What we know about the developers who are writing the script for the future

Geography Geography

88,615 responses

Each month, about 50 million people visit Stack Overflow to learn, share, and build their careers. We estimate that 21 million of these people are professional developers and university-level students. The majority of our survey respondents this year were people who said they are professional developers or who code sometimes as part of their work, or are students preparing for such a career. About 4% of respondents code as a hobby but not as a profession, and just under 2% of respondents used to be professional developers but no longer are.

See our Methodology section for details on how developers around the world accessed our survey.

Developer, full-stack 51.9% Developer, back-end 50.0% Developer, front-end 32.8% Developer, desktop or enterprise applications 21.3% Developer, mobile 18.1% Student 14.7% Database administrator 11.7% Designer 11.3% System administrator 11.0% DevOps specialist 10.9% Developer, embedded applications or devices 8.9% Data scientist or machine learning specialist 7.9% Developer, QA or test 7.8% Data or business analyst 7.7% Academic researcher 7.3% Engineer, data 7.2% Educator 5.5% Developer, game or graphics 5.5% Engineering manager 5.2% Product manager 5.0% Scientist 4.4% Engineer, site reliability 3.6% Senior executive/VP 2.6% Marketing or sales professional 1.2% 81,335 responses; select all that apply Developer, full-stack 54.8% Developer, back-end 45.8% Developer, front-end 31.5% Developer, desktop or enterprise applications 20.6% Developer, mobile 13.6% Database administrator 12.1% DevOps specialist 12.0% Designer 11.9% System administrator 11.5% Student 10.5% Data or business analyst 9.0% Data scientist or machine learning specialist 8.7% Developer, embedded applications or devices 8.5% Developer, QA or test 8.5% Engineer, data 8.4% Engineering manager 7.1% Academic researcher 6.0% Developer, game or graphics 4.9% Engineer, site reliability 4.9% Product manager 4.7% Scientist 4.6% Educator 4.6% Senior executive/VP 3.4% Marketing or sales professional 1.2% 19,402 responses; select all that apply Developer, full-stack 53.8% Developer, back-end 44.5% Developer, front-end 31.6% Developer, desktop or enterprise applications 19.7% Developer, mobile 13.2% Designer 12.1% Database administrator 11.5% DevOps specialist 11.4% System administrator 11.1% Student 10.7% Data or business analyst 8.9% Data scientist or machine learning specialist 8.7% Developer, QA or test 8.3% Engineer, data 8.1% Developer, embedded applications or devices 8.1% Engineering manager 6.7% Academic researcher 6.1% Developer, game or graphics 4.9% Educator 4.8% Engineer, site reliability 4.7% Scientist 4.7% Product manager 4.7% Senior executive/VP 3.2% Marketing or sales professional 1.3% 19,402 responses; select all that apply

About 50% of respondents identify as full-stack developers, and about 17% consider themselves mobile developers. The median number of developer type identifications per respondent this year is 3, and the most common pairs are combinations of back-end, front-end, and full-stack developer. Pairs that are highly correlated include database administrator and system administrator, DevOps specialist and site reliability engineer, academic researcher and scientist, and designer and front-end developer.

Survey weighting is an approach used to analyze survey data when the survey sample doesn't match the underlying population well. For example, in our survey this year, 11% of US respondents identify as women, but data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that women's participation in the software developer workforce is about twice that, more like 20%. We can use survey weighting to adjust for the mismatch between our survey sample and the population of developers. We know that there is a difference in developer type representation by gender, so let's compare the overall proportions in our raw results for the United States with weighted proportions, assuming that we undersampled gender minorities at the rate indicated by the BLS report. When we use weighting, we see small increases in the representation of developer roles that have the most representation from women, like designers, and decreases in others with low representation from women, like DevOps.

We know there are more ways in which our survey sample doesn't match the underlying population of developers than only gender (including frequency of use of Stack Overflow), and the United States is not the only country for which we expect such a mismatch. The reason we're using this specific example of weighting here is that it is one where we know we have systemic sampling issues and we have an estimate about the expected population proportion. We can demonstrate the effect of our survey sample on our results, both in direction and magnitude.

