e.g. more computer systems are being built into consumer electronics as well as other products, such as cell phones and appliances. Job prospects with be highest for those with the most up-to-date programming tools and for those who are competent in one or more programming languages.
Here’s a graph showing projected developer demand:
The good news is that you can cash in on this demand for developer by upskilling or changing careers. And it’s relatively easy to get there via 6 or 3 months full- or part-time study. If you’re thinking about shifting to a career in development, here are 10 further strategies for helping you achieve that goal.
HyperionDev also offers bootcamps in one of three specializations: (1) Software Engineering (2) Mobile Development and (3) Web Development (including PHP and Web Development Essentials, Introduction to Web Development and Full Stack Web Developer).
For interest, check out this graph showing historical and projected numbers for web developer demand, one of the three popular bootcamps at HyperionDev:
Lastly, you might be interested to know which job Glassdoor ranks as their best in America, based on the number of job openings, salary and job satisfaction. It’s a Data Scientist. In fact, out of their top ten ‘best jobs’, seven of them are in tech. If you want to enter a lucrative field that will always be in demand, a job in tech is the way to go.
(Read more about HyperionDev’s Data Science course.)
