Talent Demand in Ukrainian IT Segment 2022

The talent demand in the labor market is a tricky beast with its ebbs and flows. Because of that, understanding the way the labor market’s supply and demand works is critical for maintaining a competitive advantage in the Ukrainian IT segment.

Talando do labor market research for the Ukrainian IT segment. This article continues to break down the IT specialist demand during the year. 

• If you want to know more – here’s our recent Market study.
• If you want to purchase the complete Salary Survey – drop us a line.

What tech positions were in-demand and why?

Java Developer

Java is one of the mainstream technologies in the Ukrainian IT segment. As such, the talent demand for Java developers has been steadily growing year over year. 

There are several reasons for the demand growth:

• Java is widely applied in fintech and banking applications. However, because of the sensitivity, the need for better, more efficient, and more secure solutions is ever-present, especially when it comes to embedded solutions for credit cards.
• On the other hand, trading applications are currently on the rise.
• eCommerce is another niche in which Java is widely used. The need for smooth user experience, superior personalization, and security drives the demand in this niche.
• The browser gaming segment has been experiencing growth since the pandemic started. Some of such projects intersect with gambling.
• Web and mobile applications are always on the rise. All sorts of productivity, workflow, and task management apps. 

As of January 2022, you can find over 400 Java developers postings on different job boards.

Important to note that one post doesn’t mean there is only one vacant position. In some cases, companies look for 3-5 specialists simultaneously. 

Because of the scope of the talent demand, finding Java developers can be a challenge. The talent pool contains lots of specialists. As a result, some Java developers have high salary expectations. 

As a result, engaging with such specialists can be a challenge due to several nuances:

• Long-running Java projects often contain a lot of legacy code. Unfortunately, most Java developers are not fans of that, which can be a major turn-off. 
• In contrast, brand new projects often attract a lot of interest from high-profile specialists as an opportunity to go to another level.
• At the same time, if the project’s tech stack aligns with the candidate’s interests – engaging in a conversation can be much easier.

PHP Developer

PHP is another mainstream technology of the Ukrainian IT segment. Even though new technologies emerge, the talent demand for PHP specialists is still consistently high.

The current demand revolves around the following factors:

• First, many websites with dynamic page content are running on PHP, and the need for website building for different businesses is more or less everpresent. That’s especially the case for all sorts of retail marketplaces and eCommerce companies. 
• Well-being apps run on PHP due to flexibility and reliability.
• Commercial WordPress plugins for different purposes are also always in-demand.
• New blogging platforms still pop up from time to time, and PHP is still a viable technical and business solution for them.
• Messengers like Slack still use PHP.

As of January 2022, there are currently over 300 open PHP developer positions on various platforms. 

Salaries for PHP specialists have changed but not as drastically as the other development positions. In some cases, the growth is at least $500+. 

Because of its relative simplicity, PHP’s entry threshold is lower than other programming languages. As such, there are lots of Junior specialists eager to prove their worth. However, finding high-profile specialists can be a challenge as they are usually comfortable with their current employment. 

Things that can engage PHP developers in conversation are interest in the project and its tech stack. Lack of legacy code also helps. The important things are career development (from senior to lead, etc.) and the company’s stability.

The other challenging thing is that many PHP work for Ukrainian projects and have poor English skills. That often complicates their recruitment for foreign projects.

.Net Developer

The current talent demand for .Net developers is moderate. But it is still an integral component of many web-based and mobile applications. Because of that, finding a job for an experienced .Net developer is not a problem. 

Big companies like UbiSoft, GlobalLogic, AMC Bridge, and certain Luxoft and SoftServe projects are actively hiring .Net developers. 

• There are over 100 different .Net-related job postings on various job search platforms as of January 2022.

The .Net talent pool is mixed. There is a considerable number of junior specialists, but the companies are primarily interested in high-profile senior developers. As a result, engaging with such specialists can be challenging as companies can put on an effort to retain talent with counteroffers. 

• If the company wants to recruit a .NET developer right now, adding another $500 to the offer would be good. However, deflecting a counteroffer might require upping the offer by $1000 or more.

At the same time, companies compensate the senior talent scarcity by hiring and upskilling middle-level specialists. However, this demand growth combined with overall competition for talent caused middle-level specialist salary growth, which complicates things.

Rust Developer

Rust technology is on the rise as many emerging services require high-performance and smooth file synchronization. As a result, talent demand for Rust developers has been growing since the mid-2010s, with a spike since the pandemic started.

The demand revolves around the following factors:

• Blockchain-related projects use a lot of Rust, especially for various cryptocurrency-related projects and working with NFT supplements.
• Cloud file storages and web-office applications live and die on efficient file synchronization and back-ups.
• Similarly, lots of digital workplace applications with Bloom
• Cybersecurity solutions like password managers rely on Rust solutions to safely manage data.
• Chat platforms like Discord apply Rust to achieve high performance.

As of January 2022, there are over 100 job postings on various platforms.

The Rust talent pool is a mixed bag:

• There are many switchers from other languages. 
• At the same time, the talent pool is full of newbies fresh from courses. As a result, companies often hire and upskill such specialists.
• There are middle-level specialists on the market, but a lot depends on their interest in the project.

When it comes to senior-level and higher – that’s where the challenges start. Most senior+ specialists are comfortable with their current jobs and hesitant to consider other opportunities unless for a big paycheck. 

Salaries for Rust developers actively grow. In some cases, high-profile specialists can earn up to $12000. So naturally, companies try to retain such talent – counteroffers can reach up to 100% raise. 

Data Scientist

In one way or another, data science is becoming more and more deeply entrenched in various businesses as digital transformation rolls along. 

• Healthcare, commerce, banking, fintech, social studies, IoT, machine learning – these are some of the niches that require data scientists.

Data Science is a relatively small niche of the Ukrainian IT segment, but talent demand steadily grows year over year. The reason – data science overlaps with lots of different industries, thus creating a very fragmented talent pool. 

• The thing is – specialists who work with language processing are usually not interested in banking solutions and vice versa. 
• In addition, in most cases, switching from one domain to another is not that easy.

Hiring data science talent can be challenging. Position aspects that attract candidates the most are the project’s relevance to candidates’ expertise combined with the project’s theme and tech stack.

However, the talent pool is full of junior-middle switchers from other development fields, which often results in figuring out new leftfield solutions. In addition, because of talent scarcity, companies often heavily invest in employee upskilling. From the long-term perspective, this approach dramatically helps with employee retention.

Finding full-fledged senior+ can be a challenge due to candidate expectations for salary and project. It will take a considerable effort to get them throughout the recruitment process.