This Week in Numbers: Industry Demand for React Developers
Earlier this year we reported on React’s dramatic rise to being the top skill cited in Hacker News job postings. Now, HackerRank’s 2018 Developer Skills Report provides more evidence that you should brush up on your ability to use the JavaScript framework. The report is based on 39,441 responses, with most coming from developers but others coming from employers.
In short, 33 percent of employers need React skills, but only 19 percent of developers said they had known React. Twice as many employer respondents want Vue.js as compared to those that know the framework, but the aggregate demand is much lower than the leaders’.
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Although Angular and Node.js have a slightly higher number of employers citing them, those frameworks have a higher percentage of developers ready to meet the demand. Since Angular has transitioned to newer versions, there is a possibly a large disconnect between its original release and the newer Angular 2 versions. Several frameworks had a higher percentage of developers that know the language rather than employers needing them. JavaServer Faces (JSF) and Struts are notable examples because they are Java instead of JavaScript frameworks.
Since HackerRank’s community is structured around coding competition and online training, the results mean the company should do even more to push developers to learn React. Developers that currently use Angular or Node.js do not appear to become unemployable. In fact, StackOverflow’s 2017 Developer Survey indicates strong interest in all three.
Readers should note that the number of employers does not necessarily represent specific job openings. In addition, readers should be careful to extrapolate findings because the sample may not be representative of the worldwide community.
