2024 Developer Survey

6 Professional Developers

We asked Professional Developers to tell us about what impacts their productivity at work, how often it happens, and how much time it takes out of their day. We also asked them about the developer experience at work—do they have the processes, tools, and programs they need to make their jobs easier?

6.1 Productivity Impacts

Years of professional work experience

1 in 4 are 1 to 4: as in 25% of professional developers report having one to four years of work experience. The majority of respondents are early-to-mid career professionals (nine or less years experience) and the majority of people managers are mid-to-later career professionals (10+ years experience).

How many years of working experience do you have?
All Respondents Individual Contributor People Manager
All Respondents to-do 1 to 4 years24.5%5 to 9 years26.2%10 to 14 years18.5%15 to 19 years11.3%20 to 24 years7.8%25 to 29 years5.4%30 to 34 years2.8%35 to 39 years1.5%40 to 44 years1%45 to 49 years0.3%50 years or more0.2%
Responses: 29,466 (45%)
Individual Contributor to-do 1 to 4 years26.6%5 to 9 years27%10 to 14 years17.9%15 to 19 years10.3%20 to 24 years7.2%25 to 29 years4.9%30 to 34 years2.5%35 to 39 years1.5%40 to 44 years1%45 to 49 years0.3%50 years or more0.2%
Responses: 25,482 (38.9%)
People Manager to-do 1 to 4 years10%5 to 9 years21.1%10 to 14 years23.1%15 to 19 years17.9%20 to 24 years11.5%25 to 29 years8.5%30 to 34 years4.5%35 to 39 years1.8%40 to 44 years0.9%45 to 49 years0.2%50 years or more0.2%
Responses: 3,879 (5.9%)

Ability to find knowledge and information within their organization

70% of respondents agree or strongly agree that they know where to go to find answers to their questions and 56% agree they can do so quickly.

How quick is quickly? 53% agree or strongly agree that waiting on answers disrupts their workflow, even if they know where to go to find those answers.

Please rate your level of agreement with the following statement:
All Respondents Individual Contributor People Manager
All Respondents to-do 11.6% 44.6% 25.7% 14.9% 3.1%I am able to quickly find answers to my questions with existing tools and resources. 9.7% 39.1% 26.4% 19.7% 5.1%I can find up-to-date information within my organization to help me do my job. 11.1% 38.8% 25.4% 18.6% 6.2%I feel like I have the tools and/or resources to quickly understand and work on any area of my company's code/system/platform. 9.2% 24.1% 22.3% 21.3% 23.1%I have asked my employer to reimburse me for tools or a product that helps me do my job better or faster 36% 46.9% 8.3% 6.3% 2.4%I have interactions with people outside of my immediate team. 17.9% 52.4% 18.3% 9.4% 2%I know which system or resource to use to find information and answers to questions I have. 13.2% 35.6% 26.5% 21.2% 3.5%I often find myself answering questions that I’ve already answered before. 12.9% 32.3% 26% 21.3% 7.5%Knowledge silos prevent me from getting ideas across the organization. 16% 37% 23.6% 19.5% 3.9%Waiting on answers to questions often causes interruptions and disrupts my workflow.Strongly agreeAgreeNeither agree nor disagreeDisagreeStrongly disagree
Responses: 28,747 (43.9%)
Individual Contributor to-do 11.3% 44.4% 26% 15.2% 3.2%I am able to quickly find answers to my questions with existing tools and resources. 9.4% 38.9% 26.5% 20% 5.3%I can find up-to-date information within my organization to help me do my job. 10.4% 38.3% 25.6% 19.1% 6.5%I feel like I have the tools and/or resources to quickly understand and work on any area of my company's code/system/platform. 8.6% 23.3% 22.3% 21.9% 23.9%I have asked my employer to reimburse me for tools or a product that helps me do my job better or faster 32.8% 48.5% 9% 7.1% 2.6%I have interactions with people outside of my immediate team. 17.3% 52.3% 18.6% 9.6% 2.1%I know which system or resource to use to find information and answers to questions I have. 12.5% 35% 26.8% 22% 3.6%I often find myself answering questions that I’ve already answered before. 12.9% 32.1% 26.3% 21.3% 7.4%Knowledge silos prevent me from getting ideas across the organization. 16.2% 36.9% 23.6% 19.5% 3.9%Waiting on answers to questions often causes interruptions and disrupts my workflow.Strongly agreeAgreeNeither agree nor disagreeDisagreeStrongly disagree
Responses: 24,869 (38%)
People Manager to-do 13.5% 46.2% 24.2% 13.8% 2.3%I am able to quickly find answers to my questions with existing tools and resources. 12% 40.1% 26.2% 17.8% 3.9%I can find up-to-date information within my organization to help me do my job. 15.3% 41.8% 23.6% 15.1% 4.2%I feel like I have the tools and/or resources to quickly understand and work on any area of my company's code/system/platform. 13.5% 29.4% 21.8% 17.3% 18%I have asked my employer to reimburse me for tools or a product that helps me do my job better or faster 56.7% 36.5% 4% 1.4% 1.4%I have interactions with people outside of my immediate team. 22.3% 52.8% 16% 7.7% 1.3%I know which system or resource to use to find information and answers to questions I have. 17.5% 39.9% 24.6% 15.7% 2.4%I often find myself answering questions that I’ve already answered before. 12.7% 33.7% 24.2% 20.9% 8.5%Knowledge silos prevent me from getting ideas across the organization. 15.2% 37.8% 23.2% 19.7% 4.2%Waiting on answers to questions often causes interruptions and disrupts my workflow.Strongly agreeAgreeNeither agree nor disagreeDisagreeStrongly disagree
Responses: 3,791 (5.8%)