Never 36.3% Less than once per year 28.1% Less than once a month but more than once per year 23.1% Once a month or more often 12.4% 88,883 responses Never 36.7% Less than once per year 28.7% Less than once a month but more than once per year 23.0% Once a month or more often 11.5% 20,949 responses Never 37.8% Less than once per year 28.5% Less than once a month but more than once per year 22.2% Once a month or more often 11.5% 20,949 responses

About 65% of professional developers on Stack Overflow contribute to open source projects once a year or more. Involvement in open source varies with language. Developers who work with Rust, WebAssembly, and Elixir contribute to open source at the highest rates, while developers who work with VBA, C#, and SQL do so at about half those rates.

Yes 80.2% No 19.8% 88,883 responses Yes 80.4% No 19.6% 20,949 responses Yes 78.7% No 21.3% 20,949 responses

Many developers work on code outside of work. About 80% of our respondents say that they code as a hobby. Other responsibilities outside of software can reduce developers' engagement in coding as a hobby; developers who say they have children or other caretaking responsibilities are less likely to code as a hobby. Respondents who are women are also less likely to say they code as a hobby.

Experience Experience

Less than 5 years 20.5% 5 to 9 years 31.0% 10 to 14 years 19.0% 15 to 19 years 11.1% 20 to 24 years 7.7% 25 to 29 years 3.6% 30 to 34 years 3.2% 35 to 39 years 2.3% 40 to 44 years 1.0% 45 to 49 years 0.3% 50 years or more 0.2% 87,938 responses Less than 5 years 13.4% 5 to 9 years 31.3% 10 to 14 years 21.6% 15 to 19 years 12.9% 20 to 24 years 8.9% 25 to 29 years 4.1% 30 to 34 years 3.6% 35 to 39 years 2.6% 40 to 44 years 1.0% 45 to 49 years 0.3% 50 years or more 0.1% 72,688 responses

There is a wide range of experience levels among developers, and a full 45% of professional developers on Stack Overflow learned to code less than 10 years ago. See more on how experience is related to gender.

Less than 5 years 41.0% 5 to 9 years 26.9% 10 to 14 years 14.5% 15 to 19 years 7.4% 20 to 24 years 5.5% 25 to 29 years 2.0% 30 to 34 years 1.5% 35 to 39 years 0.7% 40 to 44 years 0.3% 45 to 49 years 0.1% 50 years or more 0.1%

74,331 responses

Over 40% of respondents have less than five years of professional coding experience. Developers who work with languages such as VBA, F#, and Clojure have the most years of professional coding experience, while developers who work with languages like Python, PHP, and Kotlin have the fewest.

Senior executive/VP 14.5 Engineering manager 12.8 Engineer, site reliability 10.0 Developer, embedded applications or devices 10.0 Database administrator 9.9 Developer, desktop or enterprise applications 9.9 DevOps specialist 9.9 Educator 9.9 System administrator 9.7 Data or business analyst 9.3 Designer 9.1 Scientist 8.9 Engineer, data 8.6 Developer, back-end 8.5 Developer, QA or test 8.4 Developer, full-stack 8.3 Developer, game or graphics 8.2 Developer, mobile 7.9 Developer, front-end 7.8 Data scientist or machine learning specialist 7.8 Academic researcher 7.6

Mean of 72,069 responses

Developers who work in different areas of software development have different average amounts of experience. Aside from technical executives and managers, SREs and developers who build for embedded devices have the most experience, while academic researchers and data scientists have the fewest years of experience. The related roles and disciplines of site reliability engineering and DevOps are somewhat new, but the people working in this field are highly experienced.

