In our 2022 Software Development Talent & Salary report, we reflect on a hugely exciting time for the software hiring market. The market is constantly evolving, and we have made a commitment to focus on partnering with start-ups who are pushing boundaries within the emerging tech space. We are seeing them increasingly adopt Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, and offer extremely competitive salaries and flexible working arrangements, among other trends we will dissect below.
Looking to the software industry, we are seeing a continuous adoption of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning software solutions as a key trend, looking ahead to the rest of the year and 2023. This growth is being coupled with an increase in cloud-native development using Kubernetes, low-code/no-code (LCNC) development, and a focus on quality, cybersecurity, and automation. We also expect to see Python and Golang’s growing popularity continue throughout 2022 and beyond, as a staple language of developers creating solutions with AI- and ML-based features.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have seen companies enhancing customer experience by offering a more prominent digital alternative. We have seen there is a growing interest in low-code development platforms with the market revenue expected to hit 46.4 billion by 2026. The idea here is to allow more flexibility for customers, such as creating digital banking that can allow users all over the world to make transactions at the click of a button.
“We have seen a booming 20% increase in compensation packages for these specialized engineers within the last year, including large sign-on bonuses up to $100K.”
The demand for engineers on the backend of software has been steadily increasing. We’ve seen a growing need for backend infrastructure/platform engineers – specifically, due to recent advances in Machine Learning and AI. Those who have worked with large complex data sets are particularly in high demand since scalability is a core of big data analytics. Cloud development is transitioning to be the go-to method for working with big data platforms.
Companies must be extremely competitive to bring on, and retain, top talent as those that are not offering competitive salaries, as well as benefits, bonuses, and equity, are struggling to keep up with the demands of the candidates. The market for Backend Engineers has changed greatly, candidates now can command competitive salaries and flexible working environments – and that is just the start. We have seen a booming 20% increase in compensation packages for these specialized engineers within the last year, including large sign-on bonuses up to $100K.
2022 Forecast
So far, we’ve seen an overwhelming demand for top talent. As salaries and packages continue to increase, large funding from venture capital firms is also becoming more of a standard. The attention being turned to start-ups has been increasing – with people looking for the next big thing.
In 2022, my prediction is that we will continue to find individuals who are leaving top tech companies to pursue a more exciting challenge at a start-up. Smaller companies are constantly innovating, and with the advances in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, the tech market is constantly transitioning at an extremely fast pace.
2022 Software Development Salary & Market Insights
Where is talent located?
Let’s take a look at the profile of Software candidates and who was making big moves in the industry in the last 12 months.
San Francisco Bay Area | New York City Metropolitan Area | Greater Seattle | Los Angeles Metropolitan Area | Greater Boston
What Universities are producing Software talent?
Georgia Institute of Technology 15,401
The University of California 14,189
Berkeley Carnegie Mellon University 11,393
University of Southern California 10,495
What degree do these professionals have?
Computer Science