Frequency of productivity frictions

30% of developers say knowledge silos impact their productivity ten or more times per week.

Knowledge silos aren't a problem for everyone (45% agree or strongly agree that they are a nuisance), but if you have them, they are a frequent problem.

How frequently do you experience each of the following?
All Respondents Individual Contributor People Manager
All Respondents to-do 52.1% 2.8% 12.4% 3.1% 29.6%Encountering knowledge silos (where one individual or team has information that's not shared or distributed with other individuals or teams) at work? 44.3% 12.2% 23% 10.8% 9.6%Interacting with people outside of your immediate team? 59.9% 1.7% 9.6% 2% 26.8%Needing help from people outside of your immediate team?Never1-2 times a week3-5 times a week6-10 times a week10+ times a week
Responses: 28,462 (43.5%)
Individual Contributor to-do 51.6% 2.7% 12.2% 3.1% 30.4%Encountering knowledge silos (where one individual or team has information that's not shared or distributed with other individuals or teams) at work? 46.4% 10.4% 22.8% 10.1% 10.4%Interacting with people outside of your immediate team? 60.3% 1.3% 8.6% 1.7% 28%Needing help from people outside of your immediate team?Never1-2 times a week3-5 times a week6-10 times a week10+ times a week
Responses: 24,632 (37.6%)
People Manager to-do 55.2% 3% 13.7% 3.3% 24.7%Encountering knowledge silos (where one individual or team has information that's not shared or distributed with other individuals or teams) at work? 30.6% 24.3% 24.3% 16.1% 4.6%Interacting with people outside of your immediate team? 57.1% 4.1% 16.1% 3.7% 18.9%Needing help from people outside of your immediate team?Never1-2 times a week3-5 times a week6-10 times a week10+ times a week
Responses: 3,747 (5.7%)

Daily time spent searching for answers/solutions

61% of all respondents spend more than 30 minutes a day searching for answers or solutions to problems.

People managers spend less time searching than individual contributors (40% vs. 36% spend 30 minutes or less).

On an average day, how much time do you typically spend searching for answers or solutions to problems you encounter at work? (This includes time spent searching on your own, asking a colleague, and waiting for a response).
All Respondents Individual Contributor People Manager
All Respondents to-do Less than 15 minutes a day9.3%15-30 minutes a day27%30-60 minutes a day37.9%60-120 minutes a day18.3%Over 120 minutes a day7.6%
Responses: 28,911 (44.2%)
Individual Contributor to-do Less than 15 minutes a day9%15-30 minutes a day26.7%30-60 minutes a day38%60-120 minutes a day18.6%Over 120 minutes a day7.8%
Responses: 25,020 (38.2%)
People Manager to-do Less than 15 minutes a day11.1%15-30 minutes a day29.3%30-60 minutes a day37.4%60-120 minutes a day15.8%Over 120 minutes a day6.4%
Responses: 3,803 (5.8%)

Daily time spent answering questions

People managers spend a lot of time answering questions: 61% spend more than 30 minutes a day answering questions.

On an average day, how much time do you typically spend answering questions you get asked at work?
All Respondents Individual Contributor People Manager
All Respondents to-do Less than 15 minutes a day20.5%15-30 minutes a day32.4%30-60 minutes a day30%60-120 minutes a day12.8%Over 120 minutes a day4.3%
Responses: 28,844 (44.1%)
Individual Contributor to-do Less than 15 minutes a day22.2%15-30 minutes a day34.3%30-60 minutes a day29.2%60-120 minutes a day11%Over 120 minutes a day3.4%
Responses: 28,844 (44.1%)
People Manager to-do Less than 15 minutes a day9.2%15-30 minutes a day20.1%30-60 minutes a day35.1%60-120 minutes a day25%Over 120 minutes a day10.5%
Responses: 3,794 (5.8%)

6.2 Developer Experience

Processes, tools, and programs within an organization

Most professional developers report having CI/CD, DevOps, and automated testing available at their organization.

