Introduction
Hi! This is Avarn, the largest IT recruitment agency in Eastern Europe.
Today we want to discuss JS development, because it is one of the most popular programming languages. It is everywhere where the Web is, and now it is difficult to imagine the sphere without it.
JavaScript ranks # 1 in the Stack Overflow 2021 ranking as the most frequently used language and has been in the top for 9 years. In our agency, JS is also in first place in terms of the number of vacancies, at least 20 new positions come to work every month.
That’s why we decided to talk about current JavaScript trends and developer salaries. To do that, we have analyzed 578 vacancies in our agency over the past 2 years, 1,900 current developer CVs, and also interviewed our best recruiters. Here’s what we got.
Three Whales
Of course, in the vast majority, when we talk about JavaScript, we mean one of the 3 main frameworks — Angular, React and Vue. But in reality, the situation is not so clear, so let’s take a closer look.
Most of the clients we work with prefer the React framework. There are 49% of such vacancies in our portfolio.
Among the most well-known companies in the market, React uses: Facebook, Tesla, Reddit, Twitter, Netflix.
Angular and Vue are less popular, taking only 12.2 and 9.1 percent each.
In the international market, Angular is used by YouTube, Microsoft, Cisco, Udemy, PayPal, Google, Apple, and Amazon, and Vue is used by companies such as Adobe, Xiaomi, Wizz Air, Alibaba, and Grammarly.
Interestingly, 17.1% of clients want to hire JS developers who write in a pure language without frameworks, or do not require specific framework knowledge at all, and are ready to teach by themselves and adapt to the candidate.
It is also important to highlight Node.js. This is a platform for writing a backend part, unlike its “comrades”, and its knowledge is required in 12.5% of vacancies. And in the other 8% of vacancies (this is not seen on the chart) knowledge of Node.js is indicated as an additional advantage for the candidate. Some developers study Node for the opportunity to become a full-stack developer or even switch to writing the server side of programs.
Tools
Of course, knowledge of the main frameworks alone does not end there. Based on the results of the analysis of vacancies and resumes, we identified the main frequently encountered skills that are popular both among employers who state them as requirements, and among developers who confidently own them.
The cryptocurrency stands alone
The only area of development that should be highlighted when discussing the JavaScript language is the cryptocurrency market and blockchain. There, specialists often require knowledge of libraries to work with complex visualizations that are typical only for this area. Examples of popular tools: D3.js, Highcharts, Visme, Chart.js, FusionCharts.
But such skills are usually paid very well. Salaries of JS developers in the field of crypto, are likely to exceed the market average by 10–15%.
Money
Current situation on the JavaScript developer salary plan market in Eastern Europe.
Offers for Middle developers (2–4 years of experience) — from $ 35,856 to $ 48,888 net, average salary — $ 38,292 net.
Offers for Senior developers (4+ years of experience) — from $ 35,856 to $ 81,468 net, average salary — $ 55,404 net.
Since 01.2021, Avarn filled 250 JS vacancies for its clients, the most expensive of which had a salary $ 86,652 net.
The most powerful developer
What does a Senior Developer need? Based on a portfolio of 578 vacancies, a top specialist in their field will look like this:
- 5+ years of JavaScript experience
- 3+ years of experience in React
- 3+ years of TypeScript experience
- 1+ year of experience on Node.js
- deep understanding of the JS language and it’s syntax
- experience in building an architecture
- knowledge of algorithms and data structures
- stays updated with the latest technology
What about the Full Stack
Most often, when looking for full stack developers, employers require knowledge of JavaScript, as well as one of the languages — Java, C++, PHP, Go, Python or Node.js platform.
Some of our clients are ready to consider full stacks for frontend jobs. But only in case they had above 50% of frontend tasks in their previous experience. In most cases, the salary of such specialists will be lower compared to the “pure” frontend dev.
About 10% of positions in our portfolio are not called full stack, but also require some knowledge and understanding of the backend part of the software.
There aren’t many full stack developers on the market, but we at Avarn know how to find them. Let’s take a look at one interesting case.
Search case
Our client was a company that creates software for the distribution of high-quality video content. We were looking for a strong JS programmer. In addition to knowledge of standard frameworks, they needed a specialist with experience with PHP, WebRTC, and knowledge of algorithms.
When searching, we targeted not only candidates from similar companies, but also used lists of graduates of the top technical universities and winners of mathematical Olympiads. Of the 26 candidates, two reached the final, one of whom received an offer and accepted it with pleasure.
What’s left behind
The world does not stand still, and development is moving at a cosmic pace. Therefore, some technologies become legacy and a thing of the past.
Now in vacancies and stacks we barely see such tools as: jQuery, AngularJS, Ember.js, Babel.
Conclusion
Thank you for taking the time to read this article! Leave your comments and questions in the section below. And if you need help with your vacancies, feel free to contact Avarn.