General

Why software engineering continues to be a safe career bet

If you work in tech, it’s hard to ignore the unrelenting headlines concerning mass redundancies that seem to be coming thick and fast on an almost daily basis.

From Meta announcing its plan to lay off 10,000 staff globally as part of its “year or efficiency” to Salesforce slashing 7,000 jobs, and its chief operating officer Brian Millham hinting that more cuts could be on the cards, Q1 of 2023 has been sobering to say the least.

In fact, 532 tech companies globally have reduced their workforce to the tune of 155,462.

The good news is that these rounds of restructuring haven’t affected all tech workers equally; software engineering continues to be a robust field that is not only weathering the storm but actively hiring as organisations continue their scramble to attract top talent.

In-demand

According to recent data, backend, full stack, and frontend engineers are still highly sought after by employers and were the top three in-demand roles, in that order, compared to other software engineering roles.

And while frontend engineers are the third most in-demand, the overall number of roles requiring frontend engineers has increased—up 3.5% in 2021 and 1% in 2022. This compares to a 2.5% drop for backend engineers, and a 7% dip for full stack engineers.

Additionally, software engineering salaries in Europe are holding steady, with Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Germany and Sweden all ranking in the top 10 list of countries that pay the most.

From a skills perspective, JavaScript-based skills, Redux and Typescript are the most in-demand.

Redux, the relatively new open-source library developed by Meta has been found to be the most commonly used scale applications in front-end development. Elsewhere, Typescript, developed by Microsoft in the 2010s, is proving popular with employers with software engineers receiving 1.43 more interview requests for this compared to the marketplace average.

There’s also little difference in the demand for technical skills based on work location with both in-office and remote software engineering roles requiring Typescript and Node.Js. Redux is more in-demand for in-office roles, whereas React Native applies to a greater number of remote jobs.

Staying ahead of the competition

So what does that mean for software engineers already working in the field or those hoping to pivot to a career in the sector? Technical skills are key with applicants now needing to do 15% better in a technical interview than they did in 2022 in order to get hired.

If you really want to give yourself a competitive edge, a tech bootcamp or refresher course is a great option to get yourself up to speed on the latest programs and processes.

Codesmith offers online courses including a 12-week course and was ranked as the number one best coding bootcamp in 2021 and 2022 by SwitchUp and Course Report, respectively.

Alternatively Tech Elevator offers 14-week courses, and uses its relationship with hundreds of Fortune 500 companies and startups to place its graduates in employment upon completion.

Closer to home, there’s Code Institute, the world’s first credit-rated coding bootcamp, located in Dublin, Ireland. Ironhack, a top-ranking school has locations in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Lisbon, Madrid and Paris. Finally, Generation, a global organisation with bootcamp-style training programs operates across 17 countries and has a global reach of 72,214 graduates.

Ready to make your move and secure your next role in software engineering? The Tech EU Job Board has thousands of roles in companies that are actively hiring, like the three below.

Java Full Stack Developer (all genders) for Industry X, Accenture, Munich

Are you a specialist in Java development, open to innovative and future topics in production and feel at home on all software levels? Accenture is looking for a Java Full Stack Developer (all genders) for Industry X to join its division that uses data, the cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) to help businesses adapt their engineering and manufacturing operations. In this role you’ll be responsible for the care of the development, implementation and architecture of customer solutions throughout the development process of highly innovative software applications in the frontend and backend environment. And as customers are based in German-speaking countries, good to very good knowledge of German is required (at least C1 level). View more details here.

Full Stack Developer - PHP / Typescript (f/m/d), 1&1 Versatel Germany GmbH, Flensburg

1&1 Versatel operates the largest alternative fibre optic network in Germany and, as the driver of the gigabit society, is driving the continuous expansion of the fibre optic network. As a B2B specialist of the 1&1 group of companies, it serves around 50,000 business customers. The Full Stack Developer will support and further develop systems used by internal/external service providers in customer contact, develop web applications and data transfers and translate specialist requirements into IT work packages. The ideal candidate will have in-depth programming skills (PHP, Javascript, Typescript, HTML, SQL) and have a solution-orientated approach. See the full job description here.

Frontend Developer, Frontend Professionals, Amsterdam

Are you a Front end Developer who likes to work in a specialist team? Do you always go one step further for the customer and are you up-to-date with the latest developments in frontend development? As a Frontend Developer you will develop high-quality solutions together with other frontend and backend developers and designers and you will also use your knowledge and experience to guide junior and mid-level developers. The new hire will need to be proficient in JavaScript, HTML, CSS, React and/or Vue. Node and Typescript also come up regularly. Apply here.