Many sectors of the IT market highlight the shortage of available programmers and the need to do something about it. Traditional learning paths and the pursuit of computer science degrees are still relevant, but lately we have noticed the impact of coding bootcamps with their intensive courses. However, in a recent study published by HackerRank, just over 65 percent of developers admit to being self-taught, either completely or combined with formal education.
The HackerRank Study
A common strategy for companies seeking software experts is to visit the most relevant universities. This leads to the tactical error of only going after programmers who accumulate degrees or specializations, since they all come from (more or less) the same places. In other words, companies enter a fierce battle for talent, and results are increasingly unsatisfactory. That's why some high-profile names have decided to expand their "hunt" (in a good sense) to programming events, competitions, and hackathons. That brings us to a new study published by the job platform HackerRank, which confirms a fundamental detail: The majority of today's developers are self-taught.
What the Data Reveals
With 10,351 participants, the percentage of self-taught developers, both partial and total, is a step above 65 percent. 27.4 percent claim to be completely self-taught, while 37.7 percent complement that independent learning with formal education. Why are those numbers so important? HackerRank's CEO and co-founder, Vivek Ravisankar, explains: First, traditional computer science programs inevitably lose pace with the speed of technological advancement, and the only way to respond to the intense demand is through self-learning. And second, following the self-taught route is an essential part of every developer. On average, senior programmers are learning four languages, students plan to learn six, and in more demanding regions (Asia-Pacific) they already talk about seven.
Learning Tools and Languages
At the same time, students have fully embraced the new learning tools, starting with Stack Overflow (77.3 percent) and YouTube (73 percent). In fact, the trend is changing, and it's very likely that the video service will soon take the first place. On the languages side, the dominance of JavaScript, Java, Python, and C variants is overwhelming, but that brings us back to the beginning: Globally, almost half of employers admitted needing staff with JavaScript knowledge, however, only 42 percent of developers know the language. Fortunately, the situation is improving, and if you've thought about learning to program to join that market, don't hesitate.
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