Student developers are not dependent solely on university curricula to keep up with today’s expectations of software engineers.
A new survey conducted by HackerRank, a sought-after technical hiring platform, among university students offers valuable data to recruiters and hiring managers in the corporate sector. The study unveils new trends in the technical skills, learning preferences, and career motivators of collegiate software engineers. HackerRank’s survey has a sample size of more than 10,000 student developers. Its findings reveal that in many cases, a CS degree is not always a strong indicator of skill. In fact, nearly two-thirds of student developers are partially self-taught and are looking to new platforms like YouTube to supplement their classroom curricula.
“The standard CS curriculum cannot keep up with the pace of advancements in the tech industry. And with the democratisation of education across platforms like YouTube, ambitious student developers today are learning the most in-demand skills outside of the classroom,” says Vivek Ravisankar, CEO and co-founder of HackerRank. “Hiring teams should look beyond CS degrees as the primary proxy to match the right developers to the right jobs.”
The following are the major findings from the survey:
College degrees are not sufficient for coding proficiency. Today’s students are not relying solely on university CS curricula to give them the necessary skills they need for software development. Over half of student developers (65 per cent) report they are partially reliant on self-teaching to learn to code, with nearly a third (27 per cent) claiming they are completely self-taught. This notable rise in self-directed learning shows that students are taking initiative to supplement their coursework.
Students rely on YouTube more than professionals. Student developers are turning to YouTube (73 per cent) to learn more than professional developers (64 per cent). Meanwhile, students rely less on Stack Overflow compared to their professional peers (77 vs. 88 per cent, respectively). This new class of developers is drawn to platforms that allow for self-paced learning and flexibility.
Globally, student JavaScript expertise cannot keep up with demand. With 95 per cent of web applications built on JavaScript, it is no surprise that the programming language has become one of the most in-demand skills for companies. HackerRank found that while 48 per cent of employers are looking for JavaScript proficiency, only 42 per cent of students worldwide say they know the language. Examining the data regionally, HackerRank found the largest gaps in India and Canada.
Growth opportunities appeal 5x more than perks. The three most important criteria students look for in job opportunities are: professional growth and learning (58 per cent), work/life balance (52 per cent) and having interesting problems to solve (46 per cent). Student developers have a stronger appetite for growth opportunities than compensation (18 per cent) and perks (11 per cent), which they view as niceties as opposed to deal-breakers. Companies looking to attract new graduates must ensure they are considering these career preferences as they design and market software developer jobs.