Younger than 10 years 8.7% 10 to 11 years old 9.8% 12 to 13 years old 16.1% 14 to 15 years old 19.6% 16 to 17 years old 16.6% 18 to 19 years old 14.3% 20 to 21 years old 6.5% 22 to 23 years old 3.2% 24 to 25 years old 2.0% 26 to 27 years old 1.0% 28 to 29 years old 0.7% 30 years old or older 1.6% 87,634 responses India 17.0 Brazil 16.1 France 15.3 United States 15.2 Canada 15.1 Poland 14.6 Germany 14.5 Netherlands 14.5 Russian Federation 14.5 United Kingdom 14.3 Australia 14.2 Mean of 56,027 responses Woman 16.9 Man 15.3 Non-binary, genderqueer, or gender non-conforming 14.3 Mean of 85,527 responses

We asked respondents how old they were the first time they wrote a line of code or program, whether that was to make a webpage or say hello to the world. Overall, over half of respondents had written code by the time they were sixteen, but experience varies widely. There is two years' or more difference in the mean first age from countries like Australia and the UK compared to India and Brazil. If we control for developer age today, we see an even more dramatic disparity between India (where developers who are older today started coding later in life) and the UK (where developers who are older today started coding earlier in life). We also see differences with gender, with women writing their first code later than men and non-binary respondents writing code earlier than men.

Education Education

No 75.6% Yes, full-time 18.1% Yes, part-time 6.2%

87,014 responses

About one-quarter of respondents are enrolled in a formal college or university program full-time or part-time.

I never completed any formal education 0.6% Primary/elementary school 1.6% Secondary school 10.0% Some college/university study without earning a degree 12.2% Associate degree 3.4% Bachelor's degree 45.3% Master's degree 22.7% Professional degree 1.4% Doctoral degree 2.8% 86,390 responses I never completed any formal education 0.5% Primary/elementary school 0.5% Secondary school 5.2% Some college/university study without earning a degree 11.4% Associate degree 3.3% Bachelor's degree 49.1% Master's degree 25.4% Professional degree 1.4% Doctoral degree 3.1% 71,796 responses

Worldwide, about three-fourths of professional developer respondents have the equivalent of a bachelor's degree or higher, consistent with what we've found in previous years. However, it is not that rare to find accomplished professional developers who have not completed a degree.

Computer science, computer engineering, or software engineering 62.4% Another engineering discipline (ex. civil, electrical, mechanical) 8.2% Information systems, information technology, or system administration 6.9% Web development or web design 4.5% A natural science (ex. biology, chemistry, physics) 4.3% Mathematics or statistics 3.9% A business discipline (ex. accounting, finance, marketing) 2.4% A humanities discipline (ex. literature, history, philosophy) 2.1% A social science (ex. anthropology, psychology, political science) 1.8% Fine arts or performing arts (ex. graphic design, music, studio art) 1.6% I never declared a major 1.3% A health science (ex. nursing, pharmacy, radiology) 0.4% 75,614 responses Computer science, computer engineering, or software engineering 63.3% Another engineering discipline (ex. civil, electrical, mechanical) 8.3% Information systems, information technology, or system administration 6.9% A natural science (ex. biology, chemistry, physics) 4.3% Web development or web design 4.3% Mathematics or statistics 3.9% A business discipline (ex. accounting, finance, marketing) 2.2% A humanities discipline (ex. literature, history, philosophy) 2.1% A social science (ex. anthropology, psychology, political science) 1.7% Fine arts or performing arts (ex. graphic design, music, studio art) 1.6% I never declared a major 1.1% A health science (ex. nursing, pharmacy, radiology) 0.3% 66,823 responses Computer science, computer engineering, or software engineering 68.2% Information systems, information technology, or system administration 6.7% Another engineering discipline (ex. civil, electrical, mechanical) 6.4% Web development or web design 6.1% Mathematics or statistics 3.5% A natural science (ex. biology, chemistry, physics) 3.3% A business discipline (ex. accounting, finance, marketing) 1.9% A social science (ex. anthropology, psychology, political science) 1.1% A humanities discipline (ex. literature, history, philosophy) 0.9% I never declared a major 0.7% Fine arts or performing arts (ex. graphic design, music, studio art) 0.6% A health science (ex. nursing, pharmacy, radiology) 0.5% 15,764 responses

Of professional developers who studied at the university level, over 60% said they majored in computer science, computer engineering, or software engineering. This proportion is somewhat higher in currently enrolled students, and the proportion of respondents majoring in other engineering disciplines like electrical and mechanical engineering is lower among current students than among professionals.

