About 42 percent of software developers are considering leaving their job this year, according to a report by DigitalOcean, the cloud for developers, startups and SMBs.
DigitalOcean surveyed over 2,500 respondents from 94 countries including India, US, Germany, Canada and the UK.
The developer talent shortage has potential to worsen with 64 percent of those with less than a year’s experience, and 32 percent of those with 1-5 years experience, leaving their job recently.
Motivations for leaving jobs were found to be consistent among both those who have already left and those considering leaving, with compensation, remote or flexible work environments, and better benefits being the top factors that motivate people to leave jobs, especially for younger developers.
Nearly 18 percent of respondents cited lack of time and resources to work on projects is a key challenge, and 11 percent mention team members leaving as a challenge, demonstrating that the developer talent shortage is impacting even those who stay in their roles.
“Attracting and retaining developer talent is evolving rapidly and companies need to adapt to the new landscape,” said Gabe Monroy, Chief Product Officer at DigitalOcean.
“Businesses need to better understand developers and give them the tools, benefits, and pay they need to be successful – business survival in the digital era depends on it.”
About 56 percent of India developers also participated in open source projects in the past year, of which just 12 percent of were paid for their contribution.
Open source has contributed to learning and networking in India, with 37 percent stating they have gained enhanced skills from open source, 23 percent networking opportunities, and 10 percent have found job opportunities through the open source community.
Businesses of all sizes need to rethink their approach to attracting and retaining highly-skilled developer talent.
Compensation and desire for fully remote or more flexible work environments as the top reasons developers are thinking about quitting, or already have.
