Despite the accelerated shift from human-only to AI-augmented work, nearly three-quarters of technology developers say finding a job remains difficult — and it’s not for lack of demand, according to a survey by developer skills platform HackerRank.
Almost all (97%) of developers use AI, and the heaviest users report that 48% of their code is AI-generated, the Q4 2024/early 2025 survey of more than 13,000 developers, engineer managers, recruiters, executives and students across 102 countries found.
Yet even with businesses clamoring for their skills, 74% of developers say landing a tech job is tough. And it’s not just them. On the other side, 78% of tech leaders say finding skilled candidates is just as hard, the March 27 report pointed out.
Why the disconnect? It’s because of how companies hire, evaluate and retain developers, HackerRank said.
“If companies are serious about hiring and retaining tech talent, they need to rethink how they attract, engage and upskill developers sooner rather than later,” HackerRank co-founder and CEO Vivek Ravisankar stated in a media release.
For HR professionals, this means “thinking beyond hiring and upskilling — it’s about workforce planning at a whole new level,” Kyle Lagunas, head of strategy and principal analyst for Aptitude Research, added.
AI is helping — to a degree, according to a February report from LinkedIn. Many recruiters surveyed agreed that AI has improved hiring efficiency, allowing recruiters to take on more strategic roles, the LinkedIn report noted.
But far fewer recruiters agreed that AI has increased the quality of hires, a challenge highlighted in the HackerRank report.
The report doesn’t mince words. “Hiring processes are a mess” — and that causes many developers to prematurely drop out of the process, HackerRank said.
Survey respondents complained about having to contend with ghost jobs that “don’t actually exist, never get filled, or vanish without explanation.” They also reported long waits, unclear expectations and resume filters that block out strong candidates.