Taught yourself a new language, framework, or tool without taking a formal course 85.5% Taken an online course in programming or software development (e.g. a MOOC) 60.1% Contributed to open source software 41.0% Received on-the-job training in software development 39.3% Participated in a hackathon 26.0% Participated in online coding competitions (e.g. HackerRank, CodeChef, TopCoder) 25.5% Taken a part-time in-person course in programming or software development 18.7% Participated in a full-time developer training program or bootcamp 15.4% Completed an industry certification program (e.g. MCPD) 15.0% 84,260 responses; select all that apply Taught yourself a new language, framework, or tool without taking a formal course 86.8% Taken an online course in programming or software development (e.g. a MOOC) 60.1% Received on-the-job training in software development 43.6% Contributed to open source software 43.1% Participated in a hackathon 27.1% Participated in online coding competitions (e.g. HackerRank, CodeChef, TopCoder) 25.4% Taken a part-time in-person course in programming or software development 18.7% Completed an industry certification program (e.g. MCPD) 16.4% Participated in a full-time developer training program or bootcamp 16.0% 70,092 responses; select all that apply

Developers are lifelong learners; almost 90% of all developers say they have taught themselves a new language, framework, or tool outside of their formal education. Among professional developers, about 60% say they took an online course like a MOOC (up significantly from last year), and about a quarter have participated in a hackathon.

Demographics Demographics

White or of European descent 70.8% South Asian 11.9% Hispanic or Latino/Latina 7.1% East Asian 5.9% Middle Eastern 4.7% Black or of African descent 3.6% Multiracial 2.3% Biracial 1.3% Native American, Pacific Islander, or Indigenous Australian 0.8% 76,668 responses; select all that apply White or of European descent 72.5% South Asian 11.1% Hispanic or Latino/Latina 7.3% East Asian 5.3% Middle Eastern 4.5% Black or of African descent 3.1% Multiracial 2.3% Biracial 1.2% Native American, Pacific Islander, or Indigenous Australian 0.8% 63,991 responses; select all that apply White or of European descent 59.3% South Asian 17.2% East Asian 8.5% Hispanic or Latino/Latina 8.5% Middle Eastern 6.7% Black or of African descent 5.2% Multiracial 2.8% Biracial 1.5% Native American, Pacific Islander, or Indigenous Australian 0.9% 17,487 responses; select all that apply

We asked our respondents about their racial/ethnic identities and see evidence that people of color continue to be underrepresented among developers, especially among professional developers. We see higher proportions of people of color in students than professional developers. We have seen incremental improvement in this area year over year. In the United States this year, 22% of respondents are people of color (meaning they chose one or more non-white options on this question); last year 19% of United States respondents were people of color. Like with gender representation, this gradual change is encouraging, but the overall participation levels indicate we still have work to do, both on Stack Overflow and as the tech industry more broadly.

United States 11.7% Canada 10.7% United Kingdom 8.6% Australia 7.5% India 7.0% Netherlands 6.7% Germany 6.3% Russian Federation 6.1% Poland 5.9% Sweden 5.9% France 5.5% Spain 5.4% Brazil 5.2% Italy 3.7% 86,210 responses; % who identify as women or non-binary Man 91.7% Woman 7.9% Non-binary, genderqueer, or gender non-conforming 1.2% 85,406 responses; select all that apply Man 92.1% Woman 7.5% Non-binary, genderqueer, or gender non-conforming 1.1% 70,717 responses; select all that apply Man 91.4% Woman 8.5% Non-binary, genderqueer, or gender non-conforming 1.3% 20,277 responses; select all that apply

We asked our respondents about their gender identity, and found that about globally 90% of our respondents are men. In regions including the United States, India, and the UK, women are represented at higher levels among students than among professional developers.

This year 11% of US survey respondents are women, up from 9% on last year's survey. This represents incremental improvement in this area, but the continued low proportion points to problems with inclusion in the tech industry in general and on Stack Overflow in particular.

