[Ed. note: While we take some time to rest up over the holidays and prepare for next year, we are re-publishing our top ten posts for the year. Please enjoy our favorite work this year and we’ll see you in 2025.]
In Could of 2024, we opened up the 14th annual Stack Overflow Developer Survey to technologists worldwide—and the results are in! This 12 months, applied sciences akin to JavaScript and PostgreSQL stay hottest, Rust and Markdown stay most admired, builders are most pissed off by technical debt at work, they usually don’t see AI as a risk to their jobs. Themes we see on this 12 months’s survey outcomes present us that builders should not threatened by AI, and builders are most pissed off by technical debt at work. On the subject of AI, 76% of respondents shared they’re utilizing or planning to make use of AI instruments, however solely 43% mentioned they belief the accuracy of AI instruments and 45% imagine AI instruments wrestle to deal with complicated duties.
Expertise, AI, work and extra; there are such a lot of new insights and statistics to dive into with our latest annual developer survey findings from builders worldwide.
It wouldn’t be a Stack Overflow Developer Survey if we didn’t add a couple of handfuls of recent know-how choices for builders to weigh in on this 12 months, and loads of long-standing applied sciences are holding robust, too. Javascript (62%), HTML/CSS (53%), and Python (51%) high the listing of most used languages for the second 12 months in a row. Javascript is a long-time mainstay for Stack Overflow customers, it has been the most well-liked language yearly because the inception of the Developer Survey in 2011. Python is probably the most desired language this 12 months (customers that didn’t point out utilizing this 12 months however did point out wanting to make use of subsequent 12 months), overtaking JavaScript. The language that the majority builders used and need to use once more is Rust for the second 12 months in a row with an 83% admiration fee. Python is hottest for these studying to code. These studying to code additionally indicated they need to use a median of 12 completely different languages subsequent 12 months.
This 12 months, we added a piece for embedded know-how ( you, 3% of builders working with embedded tech). Raspberry Pi (39%) and Arduino (30%) high the listing for hottest embedded applied sciences and customers of each need to use Cargo subsequent 12 months, utilized by 16% of builders and likewise has a really excessive 83% admiration rating.
Built-in developer environments, liked and criticized by many builders, persistently rank Visible Studio Code and its nearest (and associated) different, Visible Studio, as the highest two hottest choices despite the fact that there are such a lot of to select from. Builders prefer to study, however this can be the place they draw the road earlier than implementing a change that crosses over into frustration territory. If there have been a chance to change issues up, builders may go for Neovim which is very admired (83%). Visible Studio Code customers are in actual fact solely concerned with making an attempt Neovim or Vim subsequent 12 months.
Software program improvement is a apply of perpetual studying, and it is smart that we see this in our survey outcomes. However studying doesn’t simply occur in lecture rooms. Builders this 12 months reaffirm what they’ve indicated for a few years now: 82% are studying to code utilizing on-line sources in comparison with 49% who’re studying to code in class.
In response to this 12 months’s survey, 11% of respondents this 12 months indicated that they’re studying to code or determine as a pupil, 17.3% of respondents are going to highschool no less than part-time no matter studying to code or having a developer function exterior of research. Builders are going to conventional colleges to study greater than coding, with 83% report having some stage of post-secondary training, greater than had indicated they realized to code in class. The vary of expertise that builders amass over their careers is spectacular and all of it facilities round making use of expertise to unravel issues and evolve workplaces.
Respondents this 12 months have been older than years previous: the biggest phase of developer respondents have been 25-34 however these aged 35 and up are rising in proportion within the final three years. In 2022, 31% of respondents have been aged 35 and up. In 2023, that age bracket grew to 35% and is now at 39% this 12 months.
However despite the fact that our respondents are getting older, one in three builders are nonetheless lower than 4 years into their skilled profession and even mid-career builders are nonetheless studying. Builders who’re new to coding or nonetheless studying can take a tip from those that know: in the event that they aren’t utilizing Stack Overflow, 84% of builders are utilizing technical documentation to study. Of these utilizing technical documentation, 90% use the documentation present in API and SDK packages.
Whereas it has been hypothesized that AI may have an effect on developer roles, the tendencies we see on this 12 months’s survey stay constant over earlier years. Most builders that responded to the Developer Survey are nonetheless full-stack (31%) or back-end engineers (17%), the highest two roles for builders for six years operating. 2018 was the primary and solely time extra builders reported being back-end quite than full-stack. Designers and front-end builders have persistently decreased yearly. That is most certainly because of the function being subsumed by different roles like cellular builders and enterprise builders.
Studying is nice, however incomes is healthier. Challenges on this planet economic system have been robust on many professions, together with builders. Most builders that aren’t in a individuals supervisor place are reporting annual wage decreases of no less than $10K annual USD. Sure positions have succumbed to market corrections primarily based on the fickle nature of rising applied sciences. This consists of blockchain builders, who reported a median annual wage over six figures in 2023 and now report $86K USD yearly. Pivotal roles akin to website reliability engineers reported a lower of $15K USD yearly and back-end builders reported a $9K USD annual lower. Individuals managers and people supporting the coding surroundings should not proof against this pattern: whereas developer expertise and developer advocate professionals reported a rise in wage in 2024, senior executives and engineering managers are reporting a lower in wage this 12 months. Wage decreases should not an impact of adjustments in employment standing: 80-81% of builders persistently report full-time employment over the past three years.
The wage woes are irritating, however builders persevere. For the primary time this 12 months, we requested if builders felt AI was a risk to their job and 70% of execs agreed it was not. Builders studying to code have been extra not sure about AI as a risk in comparison with extra seasoned coders (27% of learners have been not sure in comparison with 18% of execs). It’s not for lack of making an attempt: 62% skilled builders are utilizing AI instruments this 12 months in comparison with 44% final 12 months. 76% of all respondents are at the moment utilizing or planning to make use of AI instruments. 72% of all respondents really feel optimistic about utilizing AI instruments at work.
The promise of GenAI was its means to ship fast options and velocity up time-consuming processes. Nonetheless, 31% of builders stay skeptical (23% considerably mistrust and eight% extremely mistrust) that these instruments supply correct options and 45% imagine AI instruments are dangerous or very dangerous at dealing with complicated duties. AI is basically non-threatening as a result of it has not changed the human within the loop.
Technical debt is an issue for 62% of builders, twice as a lot because the second- and third-most irritating issues for builders: complicated tech stacks for constructing and deployment.
The brilliant aspect of the difficult work surroundings builders face is that 68% of execs report being completely satisfied or complacent at work (for individuals managers, it’s 74%). All builders discover probably the most satisfaction in enhancing code and database high quality of their roles, and the completely satisfied builders discover larger ranges of satisfaction than most in driving technique at work. There’s work to be finished, and most builders are making it by the pile of technical debt one work day at a time simply positive.
What else is there to say that wasn’t mentioned higher by builders themselves? When requested about AI and the way builders that used AI instruments at work suppose it can change a 12 months from now, final 12 months’s responses have been just like how one developer put it: “I count on that as instruments mature I can change from primarily writing to code to primarily reviewing generated code.” One 12 months later, respondents answered the identical query, and we noticed {that a} recurring matter theme was “much less time.” This developer’s response sums it up: “Much less time spent writing mundane issues.” Whether or not or not AI instruments are supplying you with time again on mundane duties, your time will probably be effectively spent trying out all of the developer insights we have for you at our results site.
