8 candid takes on the future of software development

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Software Developer is one of the top four in-demand professions, and every year over the next 10 years, there are projected to be over 200,000 difficult-to-replace openings. The cataclysmic shift from office to remote work due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has also created a boom in demand for mobile and web development.

Some companies have revamped perks and pay scales and opened new positions expressly for attracting new coding talent, while others have instituted mentorship programs to create pathways for young developers to hone their soft skills and move up the ladder as team leads and project managers.

So what does the future of software development careers look like? We’ve spoken to 8 industry experts to get some ideas about what’s on the horizon.

#1 - Sumit Bansal, Founder and CEO of TrumpExcel I LinkedIn

Sumit is a Tech Expert and Microsoft Excel MVP; he has been awarded the prestigious "Excel MVP Award" by Microsoft for his contributions, sharing his Excel knowledge and helping people. Speaking on the increased recognition of the need for higher web standards, he tells us:

“I'd like to emphasize that it used to be difficult to convince clients of the critical nature of valid/standards-compliant and semantic code, but with the proliferation of devices and browsers on the market, standards have become even more critical for producing flexible and interoperable products.

With more web browsers supporting open web standards and businesses abandoning proprietary software in favor of open technologies, there is a greater demand than ever for coders skilled in web standards.

Developers who place a premium on producing compliant code stand to benefit from this trend. In short, web developers are beginning to specialize in niche jobs such as customizing open-source software.

As the months' progress, developers such as myself who charge a premium over PSD to HTML chop shops will need to continue to reposition our niche.”

#2 - Ronald Williams, HR Consultant and Founder of BestPeopleFinder I LinkedIn

Ronald founded BestPeopleFinder to make background checks for potential hires a quick, easy, and thorough process for HR professionals. His recent experiences in assisting companies in hiring developers have led to the following observations:

“Amid Covid-19, the rise of technology adoption touched its peak and leveraged several sectors to flourish at an unimaginable rate. Web development is prominent among them. As the demand rose, so the salaries and perks were revised to retain and attract the talent.

Knowing that web development is a star profession now and the scarcity of technical IT talent in the field, the candidates now don’t compromise on less salary and due perks. Rather, they negotiate well before deciding to join and even ask for a very high salary. For the same reason, companies have revised their HR budgets for technical IT staff. We also have increased 20% in our HR budget to accommodate the Technical IT staff.

Businesses are offering many unique perks along with the salary to attract and retain software developers. We are offering upskilling and reskilling that has proved a very attractive benefit to attract and retain the technical staff. For example, in response to a recent ad for the web developers where we highlighted upskilling and reskilling, we received 35% more applications, and in screening interviews, a few candidates specifically showed interest in upskilling and reskilling by asking several questions.”

#3 - John Hart, Co-Founder and CEO at Falcon River I LinkedIn

John spends his time brokering off-market businesses, making sure that sellers don’t pay extra fees and that buyers have targeted options to purchase businesses tailored to their interests. He mentions:

“For students, becoming a developer isn't the end goal; instead, they want to lead a team and manage projects. You'd surely want to be able to lead a project and a group. To be successful at this, you must first be able to manage projects.

Taking on and completing a few web development projects can help you gain these important skills. You will build project management skills by participating in a variety of activities such as design, development, testing, and client management.”

#3 - Veronica Miller, Digital Marketing & Growth Director at VPNoverview

Veronica specializes in corporate and enterprise marketing, developing best marketing strategies for cybersecurity and business operations protection for partner organizations. Her tips to attract and retain Software Developers include:

“In my perspective, a lot of companies are evolving digitally and hence their tech teams are becoming their most significant asset. Self-starters and driven individuals, software developers recognize their work has an impact on the success of a firm.

Second, In order to compete for the best IT talent, organizations must ensure that their salaries are competitive with the industry average. However, firms need to think beyond this in order to differentiate out amid other employers. For example: Allowing employees to achieve a work-life balance by offering them a variety of scheduling options.

Moreover, Software developers are frequently creative folks who like problem-solving. Therefore, it is crucial for them to have the opportunity to be creative within the projects you give them.. It's crucial to ensure developers that they won't be micromanaged and that they will be trusted to follow the company's requirements.”