This year, 1.2% of respondents identified as transgender, about double from last year. The gender identification question allowed respondents to select all that apply, and the question about transgender identity was separate from the question about gender identity.

The dashed line shows the average ratio of men's to women's participation

We see varying representation from men and women in different developer roles on our survey. All categories have dramatically more developers who identify as men than women but the ratio of men to women varies. Developer types above the line have respondents that are more likely than average to be men, and those below the line have respondents who are more likely than average to be women. Developers who are data scientists or academic researchers are about 10 times more likely to be men than women, while developers who are system admins or DevOps specialists are 25-30 times more likely to be men than women. Women have the highest representation as front-end developers, designers, data scientists, data analysts, QA or test developers, scientists, and educators.

Less than 5 years 19.3% 5 to 9 years 30.8% 10 to 14 years 19.4% 15 to 19 years 11.6% 20 to 24 years 8.0% 25 to 29 years 3.8% 30 to 34 years 3.4% 35 to 39 years 2.4% 40 to 44 years 1.0% 45 to 49 years 0.3% 50 years or more 0.2% 77,945 responses Less than 5 years 32.2% 5 to 9 years 34.0% 10 to 14 years 15.8% 15 to 19 years 7.7% 20 to 24 years 5.5% 25 to 29 years 1.9% 30 to 34 years 1.4% 35 to 39 years 1.0% 40 to 44 years 0.4% 45 to 49 years 0.1% 50 years or more 0.2% 6,653 responses Less than 5 years 20.9% 5 to 9 years 32.0% 10 to 14 years 20.4% 15 to 19 years 10.4% 20 to 24 years 7.0% 25 to 29 years 3.5% 30 to 34 years 2.1% 35 to 39 years 2.1% 40 to 44 years 0.7% 45 to 49 years 0.4% 50 years or more 0.5% 991 responses

When we look at differences in years since learning to code by gender, we see evidence for the shifting demographics of coding as a profession, as well as retention problems in the tech industry for underrepresented groups. Research shows, for example, that women leave jobs in tech at higher rates than men. Among our respondents, both in the United States and internationally, women are about twice as likely as men to have three years of coding experience or less. Companies interested in building a diverse developer workforce that is more reflective of society should focus on retention of their senior developers from underrepresented groups, along with thoughtful hiring from the population of more junior developers.

Straight / Heterosexual 93.0% Bisexual 5.5% Gay or Lesbian 2.7% 76,147 responses; select all that apply Straight / Heterosexual 93.4% Bisexual 5.0% Gay or Lesbian 2.6% 63,796 responses; select all that apply Straight / Heterosexual 91.2% Bisexual 7.7% Gay or Lesbian 3.0% 17,180 responses; select all that apply

This is the second year we asked our respondents about their sexual orientation, and the proportions of respondents are mostly consistent since last year.

I have a mood or emotional disorder (e.g. depression, bipolar disorder) 8.8% I have an anxiety disorder 8.6% I have a concentration and/or memory disorder (e.g. ADHD) 6.4% I have autism / an autism spectrum disorder (e.g. Asperger's) 2.6% 15,922 responses identified as having a mental difference I am blind / have difficulty seeing 1.5% I am deaf / hard of hearing 0.8% I am unable to / find it difficult to walk or stand without assistance 0.3% I am unable to / find it difficult to type 0.3% 2,286 responses identified as having a physical difference

Individuals with many forms of disability and difference are part of the developer community, including those with mental health challenges and physical disabilities. Mental health issues like depression and anxiety are particularly common among our respondents. In the United States, almost 30% of respondents said they deal with a mental health challenge, a higher proportion than other large countries such as the UK, Canada, Germany, or India.

