How many IT specialists work in Ukraine and how much do they earn? Which developer are most in-demand in the labor market and why do junior specialists struggle to find their first job? Last week at the IDCEE conference Max Ischenko, who founded DOU.ua, a portal for developers, and Djinni.co, a service for job-seekers, presented insights into the Ukrainian IT market by the numbers and talked about what should be expected from it in the coming year.
In Ukraine, there are currently 75,000 developers, 15,000 of whom work in major companies. 45% of developers in Ukraine live in Kyiv (Kiev), 18% reside in Kharkiv (Kharkov), and 9.3% call Lviv (Lvov) home. Dnipropetrovsk (Dnepropetrovsk) and Odessa come in 4th and 5th place, respectively.
Number of developers in top Ukrainian cities
The median age of Ukrainian developers is 27 years old. In comparison with the situation in 2011, this figure has increased by 2 years. Further, the most common amount of work experience for IT-specialists is 1-3 years. The majority of IT-specialists have higher education and understand English.
Ukrainian developers’ median age
Level of English and education among Ukrainian developers
The bulk of Ukrainian IT-specialists work in outsourcing, followed by workers in the food industry. 4.5% of developers currently work in startups. And here are the main types of companies employing “IT people” (‘ODC’ is the abbreviation of ‘Offshore development center’):
Types of companies employing IT people
The market currently demands, most of all, specialists in the fields of enterprise and web and mobile development. Further, employees prefer experienced developers, as specialists with high salaries are statistically employed several times more frequently than “juniors.”
Ukrainian developers’ specialties and positions
It is interesting to note that, despite the crisis, the number of vacancies has remained unchanged. However, the number of applicants has increased significantly and now an average of 2 applicants complete for each position. The average salary has declined, dropping from $2,600 to $2,100 – which still is very high by Ukrainian standards.
Average salary evolution
Ischenko says that this does not indicate that they have begun to pay experienced specialists less, but that an increasing number of applicants have lower salary expectations. The average salary for specialists in high demand has remained at earlier levels.
Further, there has been a significant increase in the number of people wishing to enter the industry. For example, one IT training center recently received 1,400 applications for 80 positions. And roughly 20 people, on average, apply to a junior-developer position.
Regarding the development of the IT industry over the next year, Ischenko believes that external and internal factors must be considered. Demand for Ukrainian developers will depend on the development of the industry in Europe and the United States. If industry continues to grow globally, new companies will emerge and hire staff, which will place Ukrainians in demand. Otherwise, a recession should be expected and we have one.
It is also necessary to consider unpredictable factors, such as a war in the east of the country. “If programmers begin to receive summons to the army, it is unlikely that they will be able to conclude the same number of contracts,” sums up Ischenko.
According to another survey from “Headhunter Ukraine,” programming is the most promising profession in Ukraine. Research on the most promising professions has taken place prior to this year, but the political events of the past year have strongly influenced the results. If the top 3 “most promising” positions last year were programmer, entrepreneur, and lawyer, then the top 3 this year are programmer, the doctor, and the military.
The full version of Max Ischenko’s English-language presentation can be found here.
This story first appeared in Ukraine Digital News, the English-language online resource on Ukraine’s IT industries.
