There are "deathmatch battles” for developers (and their apps) as a result of the growing skills gap within the apps economy. As businesses become increasingly software-driven, this gap is more obvious than ever. This survey shares insights into how businesses can attract the best development talent available.

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IT Talent Survey
Insights from the world’s top freelance developers

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Research methodology
● An online survey of 1,068 global, top-rated* freelance developers on Upwork
● Data collected July 14 - July 21, 2015
*For more information about top-rated members, go to https://www.upwork.com/blog/2015/03/introducing-top-rated-freelancer-
program/
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Study objectives
● Understand what motivates top developers
● Gather insight into what top developers look for when searching for projects
and the types of clients they prefer to work with
● Identify common project types, top skills in-demand and how much businesses
can expect to pay for them
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Key findings
Reasons developers freelance vs. work full-time with an employer (in rank order)
1. Flexibility
2. The ability to find more interesting projects
3. Higher pay
When looking for projects, developers care most about the following (in rank order)
1. Detailed work description
2. Client reputation
3. Potential earnings
Top developers have bandwidth for projects and want more work
● On average, they work 32 hours per week
● 55% expect to work more in the next 12 months
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Full survey results
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Devs freelance vs. work full-time with an
employer for flexibility, interesting work
Q: Why do you prefer freelancing today vs. working full-time with an employer? [Select all that apply]
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Asked to choose only one, the primary motivator
for freelancing remains flexibility
Q: What was your primary motivator in your decision to start freelancing? [Select one]
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To win work, they view customized cover letters
and detailed portfolios as most important factors
Q: What do you think was most important for you to get hired by your first client on Upwork? [Select one]
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Devs believe the most important items in a profile
are contract history and client feedback
Q: What do you think is most important to convey in your profile in order to increase the likelihood of winning
projects? [Select one]
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To win online projects in a new skill, devs say
proof of past work and test projects help
Q: How do you convince clients to hire you for a skill in which you have no prior experience? [Select all that apply]
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To learn new programming languages, top-rated
devs are most likely to practice and do research
Q: How do you prefer to learn a new programming language or framework? [Select all that apply]
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When choosing a project, top talent cares about
the project and client -- more than money
Q: What criteria do you look for when you choose to apply to a project on Upwork? Please rank in order of importance.
If your primary criteria is not an option, please enter it in the comment box below.
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When choosing projects, top developers look for (in rank order):
1. Detailed scope of work and deliverable description
2. Client’s previous history on Upwork (i.e. spending, past projects, hire rate)
3. Client states an appropriate hourly rate or budget
4. Date of post and most recent client activity
5. Other freelancers have already submitted proposals for the project

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Nearly half prefer to work with a technical
product manager
Q: Which of the following types of clients do you prefer working with? [Select one]
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Even if freelancers are too busy to take on more
projects, they’re unlikely to sub-contract
Q: How do you typically respond to clients when you’re too busy to take on their projects? [Select one]
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If they do sub-contract work, they’re most likely
to do it with development projects
Q: What type of work have you subcontracted out to other freelancers in the past? [Select all that apply]
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Top-rated devs freelance 32 hours/week; more
than half expect to work more next year
Q1: On average, how many hours per week do you currently freelance (on Upwork and otherwise)? Q2 In the next 12
months, do you expect to work more, fewer or the same number of hours than the previous 12 months?
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Appendix
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This study is commissioned by:
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Upwork is the world’s largest freelance talent marketplace. As an increasingly
connected and independent workforce goes online, knowledge work — like
software, shopping and content before it — is shifting online as well. This shift is
making it faster and easier for clients to connect and work with talent in near real-
time and is freeing professionals everywhere from having to work at a set time and
place.
Freelancers are earning more than $1 billion annually via Upwork. Upwork is
headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., with offices in San Francisco and Oslo,
Norway. For more information, visit our website at www.upwork.com, join us on
Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.