Demand, role, salary Web developer job

What is it like working as a developer? What do developers actually do, and how much do they earn? Why learn coding today? In the following section, Wild Code School offers you a general overview of what it means to work as a developer in the digital sector.

The market demand

In the past, software development work was often outsourced but it has now become a fully-fledged strategic activity pursued within business organisations. An article published in the Harvard Business Review in 2017 explains that software development skills are becoming a key differentiator for companies. Developers are the most sought-after people in the digital sector!

Working as a developer

The work of a developer is to create, write, test, and document websites, applications or software. Developers work in a team, most often with clients, project managers, and other developers.

What developers don’t do:

• Repair computers or fix Internet connections. They are not maintenance technicians.
• Design visuals for websites or graphical interfaces. They are not web designers.
• Maintain and run websites. They are not webmasters.

Bill Gates (Microsoft), James Gosling (Java), Grace Hopper (COBOL), Guido van Rossum (Python), Kenneth Thompson (Go, Unix), Margaret Hamilton (Apollo), Tim Berners-Lee (W3C), Linus Torvalds (Linux), Dennis Ritchie (C) are all famous developers in the history of computer science for inventing programming languages or operating systems. The pioneer of computer science was, in fact, a woman, Ada Lovelace, who wrote the first computer program on an ancestor of modern computers in the 19th century!

Computer developer, web developer, coder, programmer, computer scientist, front-end developer, back-end developer, full-stack developer... all these terms are frequently used to refer to the profession of software developer.

There are 3 main types of developers depending on the applications they develop:

1. Web developers create applications for websites, use front-end languages ​​(HTML, CSS, JavaScript) for what the end-users will see on their screens, and back-end languages ​​(Java, PHP, Node JS, Python, Ruby) for what remains invisible to users or for what enhances the front-end (such as sending email, managing a shopping cart or running payment solutions on e-commerce sites, etc.),

2. Native developers who create applications specific to a given system (Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS, AS400, UNIX, etc.),

3. Hybrid developers who create applications capable of running on multiple systems.

What do developers earn?

There is now a mismatch between supply and demand in the labour market: while companies are increasingly looking for people with digital skills, especially developers, the volume of candidates is not growing fast enough.

According to the ChooseYourBoss barometer, junior developers leaving training earn between 23K and 36K depending on the technology mastered (PHP, Javascript, Java). Salaries vary depending on the technology used, but also geographically. And in general, you can double your salary after 4-6 years of professional experience.

To sum up: why learn coding today?

1. You’ll be in great demand

   Software development is one of the most highly sought after professions by recruiters and is considered the #1 tech job with the highest growth rate in terms of job offers

2. Coding is accessible to everyone

   Although you have to be logical and meticulous, you don’t have to be brilliant in maths to become a developer. Whether you have an academic qualification or not--anyone can learn to code!

3. The developer career is interesting and profitable 

   The median annual income of developers is 41,764 euros (Stack Overflow survey). After working as a junior and then senior developer, you will have access to other professions: Lead Developer, Product Manager...

4. Working times and methods are flexible

   Many companies realize that the quality of the code produced is the most important thing and let their developers work flexible hours or work from home.

5. It's rewarding

   It will largely be thanks to you that your company will develop new products and grow. You will earn the recognition of your co-workers and employer.

6. You'll join a dynamic community

   Meetup, conferences, open-source projects, hackathons... becoming a developer means opening up your life to new opportunities, exchanges, and people.

7. Coding is everywhere

   Your iPhone? Code. Facebook? Code. GPS? Code. Ordering a pizza? Code. It’s everywhere. By becoming a developer, you build the cathedrals of the modern era.