Is Software Development ACTUALLY Worth It In 2024?

picture this you're sitting at a coffee shop sipping your overpriced Latte when suddenly you over hear someone say I just landed a 150k Pere remote job as a software developer of course your ears perk up faster than a cat hearing a can opener and you think to yourself is this for real or is it just another tech bro bragging about his Bitcoin gains well stick around because we're about to dive deep into the current state of the software development market right now and trust me you won't want to miss this today we're going to be tackling the million-dollar question is software development actually worth it right now now I know what you're thinking Shane haven't you been telling us to learn to code since forever well yes and no let me explain the tech landscape is changing faster than Elon musk's Twitter I mean X feed and it's time we take a fresh look at the world of software development because it used to be that you could get a software developer job if you had a warm body and a pulse and that is definitely not true in today's job market so we're going to cover everything from salaries and job prospects to the skills that you need and the challenges that you'll face plus I'll throw in some personal stories that'll make you laugh cry and maybe even rage quit your current job so grab your favorite energy Jank fire up your mechanical keyboard and let's debug this career path together all right so let's talk about the current state of software development according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the overall employment for software developers is projected to grow 17% from 2023 to 2033 which is much faster than the average for all occupations however on the other side of the coin there was recently many layoffs in the software developer world so what gives well it's not just about quantity it's about quality companies are looking for developers who can adapt learn and innovate and it's kind of like being in a never-ending game of tech whacka you've got to be ready to hit whatever new technology pops up so let's talk about what you really want to know the Benjamins in 2024 the average salary for software developers in the US is around $101,000 a year and the pay range for someone who has up to one year of experience is usually $82 to $142,000 a year but hold on to your hoodies because that's just the beginning senior developers and those with specialized skills can easily pull in $150 to $200,000 a year or more and if you want to land a gig at one of the Fang companies like Facebook Amazon Apple Netflix or Google or some say it's now mama or Manga whatever you know what I mean well you might need a bigger piggy bank sometimes up to a million dollar a year now I know what you're thinking Shane those numbers sound great but what about the cost of living well great question imaginary viewer this is where remote work comes in clutch imagine making Silicon Valley money while living in a place where a house costs less than a Tesla that's the dream and for many developers it's becoming a reality it's free real estate but let me keep it real with you with a bigger salary Uncle Sam will take a bigger bite so don't forget about your taxes and a pro tip here is to always consider the full compensation package including benefits and stock options and maybe learn a thing or two about tax deductions and by the way if you want to land a remote job I have some high impact completely free resume templates that are built for remote professionals and they're designed to help you showcase your skills and catch the eye of potential employers and those are available down the description and the pin comment below and again completely free I want as many people as possible to get jobs just from watching these videos and if you do get a job the one thing I ask is you just go ahead and comment on the channel like these people did now let's talk about what you need to bring to the table in 2024 and spoiler alert it's not just about writing hello world in 50 different languages let's break down the 12 essential skills that will make you the MVP of the dev world because companies aren't just looking to hire software developers they're looking to hire software developers that are actually good and there's a huge shortage of good software developers there's a lot of people out there trying to get jobs that are not that good that is just simply the reality of the situation so first of all coding languages the bread and butter of our craft you've got your Classics like JavaScript HTML and CSS for web development but don't sleep on python C++ and Java each has its superpower like python for its versatility or C++ for those hardcore gaming gigs remember it's not about knowing all the languages it's about mastering a few that align with your career goals next let's talk about database knowledge because data is the new oil SQL is your best friend here learn it love it live it you'll be organizing and manipulating data like a digital Marie condo and the next thing data structures and algorithms is the secret sauce of efficient coding it's like knowing how to organize your closet and fold your clothes and trust me your future self and your code reviewer will thank you for that next is Source control get good or get out am I right version control is crucial when you're working in a team or when you inevitably break something and you need to go back in time and fix it next is testing procedures because nobody likes a buggy app unit testing integration testing system testing learn all of them it's like being a detective but for code and speaking of detectives this is where you Channel your inner Sherlock Holmes debugging finding and fixing bugs is an art form Master it and you'll be worth your weight in gold and by the way comment down below your opinion on the current state of the software developer market and also what you think the most important skills to learn are if you want to land a job next is operating systems know your playground Windows Mac OS Linux iOS Android they're all important and it's kind of like being multilingual but for computers so choose your operating language wisely based on the job that you want to land next is text editing software your digital canvas adom textmate notepad++ brackets pick your poison find one that feels like an extension of your fingers next is cryptography and this is when you need to go all James Bond on your code protect that precious data with encryption skills and it's not just for spies anymore this is something where if you're really good at this this is a niche skill that a lot of companies need next is software Frameworks don't reinvent the wheel net Coco Coco touch these are all your ready-made toolkits use them wisely and you'll be coding at light speed the next one is super important and actually I'd say this is maybe important than most of the other ones on the list and that is cloud platforms because everything right now is up in the cloud these days and as someone who helps people get jobs in this type of thing I know that a lot of the companies want people that have Cloud skills so familiarity with AWS azour or Google Cloud can really help you stand out and getting comfortable with them is like having a skyh high playground for your code next is spreadsheet software yes really sometimes you just need to crunch some numbers or organize data and if you have just a little bit of data analysis skills it can go a long way to help you in your software development Journey plus it's a great way to impress non-te folks in meetings now I know what you're thinking Shane this is a lot do I need to master all of these the answer is no but here's the kicker the