Top 10 In-Demand Skills for Software Development in 2015

It’s time to sharpen your skills and take the software development field by storm!

For those of you who don’t know, CyberCoders largely specializes in IT recruiting. Which means our massive database of job placements and applicants offer revealing information about the hottest skills in demand right now.

To find out the top 10 most in-demand skills for software development in 2015, our team of data scientists did some number crunching of our software engineer job data.

1. C#

2. Java

3. JavaScript

4. C++

5. Python

6. .NET

7. SQL

8. PHP

9. ASP.NET

10. Linux

Interestingly enough, knowledge of the open source tools mentioned in our list (including Java, Python, etc.) is also evident in LinkedIn’s recent annual list of the hottest skills that got people hired in 2014.

Statistical analysis and data mining, mobile development, Python, Linux and data engineering are all top leading skills that were pertinent last year and will continue to be in-demand in 2015.

But Technical Skills Aren’t Enough

We spoke with the founder and CEO of Expensify David Barrett and founder of Ilos Videos Sean Higgens, who gave us a breakdown of the most crucial soft skills in software development:

Communication:

"Once you find someone that can code the next question is are they coding the right things?" Higgens says. "Communication skills help you stay looped in with the team to keep alignment."

Project Management:

"It's common for software engineers to have multiple projects. This makes project management skills important, knowing how/when to table something, identify when a change request is out of scope, and handle projects in parallel. You don't need to PMP certified but having experience on multiple project teams can certainly give you a leg up," Higgens says.

Passion: 

"Actually do what you say you want to do. If you're in school, there's no excuse to not have a series of amazing side projects --you have nothing but free time, and if you aren't spending it on side projects, you demonstrate that you don't really care about what you claim to. If you're already working, work *hard*. Excel among your peers. If you have the ability, prove it," Barrett says.

Maturity:

"Figure out what you want in your life, and have a clear sense of how to get there. Don't get distracted by hype and FUD, and keep your drama in check -- focus on whatever is stopping you from taking the next step forward, and make sure every job you take is a deliberate choice instead of a bidding war," Barrett says.

Talent:

Be able to show that you not only know how to start development projects but also finish them.

"Work harder on fewer projects, and get them to a demonstrable state. The tiny details at the end are much harder than big decisions at the start," Barrett says. "The difference between a good programmer and a great programmer is experience actually shipping working products, and solving the myriad unforeseeable problems that arise therein."

 

See Software Development Jobs on CyberCoders!