The percentage of developers with access to AI-assisted technology at work doubled: 15.7% last year to 32.4% this year.

My company has:
All Respondents to-do Continuous integration and c…68.6%DevOps function58.3%Automated testing56.3%Microservices46.2%Knowledge sharing community39.9%Observability tools38.3%AI-assisted technology tool32.4%Dev portal or other central pl…29%Innersource initiative15.6%None of these10.4%
Responses: 27,764 (42.4%)

Resources for technical questions at work

Public search engines are the top resource used by professional developers to find answers to technical questions. 55% use traditional search and 15% use AI-powered search, either free or paid.

When you have a technical question at work, where do you first go to get an answer?
All Respondents Individual Contributor People Manager
All Respondents to-do Traditional public search engi…54.9%A coworker18.5%AI-powered search 7.8%AI-powered search 6.8%Slack search3.7%Do search of internal share dr…3.3%Internal Dev portal2.7%Other:1.9%Microsoft Teams search0.5%
Responses: 28,807 (44%)
Individual Contributor to-do Traditional public search engi…55.2%A coworker18.4%AI-powered search 7.8%AI-powered search 6.4%Slack search3.8%Do search of internal share dr…3.2%Internal Dev portal2.8%Other:1.9%Microsoft Teams search0.5%
Responses: 24,923 (38.1%)
People Manager to-do Traditional public search engi…52.5%A coworker18.8%AI-powered search 9%AI-powered search 8.1%Do search of internal share dr…3.7%Slack search3%Internal Dev portal2.4%Other:1.9%Microsoft Teams search0.6%
Responses: 3,796 (5.8%)

Most common frustrations

Technical debt is the top frustration at work for professional developers according to 63% of respondents, regardless of whether they are an individual contributor or a people manager.

However, they don't agree on how frustrating unreliable tools and services at work can be: people managers agree this is second to tech debt, but individual contributors find complex tech stacks for building or deployment to be slightly more frustrating.

Which of these company challenges causes you the most frustration? Select all that apply.
All Respondents Individual Contributor People Manager
All Respondents to-do Amount of technical debt62.4%Complexity of tech stack for b…32.9%Complexity of tech stack for d…32.3%Reliability of tools/systems u…31.5%Tracking my work27.1%Patching/updating core compone…25.1%Number of software tools in us…22.8%Showing my contributions19.6%Maintaining security of code b…18.6%Maintaining security of system…15.4%None of these8.7%
Responses: 28,251 (43.2%)
Individual Contributor to-do Amount of technical debt62.3%Complexity of tech stack for b…33.5%Complexity of tech stack for d…32.7%Reliability of tools/systems u…31.6%Tracking my work26.8%Patching/updating core compone…24.9%Number of software tools in us…22.6%Showing my contributions20%Maintaining security of code b…17.6%Maintaining security of system…14.4%None of these8.5%
Responses: 24,434 (37.3%)
People Manager to-do Amount of technical debt62.4%Reliability of tools/systems u…31.2%Complexity of tech stack for d…30%Complexity of tech stack for b…29.1%Tracking my work28.8%Patching/updating core compone…26.4%Maintaining security of code b…25.1%Number of software tools in us…23.6%Maintaining security of system…21.7%Showing my contributions17.3%None of these9.5%
Responses: 3,735 (5.7%)

6.3 Job Industry and Satisfaction

Industry

Software development remains a top industry for developers. 41% of respondents who participated in the professional developer section of this year's survey are working in the software development industry.

What industry is the company you work for in?
All Respondents Individual Contributor People Manager
All Respondents to-do Software Dev41.3%Fintech5.7%Internet, Telecomm or Informat…5.6%Banking/Financial Services4.8%Healthcare4.4%Manufacturing4.4%Retail and Consumer Services4.4%Government3.3%Media & Advertising Services3.1%Higher Education3.1%Transportation, or Supply Chai…3%Computer Systems Design and Se…2.9%Energy2%Insurance1.4%
Responses: 28,858 (44.1%)
Individual Contributor to-do Software Dev40.8%Internet, Telecomm or Informat…5.7%Fintech5.6%Banking/Financial Services4.8%Manufacturing4.5%Retail and Consumer Services4.4%Healthcare4.4%Government3.4%Higher Education3.1%Transportation, or Supply Chai…3%Computer Systems Design and Se…3%Media & Advertising Services3%Energy2.1%Insurance1.4%
Responses: 24,949 (38.1%)
People Manager to-do Software Dev44.2%Fintech6.2%Internet, Telecomm or Informat…5.1%Healthcare4.8%Banking/Financial Services4.7%Retail and Consumer Services4.1%Media & Advertising Services3.6%Manufacturing3.5%Government2.9%Higher Education2.6%Transportation, or Supply Chai…2.5%Computer Systems Design and Se…2.3%Energy1.6%Insurance1.1%
Responses: 3,814 (5.8%)