Younger than 15 years 0.6% 15 to 19 years 5.6% 20 to 24 years 21.1% 25 to 29 years 27.6% 30 to 34 years 19.3% 35 to 39 years 11.9% 40 to 44 years 6.2% 45 to 49 years 3.4% 50 to 54 years 2.0% 55 to 59 years 1.2% 60 years and older 1.0% 79,210 responses Younger than 15 years 0.0% 15 to 19 years 1.2% 20 to 24 years 17.8% 25 to 29 years 30.8% 30 to 34 years 21.9% 35 to 39 years 13.3% 40 to 44 years 6.9% 45 to 49 years 3.7% 50 to 54 years 2.2% 55 to 59 years 1.2% 60 years and older 0.9% 66,329 responses

About three-fourths of professional developers who took our survey are younger than 35.

Australia 32.8 United States 32.8 United Kingdom 32.2 Canada 31.4 Netherlands 30.7 Germany 30.2 France 29.9 Russian Federation 28.9 Brazil 28.8 Poland 28.4 India 25.9 Mean of 50,705 responses Australia 15.4 United Kingdom 14.9 United States 14.1 Canada 13.4 Netherlands 13.2 Germany 12.9 France 11.8 Russian Federation 11.1 Brazil 10.7 Poland 10.2 India 7.1 Mean of 56,203 responses

Developers on Stack Overflow are older with more experience in Australia, Western Europe, and North America and younger with less experience in regions like India and Eastern Europe.

Geography Evaluating Competence

Far above average 21.5% A little above average 45.1% Average 23.9% A little below average 7.4% Far below average 2.1%

71,779 responses

We asked respondents to evaluate their own competence, for the specific work they do and years of experience they have, and almost 70% of respondents say they are above average while less than 10% think they are below average. This is statistically unlikely with a sample of over 70,000 developers who answered this question, to put it mildly.

Man 67.7% Non-binary, genderqueer, or gender non-conforming 59.1% Woman 53.4%

Mean of 70,411 responses; percent who consider themselves far or a little above average; gender is select all that apply

When asked to evaluate their own competence for the kind of work they do and their years of experience, men are much more likely to say they are far or a little above average than gender minorities in tech.

We specifically asked respondents to evaluate themselves for their years of experience, but we see differences in opinion with experience. New developers are much less likely to evaluate themselves as above average for their experience, and this effect does not flatten out until about 10 years of experience. We see evidence here among the most junior developers for impostor syndrome, pervasive patterns of self-doubt, insecurity, and fear of being exposed as a fraud. Among our respondents, men grew more confident much more quickly than gender minorities.

No 61.1% Yes 38.9% 83,059 responses No 64.5% Yes 35.5% 20,088 responses No 66.0% Yes 34.0% 20,088 responses

For the second year, we asked respondents if they have children or other dependents that they care for, and almost 40% of respondents say that they do, up from last year.

The developers who said they do not have dependents to care for are younger on average with less experience than those who do. Over 60% of developers with 10 or more years of professional coding experience have children or other dependents. Respondents in the United States are more likely to say they have dependents than the rest of the world, but within the US, women are less likely to report having caretaking responsibilities. This fits in with other evidence we see for retention problems specific to underrepresented groups in tech.

Yes 53.2% SIGH 25.0% Also Yes 14.1% Fortunately, someone else has that title 7.6% 87,141 responses Yes 78.2% What? 13.5% No 8.3% 86,663 responses

We've all been there, either giving or receiving help.

Yes 63.7% No 36.3% 86,269 responses China 81.3% Ukraine 80.9% Russian Federation 79.4% Romania 77.4% Brazil 76.2% Bulgaria 74.1% Iran 73.4% Mexico 71.1% Israel 70.5% Poland 69.9% India 69.6% Czech Republic 67.5% Pakistan 66.6% South Africa 66.3% Denmark 65.1% Australia 64.5% Sweden 62.7% United States 61.1% Austria 59.6% Turkey 57.9% Canada 57.7% United Kingdom 56.9% Spain 56.6% Germany 56.2% Netherlands 55.1% Italy 54.3% Switzerland 52.9% Belgium 47.4% France 40.8% Mean of 86,269 responses; percent who say people born today will have a better life

This question mirrors a question that’s asked by Gallup every year. The 2018 Gallup results saw 61% of the American population believing today's youth will live better than their parents; that percentage was the highest since Gallup’s 2010 survey. If we filter our survey for American respondents, the percentage is also 61%, mirroring Gallup’s results. Either way, it seems that developers don’t overwhelmingly believe we’re headed toward dystopia.

