What Mega-corps Are Desperately Chasing (and Why You Should Too)

Let’s face it: for the most skilled developers, the tech environment resembles a high-stakes poker game. Mega-corps are tossing equity and benefits around like chips in the hopes of snagging the next prodigy who will develop the next billion-dollar unicorn.

But it’s not a random toss-up.

These tech titans are laser-focused on specific developer profiles, and if you don’t play their hand, you could miss out on the biggest payout. As someone who has worked in software engineering for over a decade, I’ve seen demand shift greatly over the years. Lately, there are a few key types of developers that seem to be in extremely high demand at big tech firms. However, this isn’t about blind loyalty or peddling your skills to the highest bidder. It’s about understanding the skills they crave, honing their own game, and becoming the player they desperately want to bring to their team.

In 2023, a few developer profiles seem to clearly be getting the most recruiter attention and sky-high compensation packages. Based on my industry connections and analysis of tech hiring trends, these are the top 5 key roles mega-companies have gone “all-in” trying to fill open positions for:

1. Machine learning expertise

With companies increasingly looking to add AI capabilities to their platforms and services, there simply aren’t enough ML engineers to go around. Salaries are skyrocketing, with average compensation packages reaching into the multiple six figures. Just about every major company, from Google to Meta to banks and hedge funds, wants more machine learning scientists and engineers on staff.

If you have experience building neural networks, knowledge of statistical learning techniques, and coding abilities in Python and TensorFlow, your skills will be highly sought after.

2. Security & Privacy Experts

High-profile hacks and new rules have put a premium on expertise in threat analysis, encryption, authentication, and data governance. Big IT companies are competing for engineers who can design and construct systems that are resistant to attacks or illegal data access.

3. Full Stack Web Developers

The shift to online and mobile apps shows no signs of decreasing, which means that developers who can work across frontend, backend, APIs, and databases to design entire digital experiences are in high demand. Specialists in JavaScript frameworks such as React, as well as Python and SQL, are still in high demand.

4. Blockchain Developers

Blockchain was popularized by cryptocurrency, and now businesses ranging from finance to logistics to healthcare have ambitious blockchain initiatives in the works. However, blockchain developer expertise is still in low supply, so individuals with hands-on Web3 experience have plenty of possibilities.

5. Quantum Computing Specialists

Quantum is currently in its early stages of development, yet it has immense future potential. As a result, many corporations have been racing to hire the few experts who understand superposition, entanglement, and other quantum principles to progress this revolutionary technology.

Now, what does this mean for you?

Simple: evolve

Learn a new skill or two. Embrace the full stack, work with AI, and get comfortable consuming data. Become a developer who speaks the languages the megacorps are craving.

Remember, it’s not about selling out, it’s about leveling up.

And hey, who knows? Maybe someday you’ll be the one they’re chasing, not the other way around.

Bonus takeaway: Don’t just follow the trends, set them. Be the developer who redefines what “valuable” means. Create something that will make the mega corps sit up and pay attention.

Of course, annual rankings never tell the whole story, but I hope this breakdown offers useful insights into the dev skills currently commanding the highest salaries and deepest corporate investments in our dynamic tech landscape going into 2023.

References-

• https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2023/
• https://jobs.gartner.com/jobs/job/76407-full-stack-software-engineer-node-react-digital-markets/
• https://www.indeed.com/lead/artificial-intelligence-report
• https://venturebeat.com/datadecisionmakers/the-current-state-of-mlops-for-machine-learning-engineers/
• https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/the-age-of-analytics-competing-in-a-data-driven-world
• https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global_Risks_Report_2023.pdf