It’s hard to believe there are only two months left of 2024, so, as we prepare to move into a new year, what skills will software engineers need to navigate the next 12 months?
So far, the 2024 technology landscape has been, in a word, complicated. From mass layoffs and the growing fear of future AI-related job elimination, to groundbreaking innovations and the emergence of entirely new career paths, 2024 has shaped up to be a year of contradictions.
Despite a slight improvement compared to 2023, the current tech jobs market can still be described as competitive, with a strong demand for technology experts in particular to lead the way amid a period of mass digital transformation at a global level. With modern-day software engineers now expected to cultivate a broad range of skills and essentially be a ‘techy Jack or Jackie’ of all trades, significant upskilling will be necessary to stay abreast of industry demands in 2025.
Understanding change and how to seize new opportunities is always a precursor to success. It certainly was for the chief technology officer of IT and consulting outsourcing firm BairesDev, Justice Erolin. “I credit my single mother, who came home one day with a Compaq computer and said, ‘Justice, you need to learn this. This is the future.’ Mothers are never wrong.
“That self-learning continued throughout my career, from data transformation projects to .NET, to front-end technologies, each stage required me to learn a new skillset and to add on another framework or language to my toolbelt. Every great engineer I’ve worked with has demonstrated that type of self-learning.”
In-demand skills
Erolin noted, throughout the last 10 months .Net, Python, React, Node and Java were among the most requested skills, as they are used to power the majority of full-stack software projects. But the fastest growing skills, as indicated by BairesDev’s research, were, perhaps unsurprisingly, a range of AI-technical skills.
“Machine learning was the fastest-growing skill in 2024, with a 383pc growth, followed by Flutter (302pc), Terraform (222pc), Angular (206pc) and Kotlin (141pc). We foresee this trend continuing in 2025,” said Erolin.
“The new interest in AI has shed a light into the importance of soft skills. Adaptability, problem-solving and communication will also be essential, especially as remote work and AI continue to change the tech landscape.”
He is of the opinion that, as artificial intelligence is further integrated into company processes, professionals highly skilled in data-driven decision-making and automation will be in demand to help businesses transition. To upskill, potential job applicants and employees should make use of online courses, opportunities to become certified and work experience.
“Platforms like Coursera and edX are excellent for learning new technologies like machine learning, while soft skills can be honed through communication training, mentorship and team-based projects. It’s also important for professionals to stay adaptable and be open to new tools as the tech landscape shifts.”
Greater company involvement
Upskilling in tech is by no means an easy feat. In fact it requires significant personal and financial investment, for both the employer and the employee, which has led to the ‘hire or upskill’ question when aiming to make inroads in a new area. Though there is no concrete answer when asked if hiring or upskilling is the better option, research does suggest that developing tech teams can be hugely beneficial.
Mainly, it tends to improve company morale to promote in-house, it favours scaling models and it can be less expensive than the hiring process. “Many companies are making strides in upskilling, but there’s still room for improvement,” says Erolin. “Larger firms are investing in personalised learning paths and partnerships with platforms like Coursera and LinkedIn Learning, but many rely on outdated, one-size-fits-all training.”
According to Erolin, the wider industry could benefit from improved flexibility and accessibility, especially SMEs, as soft skills are becoming an increasingly sought after and valuable attribute. “Hard skills are something engineers can learn on their own and so they do. But there is often a lack of support and frameworks to work on soft skills because they are experiential, practical and interpersonal.”
In fact, he noted that frequently, software developers in particular are not always aware of the gap in their résumé when it comes to soft skills and that some likely fall victim to the Dunning-Kruger effect. That is, the overestimation of your ability in a certain area of expertise.
“We piloted a training and surveyed the developers afterward. The results showcased a Dunning-Kruger effect in the participants where they, via the training, learned they had a bigger gap than imagined.”
Gone too are the days in which the ‘lone wolf’, or ‘single rockstar engineer’ could be called upon to do everything. “While they still exist, companies are looking for teams and people who can fill in those teams. Without soft skills, engineers would be hard-pressed to find a role,” explained Erolin.
Looking to the future, he predicts a working landscape in which degrees become less of a ‘golden ticket’ and where the top tech companies will shift their focus to skillset and experience, hiring based on talent and character, rather than solely on a third-level degree.
“We’ll also see a shift toward flexible, project-based roles rather than traditional employment. Skills rather than degrees will mark up the difference between good and great hires.”
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