Respondents in China are the most optimistic, and those in regions like Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East are especially hopeful compared to those in Western Europe. This is especially notable in countries like Germany and France, which are the 4th and 7th largest economies in the world, respectively.

Reddit 17.0% YouTube 16.4% WhatsApp 15.8% Facebook 15.6% Twitter 13.5% Instagram 7.4% I don't use social media 6.6% LinkedIn 5.3% WeChat 微信 0.8% Snapchat 0.7% VK ВКонта́кте 0.7% Weibo 新浪微博 0.1% Youku Tudou 优酷 0.0% Hello 0.0% 84,437 responses Reddit 28.4% Twitter 17.3% Facebook 14.2% YouTube 12.3% I don't use social media 9.2% Instagram 8.2% LinkedIn 5.1% WhatsApp 3.0% Snapchat 1.6% WeChat 微信 0.5% VK ВКонта́кте 0.0% Weibo 新浪微博 0.0% Hello 0.0% Youku Tudou 优酷 0.0% 20,046 responses Reddit 27.0% Twitter 18.4% Facebook 14.6% YouTube 11.9% Instagram 9.2% I don't use social media 8.8% LinkedIn 5.0% WhatsApp 3.0% Snapchat 1.6% WeChat 微信 0.5% Weibo 新浪微博 0.1% VK ВКонта́кте 0.0% Hello 0.0% Youku Tudou 优酷 0.0% 20,046 responses

We asked our respondents this year what social media site they use the most, and Reddit and YouTube were the most common answers. Developers' preferences aren't reflective of the most popular social media platforms in the world where Facebook ranks first and Reddit doesn’t even crack the top 10. (Reddit has about 330 million active users compared to Facebook’s 2.32 billion monthly users.)

When we look in the United States, the situation is a little different. Twitter and Facebook are ranked higher. Notice that the United States result weighted by gender exhibits some interesting differences from the unweighted result; Instagram even gains a full rank.

Username 73.3% Login 10.8% UserID 8.5% Handle 5.0% Screen Name 2.5%

80,486 responses

There have been many iterations on the names we use in chat apps or online communities to identify ourselves. The most common choice for our respondents was username by a landslide. Respondents who chose userId are the oldest, and respondents who chose username are the youngest.

In real life (in person) 60.5% Online 28.6% Neither 10.9%

87,305 responses

Developers may have a reputation for introversion, but a firm majority of our respondents said they prefer face-to-face conversations to online chat. We're happy to report that only 11% of our respondents said they didn't want to communicate with their fellow human beings via either method.

Elon Musk 30.2% Jeff Bezos 7.2% Satya Nadella 4.4% Me/myself 2.5% Donald Trump 2.2% Sundar Pichai 1.9% Mark Zuckerberg 1.7% Tim Cook 1.3% Linus Torvalds 1.1% Bill Gates 0.7% Dan Abramov 0.6% Xi Jinping 0.4% Evan You 0.4% Andrew Ng 0.3% Richard Stallman 0.3% Vitalik Buterin 0.3% Larry Page 0.3% Rich Hickey 0.2% Ajit Pai 0.2% Jeff Dean 0.2% Lisa Su 0.2% Jon Skeet 0.2% Demis Hassabis 0.2% Jack Ma 0.2% Werner Vogels 0.2%

30,398 responses

We asked respondents what person they thought would be most influential in 2019 in a free-text field. Besides CEOs of companies including Tesla, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Apple, respondents mentioned developers building and maintaining React.js and Vue.js (the most loved web frameworks this year), along with leaders from the Linux world and other tech domains. A few world leaders received mentions from respondents, along with a fair number of humble respondents nominating...themselves! Some individuals mentioned here are likely not viewed favorably by those who listed them, such as the current chairman of the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Only one woman made it to the top 25 of this list: Lisa Su, the CEO of AMD.