It’s important for engineers to stay on top of new trends—from the languages being used to the types of roles in highest demand. Unsurprisingly, this can change across geographies depending on local dynamics such as the size and type of companies which dominate. This article will explore the most popular coding languages and tech roles in London—and how that compares to some other tech hubs across the globe.
TypeScript, Scala, and GoWhile many of the popular software languages tend to be universally known, the demand for them can vary by job market, depending on factors such as trends within a certain market and the type of industry dominating that market. We took a deep dive into our platform data to see which programming languages were attracting the most interview requests from companies looking to hire tech talent. In London, we found that candidates who were proficient in TypeScript, Scala, and Go, received the most interview requests.
When compared to other job markets, TypeScript is also in highest demand in San Francisco and Toronto. Interestingly, the top two most in-demand languages remain the same regardless of how senior a candidate is: Scala and Go are always in the top three regardless of whether a candidate is early, mid, or late in their career.
If you’re looking to make your profile more competitive for top software engineering jobs in London (as well as in some other markets), then it may be worth focusing on languages such as TypeScript and Scala. However, it’s important to keep in mind that the most in-demand languages aren’t necessarily the most frequently used. In fact, only 12% of developers globally work primarily in TypeScript, whereas 62% work mostly in JavaScript.
As you consider where to concentrate your efforts, be sure to take into account the more practical languages (the ones that you’ll definitely need to use, such as JavaScript), as well as the CV boosters which will make you more attractive to potential employers.
Embedded, blockchain, and data engineering rolesWhile there are many ways to look at which engineering roles are most popular, average salaries are one starting point that can hint at supply and demand for the various specialities. As with coding languages, the most in-demand roles will depend on the market landscape and which industries dominate.
Given London’s focus on the fintech industry, it’s perhaps unsurprising that blockchain and data engineers are amongst London’s most highly paid, earning an average of £69k and £68k, respectively, in 2018. The highest-earning role, however, was embedded engineer, earning an average of £71k.
Demand for embedded engineers doesn’t seem to translate to other markets, with the role failing to take a top four spot in San Francisco, New York, Toronto, or Paris. Blockchain engineers, on the other hand, tend to be highly paid across the globe, coming in third in terms of salary in New York, San Francisco, and Toronto, and number one in Paris. This reflects data showing that demand for blockchain engineers grew 517% from 2017.
Remember that salary is only one piece of the puzzleWhile it may be tempting to select a speciality based on salary alone—or learn a new language just to make your CV more appealing—it’s just as (or perhaps more!) important to make career choices based on what you’re good at and actually enjoy doing. Trends around languages and roles may come and go, so instead focus your efforts on acquiring skills for the job which will get you excited to come to work each day. Not only will you be happier, but you’ll also perform better when you’re doing something you love.