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Most demanded Software Development Skills in 2023

What will be the most in-demand software development skills for 2023? While technology has been growing for decades, its growth has soared since the world experienced its first major pandemic in the last century. Businesses worldwide had to shut their doors, and most had to switch to one hundred percent online, which translated into a rapid increase in demand for software developers as businesses rely on technology more than ever.

by
Juan Manuel Saud
|
May 13, 2024

Of course, many expected it to return to "normal" in 2021 but quickly learned that this would not be the case, making it one of the many reasons why the demand for software developers will grow even further in 2023.

Instead of finding short-term solutions, companies worldwide have started investing in long-term technologies that could accommodate further lockdowns, hybrid, and fully remote work.

Gartner indicates that there will be a 5.5% increase in IT spending throughout the year, reaching $4.5 trillion in 2022. 

In this context, what software development skills will be most in-demand in 2023? 

Top in-demand software development skills for 2023

These are the top 7 roles in the highest demand for the coming year.

While demand in other software areas will also increase, these are the current front-runners.

Full Stack Web Developers

More and more employers are searching for developers who can work with all stacks (front-end/back-end/database). A recent survey found that the demand for full-stack developers in 2023 caused full-stack developers' salaries to increase by a whopping 16.9%.

Frontend Developers

The front-end developer's primary responsibility is to design and implement user interfaces so end-users can access the software application's functionality.

While deep knowledge and understanding of coding languages such as CSS, HTML, and JavaScript are required, developers with skills and experience in the following technologies are vital for the leading-edge design and interface functionality software companies need:

  • Ext.JS
  • Kendo UI
  • Angular
  • React
  • Vue.js

Backend Developers

Back-end developers work on the application's structure end-users don't see; design, features, testing, and maintenance of the working parts within the application. Primary skills for back-end developers have historically included Python and Java.

But the skills growing in demand – and more challenging to find – include Ruby, Golang, and Scala.

Mobile Developers

Applications must be created with mobile performance in mind as people conduct more business on smartphones and mobile devices, making the following skill a necessity for mobile applications:

  • Kotlin
  • Swift
  • React Native
  • Ionic

Many organizations are exploring third-party partners as a vehicle for accessing skilled software development teams to manage the technical labor shortage.

As a result, the need for software developers with skills and experience will grow as companies continue to improve existing software applications and develop new, innovative products and services.

Data Scientists

Data is one of the company's most valuable assets, a trend that developed over the last ten years. The amount of valuable data is growing now that more people spend more time online.

For example, people spend more money online, and a capable data scientist can help them predict and analyze consumer behaviors. 

Over 2.5 quintillion bytes of daily data help improve lives, track performance, and solve problems, as most companies use it to personalize their customers' experiences.

Data visualization, machine learning, statistics, and programming are some tech skills used by data scientists and analysts to collect and extract the most relevant information.

Heavy coding is the main difference between a data analyst and a data scientist.

Data scientists work hand in hand with artificial intelligence engineers to create more innovations that can make people's lives much easier.

As an interdisciplinary field of computer science, Machine Learning, statistics, social science, Big Data, Data Mining, Data Analysis, and Analytics are the principal areas of interest for companies regarding data science. 

Many of these professionals belong to the tech industry, but that is not the only place where you can find them.

Organizations in the life sciences, insurance, finance, retail, and energy sectors also need the skills of data scientists to make sense of their complex data sets.

Benefits of Data Science

  • Empowering management to make better decisions
  • Validates decisions with data-driven evidence
  • Increased efficiency 
  • It helps in recruiting the right talent for an organization

Cybersecurity Specialists

Failing to protect a user's data puts companies at high risk of fines, penalties, and losing customers because of the excessive use of the internet and the growing volumes of data.

These risks translate into cybersecurity specialists being a significant part of the 2023 internet setup.

Demand for vulnerability threat assessment skills, information, and network security has increased by the shortage of cybersecurity tech skills in IT.

Costing businesses and users over 10.5 trillion annually, Cybercrime continues to rise steadily, making security a high priority as more companies move data to the cloud. 

Cloud Engineers

With more and more teams now working remotely, the importance of the cloud for storing computing services, such as databases, software, servers, and networking and accessing them through the internet has grown even further, making the challenge of creating infrastructure that keeps your business's documentation accessible online to the right people vital to organizations worldwide.

As a result, cloud development was massively influential in 2022 and will be very significant throughout 2023. 

Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure are the top Cloud technology providers for application software that stores data on physical and virtual servers worldwide that can be accessed from the internet.

Cloud computing will continue to see a demand for workers with these tech skills to mix the cloud with ever-evolving technology.

Three main types of Cloud Computing services used by business leaders worldwide:

  • Software as a Service (SaaS)
  • Platform as a Service (PaaS)
  • Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).

With most organizations moving to the cloud, cloud computing is one of the most trending technologies with a high demand for qualified professionals.

Benefits of Cloud Computing

  • Reduced cost
  • Improved speed 
  • Increased productivity
  • More reliable 
  • Better security 

DevOps Engineers

Designed to shorten the systems development life cycle, DevOps is a set of practices and tools that combine software development and IT operations.

In simple terms, it aims for better speeds and higher reliability in building, testing, and releasing software.

A DevOps engineer has experience working within development, quality assurance, and IT to develop and operate software that can safely be released into production environments for maximum efficiency.

As per Markets and Markets, "the DevOps market size is expected to grow from USD 2.90 Billion in 2017 to USD 10.31 Billion by 2023 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 24.7%.

The demand for DevOps solutions and services among enterprises is expected to gain huge traction due to the increasing need for fast, high-quality application delivery." 

While DevOps benefits IT organizations of any size, some prominent organizations relying on DevOps include Amazon, Facebook, Netflix, Etsy, Walmart, and Adobe. 

Among the tasks expected among DevOps engineers include the administration of the IT infrastructure, conducting any testing protocols needed along with critical monitoring, choosing the perfect deployment models for the job, managing many various branches of code, user access to resources, and getting responsible for the build and release processes.

With more businesses migrating to internet-accessible services such as cloud-based databases, there has been a steady rise in demand for DevOps engineers during the first half of 2022. 

There will be increasing demand for DevOps engineers, and companies are already having difficulty finding qualified individuals with the necessary skills to fill this role.

Some skills needed for this role include strong problem-solving skills, keen attention to detail, excellent knowledge of programming languages, a strong team player attitude, efficient communication skills, and excellent management and time organization skills.

Benefits of DevOps

  • Faster resolution of problems
  • Continuous software delivery
  • Increased productivity
  • Higher employee engagement 
  • Promotes collaboration among the teams
  • Nurtures innovation
  • Cost reduction 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning

AI professionals focus on building machines that are programmed to think like humans. These machines are capable of doing tasks that require human intelligence.

AI systems exhibit different behaviors associated with human intelligence, like knowledge representation, problem-solving, learning, and reasoning. 

Artificial intelligence has become a massive part of our lives in many ways. Many industries require skilled and proficient engineers in artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Their main objective is developing, programming, and training the complex networks that make up artificial intelligence so they can function similarly to human brains.

This role requires combined expertise in software engineering, programming, data science, and database operations to produce highly sophisticated AI algorithms, which have been proven on-demand by their ability to learn from the example of raw input data without any pre-set goals but instead act based on what's learned through experience.

Benefits of Artificial Intelligence

  • Reduced human error
  • Helps in automating repetitive jobs
  • Increase productivity 
  • Improved operational efficiencies
  • Faster business decisions 

Blockchain 

Blockchain, also defined as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), consists of recording information in a duplicated and distributed digital ledger of transactions thousands of times across a network of computer systems, making it difficult or nearly impossible to modify or hack. 

Considering the market trends, the demand for blockchain professionals is ever-increasing. If you are equipped with all the essential tools and knowledge related to blockchain, you sure have a bright career ahead. 

Blockchain development is a massively lucrative industry worth more than $3 trillion. Helping design secure networks that keep cryptocurrencies from being hacked or improperly used, Blockchain engineers are the brains behind all cryptocurrency transactions.

The ideal blockchain engineer has many skills in all aspects of a distributed network, including:

  • Performing operations and designing the process for your specific needs and wants with smart contract programming languages like C++, Java, Solidity, or Python.
  • Analyzing data sets using machine learning algorithms allows them to see patterns within it more clearly than ever.

Benefits of Blockchain

  • Improved security
  • Increased efficiency
  • Improved traceability
  • Reduced costs 
  • Improved speed

Conclusion 

While many new technologies keep emerging, evolving, and disappearing, these eight most in-demand tech skills are unlikely to disappear soon. 

Learning these most in-demand tech skills will help you build and enhance your skills, realize your potential, and prove your worth in the corporate world.