What developers will be in demand in 2024?

Do you feel uncertantity about the future of programming?

Today, I've analysed the IT market from my point of view as a Senior Developer and IT business owner.

And prepared the list of skills that you need to focus on to be in demand as a Developer.

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Let's begin!

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Do Not Learn Programming Languages

A lot of people ask me:

Andrew, what programming language should I learn?

And the answer is:

None!

Because the question itself is wrong.

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In 2024, it's not enough to just know Python or JavaScript.

Because those languages on their own, are great, but they almost don't solve any business problems.

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So instead of learning just programming languages, focus on learning tech stacks (Frontend Tech Stack, Backend Tech Stack, etc.).

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Tech Stack is just a list of technologies that allows you to build complete projects in different IT specialisations.

For example, a good tech stack for the Frontend looks like this:

• HTML (page layout)
• CSS (styling)
• JavaScript (logic)
• MUI (UI library)
• React (main library to structure the code)
• Redux (state management)
• Firebase (database)

With this stack, you can build almost any possible Web Application you can think of.

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Understand the business

If you want business owners to fight for you, they need to like you first of all.

And we tend to like people who understand us.

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In the business world, a developer who:

• understands that sometimes it's okay to write a shitty code to complete the task fast, as it's insanely important for the business
• can see the big picture of the business and suggest ideas on how something can be improved
• able to to clearly communicate and explain technical difficulties and capabilities, to find the best solution to the problem

WILL ALWAYS BE IN A HUGE DEMAND!

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Every business owner looks for engaged employees.

So if you are able to show that you care, and actually prove it with your work, you'll always be a valuable part of the team.

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This will allow you to negotiate better salary, conditions, and just feel pretty safe about your spot.

So start paying attention, and asking questions to see a bigger picture and understand what is going on not only from the technical side but also from the business side.

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Build Complex Projects

Nobody needs developers to create a simple page for the coffee shop.

You can easily do it within an hour with no-code tools and website builders.

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But you can't build a next-gen educational platform, complex tax management app, or online video editor without the code.

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Since everybody is scared about AI "replacing" developers, I asked ChatGPT to create a video editor similar to DaVinci (a popular video editor) for me. And it just sent like 50 sample lines of code and said, that it will require a lot of work 😅:

So it's just a nice tool, but without developers, you can't build something complex.

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There are 50 million startups that appear every year.

Not all of them need developers, but a lot of them DO!

Could you imagine how many complex programs are being built every year?

And developers are the only people who are able to build those startups.

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So if you want to be in demand, you need to learn how to build complex projects.

Not calculators, or to do apps.

With this knowledge, you'll be able to STAND OUT and SOLVE REAL PROBLEMS of business owners, therefore make pretty good money.

Moreover, those skills will help you to build your own startup in the future.

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And it doesn't matter in what specialisation you will build those projects:

• Frontend
• Backend
• Mobile

All of those things have their market!

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Conclusion

If you want to be in demand as a Developer in 2024, you need to learn a stable tech stack, understand how online businesses work, be able to clearly communicate with business owners, and build complex projects to showcase your skills and learn how to solve business problems.

It's not an easy path, but it's very rewarding after all.

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