What 2018 Stack Overflow Survey Reveals About Today’s Developers

Last week Stack Overflow released its annual developer survey report. The 2018 survey gathered more than 100,000 respondents, making it the largest developer survey worldwide.

We have compiled the most important and interesting findings so you can quickly understand the state of the software development industry in 2018.

Software development’s main force: the "rookie" army

Most professional developers have relatively shallow coding experience. Over 55% have less than eight years of coding experience, and one‑third have less than five years (this refers to years of exposure to code, not work experience).

Most developers have less than five years of professional programming experience.

Nearly half of professional developers have contributed to open‑source projects.

Almost all professional developers treat coding as a hobby.

One‑quarter of professional developers do not hold a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Among those with a bachelor’s degree, one‑third earned it in a field unrelated to computer science or software engineering.

Most developers are self‑taught, primarily through online courses and documentation.

About one‑quarter of programmers have participated in hackathons, mainly because they find them fun.

Many developers continue to attend coding bootcamps after securing a full‑time job to reinforce their skills.

Software development: a guarantee of employment

The majority of developers have a full‑time job, with roughly 10% working as freelancers. Only about 5% are currently unemployed, a rate far lower than in any other field.

Developers work in a wide range of industries, many of which are not traditionally considered “tech” sectors.

Most developers work for small‑ to medium‑sized companies, and more experienced developers are more likely to be employed by larger firms.

Only one‑fifth of programmers expect their skills and compensation to remain the same in five years, while one‑quarter aspire to start their own company.

73% of programmers are satisfied with their career choice.

Common programming tools

JavaScript has been the most popular technology for six consecutive years.

JavaScript frameworks and libraries remain the key tools for most programmers.

SQL databases continue to be the most widely used, while document store MongoDB and key‑value store Redis have surged in popularity this year.

Diversity survey results

Young developers dominate the software development community.

Most developers do not have children.

The community is predominantly male.

Developers’ parents tend to have higher education levels than the general population (over 50% of developers’ parents hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to about one‑third in the U.S. overall).

Other interesting facts about developers

Programmers generally maintain a regular daily routine and spend most of their waking hours at the computer.

The majority of programmers exercise regularly.

Developers are very optimistic about the future of artificial intelligence.

They acknowledge that programmers will be the ultimate gatekeepers of AI safety.

Most programmers say they would refuse to write code they consider unethical.

The vast majority feel a moral responsibility to consider the ethical impact of their code.