Satisfied at current job

Only one in five professional developers are happy with their current job. We asked whether they were satisfied with their current role, and 48% indicated they were complacent while 19% were satisfied.

How satisfied are you in your current professional developer role?
All Respondents Individual Contributor People Manager
All Respondents to-do Not Happy at Work32.1%Complacent at Work47.7%Happy at Work20.2%
Responses: 29,126 (44.5%)
Individual Contributor to-do Not Happy at Work33%Complacent at Work47.7%Happy at Work19.3%
Responses: 25,201 (38.5%)
People Manager to-do Not Happy at Work26.3%Complacent at Work47.8%Happy at Work25.9%
Responses: 3,827 (5.8%)

Factors that most contribute to job satisfaction

Happy, unhappy, or somewhere in between, all professional developers agree that improving quality of code and developer environments provide the most satisfaction at work.

Assign points to the following attributes of your job according to those that contribute the most to your satisfaction out of 100 total points:
Happy Points Complacent Points Unhappy Points
Improving quality of code and developer environmentsImproving quality of code and developer environments No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points20.5Total Mean Satisfaction Points21.1 Learning/using new techLearning/using new tech No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points17.8Total Mean Satisfaction Points18.8 Building environments/architectureBuilding environments/architecture No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points16.5Total Mean Satisfaction Points16.3 Driving strategy for my teamDriving strategy for my team No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points15.7Total Mean Satisfaction Points14.1 Being a power user of a tool/language/processBeing a power user of a tool/language/process No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points10.7Total Mean Satisfaction Points11.2 Working with new and/or top-quality hardwareWorking with new and/or top-quality hardware No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points5Total Mean Satisfaction Points5 Contributing to open sourceContributing to open source No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points4.9Total Mean Satisfaction Points4.7 Securing data and environmentsSecuring data and environments No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points4.6Total Mean Satisfaction Points4.3 Excellent internal observability practicesExcellent internal observability practices No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points4.3Total Mean Satisfaction Points4.4
Responses: 3,721 (5.7%)
Improving quality of code and developer environmentsImproving quality of code and developer environments No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points21.2Total Mean Satisfaction Points21.1 Learning/using new techLearning/using new tech No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points18.9Total Mean Satisfaction Points18.8 Building environments/architectureBuilding environments/architecture No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points16.4Total Mean Satisfaction Points16.3 Driving strategy for my teamDriving strategy for my team No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points14.3Total Mean Satisfaction Points14.1 Being a power user of a tool/language/processBeing a power user of a tool/language/process No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points11.4Total Mean Satisfaction Points11.2 Working with new and/or top-quality hardwareWorking with new and/or top-quality hardware No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points5Total Mean Satisfaction Points5 Contributing to open sourceContributing to open source No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points4.4Total Mean Satisfaction Points4.7 Securing data and environmentsSecuring data and environments No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points4.3Total Mean Satisfaction Points4.3 Excellent internal observability practicesExcellent internal observability practices No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points4.2Total Mean Satisfaction Points4.4
Responses: 8,358 (12.8%)
Improving quality of code and developer environmentsImproving quality of code and developer environments No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points21.3Total Mean Satisfaction Points21.1 Learning/using new techLearning/using new tech No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points19.4Total Mean Satisfaction Points18.8 Building environments/architectureBuilding environments/architecture No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points16Total Mean Satisfaction Points16.3 Driving strategy for my teamDriving strategy for my team No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points12.7Total Mean Satisfaction Points14.1 Being a power user of a tool/language/processBeing a power user of a tool/language/process No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points11.2Total Mean Satisfaction Points11.2 Working with new and/or top-quality hardwareWorking with new and/or top-quality hardware No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points5.2Total Mean Satisfaction Points5 Contributing to open sourceContributing to open source No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points5.1Total Mean Satisfaction Points4.7 Excellent internal observability practicesExcellent internal observability practices No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points4.9Total Mean Satisfaction Points4.4 Securing data and environmentsSecuring data and environments No description Group Mean Satisfaction Points4.2Total Mean Satisfaction Points4.3
Responses: 5,052 (7.7%)
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