Software Development Ranks as Top Career Path Among Gen Z in New CloudBees Survey

Global survey reveals educational gaps in security and coding languages for future developers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In a new global survey released today by CloudBees, the enterprise software delivery company, 18- to 24-year-old respondents ranked software development as their top career choice. In the same survey, 90% of respondents predict the role of software developer will continue to be important in five years, with 27% believing it will be critically important. Further, security education and training was revealed as the biggest gap between what is taught and what is required in professional settings for software engineers.

“With all companies becoming technology companies, software development plays a critical role in the global economy both today and in the future. This survey reveals that Gen Z’s career interests are aligned with where the global economy is headed,” said Dinesh Keswani, chief technology officer at CloudBees. “This new generation is emerging from college with a drive to make their mark in the technology space and companies need to be ready for them to enter the workforce.”

These young people are preparing now for where the global economy is headed. Among respondents still in school, 56% plan to devote at least a portion of their curricula to coding. Within that group, 39% expect to write code in their jobs, 29% want to be more conversant with colleagues in the workplace, and 10% prefer to code ‘just for fun.’

The survey also reveals gaps between what is taught in school and what is needed in the workplace. Approximately 25% of respondents identified security as a topic that was not covered in school but should have been. In addition, JAVA and Python were cited as the most taught and understood coding languages. However, 41% of graduates who studied coding felt the programming language they learned in school was misaligned with what they used on the job.

“Coding languages come in and out of fashion, making it difficult for school curricula to keep pace with these shifts, but they need to do better. With educational institutions lagging behind, there is an expectation that recent graduates will learn on the job, placing a burden on the employees and the employers,” continued Keswani. “Employers need to be ready to welcome new developers and have programs in place to address these educational gaps, allowing them to hit the ground running and start contributing quickly.”

The survey also revealed:

• Globally, 56% of respondents who graduated from college were employed within six months and 35% found a job in less than three months.
• Salary and benefits (35%) are the most important factors cited when looking for a job, followed by location (14%) and being able to work remotely (10%).

The survey compiled responses from 1,000 individuals in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and France between the ages of 18 and 24.

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About CloudBees
CloudBees, the enterprise software delivery company, provides the industry’s leading DevOps technology platform. CloudBees enables developers to focus on what they do best — build great software — while providing peace of mind to management with powerful risk mitigation, compliance and governance tools. Used by many of the Fortune 100, CloudBees is helping thousands of companies harness the power of continuous everything, setting them on the fastest path from a great idea, to great software, to amazing customer experiences, to being a business that changes lives.

Backed by Matrix Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Verizon Ventures, Delta-v Capital, Golub Capital and Unusual Ventures, CloudBees was founded in 2010 by former JBoss CTO Sacha Labourey and an elite team of continuous integration, continuous delivery and DevOps professionals. Follow CloudBees on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.