more you know and the more you know for specific positions the more valuable you become it's kind of like being a Swiss army knife in the world of butter knives and remember soft skills are just as crucial things like communication problem solving teamwork these can make or break your career so keep learning stay curious and never stop improving your skills because in this fast-paced Tech world the only constant is change and the developers who can adapt are the ones who will Thrive now by the way if you're enjoying this and you know someone who's trying to get a software developer job make sure to share this video with them to help kickstart start their coding Journey all right so let's talk about the challenges because unfortunately it's not all sunshine and semicolons now before you rush off to buy a hello world t-shirt and change your LinkedIn title to code ninja let's talk about the challenges you'll face in the software development world first up impostor syndrome it's real and it hits hard you will have days where you feel like you're the smartest person in the room and other days where you will wonder how you even manage to turn on your computer trust me I've been there it's like being on an emotional roller coaster but without the Fun Park food next the pressure to constantly learn and evolve technology moves faster than a caffeinated cheetah and what's hot today might be obsolete tomorrow remember flash yeah me neither you've got to be prepared for lifelong learning and it's like being back in school but without the fun of passing notes or crushing on your lab partner lastly the sedentary lifestyle sitting for hours in debugging code can take a toll on your physical and mental health so remember stand up stretch And maybe invest in a good chiropractor all right so let's talk about the future what is next for software development first of all Ai and machine learning are going to play an even bigger role Ro in software development and you need to be one of the software developers that Embraces AI because AI is not going to replace software developers software developers using AI is going to replace software developers I mean have you guys checked out Claude Claude is insanely good at software development right now but don't worry it's not good enough yet to take your job instead you need to think of AI like Claude as your new coding buddy improving code quality and decision-making next is quantum Computing and this is set to unlock unprecedented computational power it's going to be like giving your code a supercharge for complex problem solving also there's going to be low code and no code platforms that are on the rise and they're going to enable rapid prototyping and reducing dependence on skilled programmers now some people think this spells Doom for traditional coding but I see it more as an opportunity to focus on more complex challenges it's like when calculators were introduced in math class they didn't replace mathematicians they just changed the game the key is to position yourself as the architect the problem solver be the person who can bridge the gap between business needs and Technical Solutions extended reality development is another Frontier to watch we're talking virtual augmented and mixed reality applications imagine coding environments where you can manipulate code in 3D space it's kind of like Minority Report but with less crime prediction and more immersive experiences and don't forget about Edge Computing and cyber security and the possibilities are endless and the field is wide open for Innovation from ethical AI to blockchain integration the future of software development is looking bright and complex and all the Doom and Gloom people saying that you know software Developers are going to get totally replaced well maybe they're right but it's going to take a very very long time for that to actually happen so as long as you stay ahead of the curve and you Embrace AI instead of resisting it it can help you to become a much better software developer yourself now recently the software developer Market has been down and like I said before there is an abundance of people who are bad software developers or maybe they're just kind of entry level and there are not nearly enough people who are at that top tier level so what can you do about it well the biggest thing is to create projects showcase your skills with your portfolio and don't do a cookie cutter portfolio that you copy and pasted from GitHub actually come up with something completely new and showcase your skills do something that would impress a top tier software developer and that's the second thing get in touch with top tier software developers have them give you ideas for portfolios that you can build and then have them review your portfolio as well because in the modern world there are tons of people who have computer science degrees that are terrible at software development and then there are tons of people who have zero formal education that are amazing at it and so your portfolio is basically the only thing that you have to set yourself apart so build it wisely now of course you can learn on your own just like everyone else is trying to do and you probably won't be able to get a job but there are two options that I can suggest to you that are pretty good first of all if you want to get a college degree I highly recommend checking out universities like WGU you can get a computer science degree much faster and much more affordably than you would at a normal university and I actually made a video about how you can get a computer science degree from from WGU in 6 to 12 months now the second option is probably going to be better for most of you out there and that is getting access to mentors through a platform like course careers course careers provides practical training for software developers where they teach you the skills that are actually in demand right now not 95% hypothetical theoretical fluff like most colleges do and they do have a completely free training that explains exactly how they help people get jobs which I'll put down in the description and the pin comment below so is software development actually worth it right now in my humble not so biased opinion absolutely yes it's still worth it is it as good as it was 5 or 10 years ago no it's not because 5 or 10 years ago they were absolutely starving for even entry-level talent and now they have plenty of entry-level talent but they need people who are really good but the salaries are still competitive the job market is still strong and the opportunities for growth are still massive even according to BLS but it's not just about the money it's about being at the Forefront of innovation solving real world problems and creating things that can change change lives software development is one of the few skills out there where you can leverage one single person to create an app or a piece of software that literally millions or even tens or hundreds of millions of people can use and sure it does come with its challenges the constant learning the pressure the occasional existential crisis when your code won't compile but show me a career worth having that doesn't come with a few hurdles I mean that's literally the reason you're getting paid to do the job because it's difficult because most of the time it sucks so if you're on the fence but you think that software development is a good fit for you I say take the leap and if you're not sure if it's a good fit for you again take the free training down below because that will help you determine that and by the way you can check out an entire playlist of people that course careers actually helped get a job and I'll put that up on the screen right now