Наталя Хандусенко Work 20 May 2025, 15:49

In two years, the number of switchers looking for their first IT job has decreased from 80% to 64%. What difficulties do they face

64% of those looking for their first IT job are switchers. In 2023, their number reached 80%. The share of students and graduates is 32%.

What are the most popular IT specialties?

Most searchers, like in 2023, plan to be developers — 42% .
Next are analysts — 12% . In 2023, their number was 4%.
QA — 9% . Their share has decreased significantly since 2023 — then it was 20%.
UI/UX and Product Design — 7% .

"Men are much more likely to choose development than other specializations (57%). Among women, there are significantly fewer who want to become developers (22%), but more who choose careers in analytics (16%), QA (13%), UI/UX and Product Design (13%)," the study says.

Why choose IT?

76% are looking for a job in IT because of their interest in the field and technology. This is the main reason for both students, graduates, and switchers.

In second place is the high level of salaries in the IT sector — 44.8%.

21% of switchers decided to move into IT after being fired from a job in another field.

How long do they look for their first job?

21.7% have been looking for a job for up to a month;
8.4% - up to two months;
18.3% — 2-3 months;
15.1 - up to six months;
31.1 — more than 6 months, of which 22% have been looking for a job for more than a year.

Interviews and tests

Students and graduates are less likely to be invited for interviews than shifters. 55% of students/graduates and 69% of shifters have had at least one meeting with potential employers.

Those who have had at least one interview with a company take test tasks much more often than those who have not (81% vs. 23%).

Only 29% of those looking for their first IT job had live-coding interviews with technical specialists.