Developers using these programming languages were the best paid in 2024

Software developers proficient in the Scala programming language are among the best remunerated in the industry, according to new survey data.

JetBrains’ annual State of Developer Ecosystem report for 2024 spoke to 23,262 developers to gain an insight on the programming languages, tools, and technologies that have dominated their work over the last year.

The report ranked the share of top-paid employees with salaries in the top quartile in their country or region by language, with 37% of the best paid developers using Scala.

The rest of the top five were Go (35%), Kotlin (34%), C (33%), and C++ (32%), closely followed by shell scripting (31%), Java (30%), Python (29%), and Rust (27%).

The report included a link to JetBrains’ Developer Ecosystem Data Playground, which features an IT salary calculator to estimate developer salaries based on their level of experience, primary programming language, and region.

Looking at the UK in particular, two-fifths of Python developers with 1-2 years of experience are estimated to make between $3,001 - 4,000 per month, whereas 42% of C# developers with the same amount of experience make $2,001 - 3,000.

JetBrains noted that salaries aren’t necessarily determined by language alone, and the specific job role of the developer has a considerable impact on their wage.

For example, the report said shell scripting was ranked among the best paid languages largely because it’s heavily used by DevOps engineers, who tend to have higher salaries.

Beyond the specific language they specialize in, the gender pay gap remains significant in software development, with 28% of male programmers earning in the top quartile of their region, compared to just 19% of their female counterparts.

AI coding tools are entering the mainstream

On the technologies that are shaping the software development industry, JetBrains found the vast majority of programmers cited using AI coding tools in their daily workflow.

The report stated that 69% of developers had tried ChatGPT and 49% said they regularly used the tool for coding or other development related activities.

GitHub Copilot was ranked as the second most popular AI tool used by devs, with two-fifths of respondents saying they had tried the platform with just over a quarter (26%) stating they regularly use it.

“Many coders are clearly getting a feel for AI, but only time will tell whether this emerging tooling will be embraced in the long run,” the report commented.

When asked what benefits they get from using AI tools for coding and other development-related activities, 67% of developers said it helped them save time on searching for information.

Faster coding and development was cited by 58%, with faster completion of repetitive tasks and increased productivity noted by 57% of respondents.

Other frequently referenced benefits included shorter learning time for new technologies, frameworks, and languages (45%), less mental effort required for coding (39%), and a better coding and development experience overall (36%).