#4 - Marc Stitt, Chief Marketing Officer at FMX I LinkedIn

Marc’s company allows organizations to manage work orders, plan preventive maintenance, manage assets and inventory usage, track staff and equipment performance, schedule events, and more. His perspective on the rise of voice search functions in user popularity includes:

“Users, in my perspective, prefer to search using voice commands rather than inputting text into the search box.

Following the advancement of voice recognition technology and the introduction of Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant, and Cortana. Voice search has grown in popularity. As a result, voice search optimization has become the web development industry's future. It has become a required component for new websites and mobile applications.

As a result, every website development company should be prepared. Websites and apps that are powered by AI and created with natural language processing are useful for both users and proprietors. It enables websites to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) for voice search queries, to increase consumer loyalty in the case of eCommerce, and to increase brand value.”

#5 - Martin Lassen, Founder and CEO of GrammarHow I LinkedIn

Martin is currently on a mission to help natives and new English speakers to improve their language skills on Grammarhow.com, while pursuing a Master's Degree at Aarhus University in Finance and International Business. He waxes poetic on motion UI:

“To my mind, if a website consists entirely of blocks of information and HTML code, it would struggle to attract users. The front-end of a website today must be more engaging, intuitive, and user-friendly.

Thus, websites and apps are capable of capturing the attention and interest of customers and users. Motion UI is a SaaS library that enables the creation of animations and transitions that enhance the user experience through the use of components such as Toggler, Reveal, and Orbit. UI/UX developers can incorporate it into their designs by merging simple CSS files with pre-made animation. This characteristic of Motion UI contributes to its future as the future of web development.

This technology enables websites to differentiate themselves from competitors and has been shown to increase customer attention.”

#6 - Joe Manna, Content Manager at Alyce I LinkedIn

Joe obsesses over the Oxford comma, embraces the em dash, and thrives on engaging and informative content. He's savvy with B2B marketing and has helped companies large and small serve more customers. His 5-to-9™ interests include visiting the beach, listening to podcasts, and being the best dad and husband he can be. His focus is on single page applications, which he says:

“Nowadays, users, in my opinion, value their time. When a website takes an excessive amount of time to load, the user may become irritated.

As a result, one-page websites are in high demand and have established themselves as the future of website development. Additionally, it benefits firms who do not require a large amount of material on their website. With the advent of SPA frameworks and AJAX, it has surpassed MPAs (Multi-Page Applications) in popularity.

MPAs require repeated client-side requests to the server to load the desired amount of pages, which typically takes substantially longer (in comparison to SPAs. As a result, the developers sought an alternative. It has become the de-facto standard since the emergence of JavaScript frameworks.

To create a complete single-page website, HTML, AJAX, JavaScript, and JSON are used. These enable a web page to be updated without requiring a reload.”

#7 - Josh Pelletier, Chief Marketing Officer of BarbBen | LinkedIn

Josh is leading the digital strategy for BarBend, a publication that creates content to support a healthy lifestyle. He considers himself a team builder with a knack for blending creative content strategy and production with operational structure. His opinion on the future horizons of the field are:

“I believe that the future of software development will include artificial intelligence, robots, enterprise solutions built on custom programming languages for data management, statistical and analytical analysis, operating and functional systems, and cyber security, to name a few. New large-scale space missions are planned to launch, requiring software developers' support.

This will not only benefit software developers, but also millions of engineers who will once again rely on software developers for support, technical counseling, and the integration of solutions and creative ideas.”

#8 - Jamie Opalchuk, Founder and CEO of HostPapa I LinkedIn

Jamie prides himself on the ability his company has in providing cloud-based web hosting, with 24-7, award-winning, multilingual customer support provided by a team of experts. He believes a workplace that is interactive is the future:

“I believe that it is an excellent career path because it requires collaboration with others, meeting with clients, addressing concerns with clients, product managers, testers, and working with programmers and engineers.

Yes, this means you won't have to sit in front of your computer screen all day. Rather than that, you will have a perfectly balanced work-life balance. Offices provide warm, high-quality computer laboratories that create an inviting work environment.

Most work at least 40 hours per week, if not more, depending on the volume of work and the proximity of deadlines.”

We would like to thank all of our experts for taking the time to send us such insightful responses!

Different companies will obviously have different priorities, but interactive workplaces that focus on AI, robotics, and enterprise solutions, offering greater pay, perks, and pathways for growth seem to be the best and brightest of the future of software development careers.

One thing is for certain: with the added opportunities for remote work in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, companies across multiple industries will have to be competitive in filling developer roles of the future.