Why Romanians choose a career in IT: attractivity, safety and high salaries

In 2019, Romania faced a deficit of over 15,000 IT&C professionals. As the Covid-19 pandemic hit, there was a significant increase in unemployment rate, but also an intensification of digitalization and jobs associated with it, factors that give those who have skills in the field a professional advantage in high demand.

In order to find out more about the perception of Romanians regarding the IT sector, Codecool carried out the market study “The Future is IT” between June and July 2020. Its objective was to determine the degree of interest for this industry, those targeted being potential candidates for an IT specialist job.

According to the results of the study, the IT industry is very attractive for the target audience, with 72% of respondents saying they are interested in a career in the field.

Industry attractivity, job safety and high salaries – main benefits of the IT field

IT ranked among the top 3 industries chosen by respondents, when it comes to attractiveness, security related to the stability of the field and salary levels. Thus, 64% of those asked in which field they would like to work chose IT, next choices being Creative Industries (50%) and Telecom (38%). In terms of long-term job security, IT ranks first, at a considerable distance from other industries. 80% of respondents said they consider it the safest, double compared to the following options (Pharma, Financial and Telecom sector). In terms of salaries as well, IT is the big winner, with 91% of respondents considering it the most profitable field. In the next places are the Financial (57%) and Pharma (35%).

Regarding salary expectations, for a position of junior programmer without experience in the field, 40% of the respondents said that they expect a net salary of 2001-3000 RON, 31% want between 3001-4000 RON, 12% between 4001-5000 RON, 8% want more than 5000 RON, while 9% expect less than 2000 RON.

Programming courses – an option for professional reconversion for many

IT is an option that provides stability in many ways, especially during the pandemic, when many jobs have been affected. However, in order to be able to work in the field, it is necessary not only to show motivation and determination, but also be able to allocate  time to take a course and learn a new field from scratch. According to the study, about a third of respondents said they would be willing to spend between 6 to 12 months acquiring programming skills, as many would like to complete the course between 3 and 6 months, while almost a quarter are ready to invest one year in studies.

Asked if they have taken an IT course in the past, only a quarter of the participants answered affirmatively, but at the moment the interest for such a specialization is very high, 7 out of 10 respondents stating that they want to participate in such a course, in the next 12 months. Moreover, just as many believe that anyone can learn to program as long as they are motivated enough. In this regard, almost half of those surveyed said they would turn to IT because they are passionate (44%) and as many because they think it is a good opportunity for professional reconversion.

The most sought after programming languages ​​are Java and JavaScript, mentioned by almost 60% of respondents. These are followed by C ++ and Python.

As for the study method, most respondents (27%) prefer to learn online, assisted by mentors. Traditional education comes next, chosen by 23% of participants and closely followed by individual online courses (22%). Also, the guidance of a specialist is very important for them, 45% saying that they need the validation of a mentor in the learning process.