Programmer salaries will help to drive popularity of coding
Computer programming, one of the most in-demand professions in the world, is expected to become increasingly popular in the UAE after a deal was signed with leading technology companies.
On Saturday, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, announced a national initiative in which major companies will teach 100,000 young people coding within five years.
Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Cisco, IBM, LinkedIn, Nvidia and Facebook will collaborate in the programme.
The goal is to create 1,000 digital companies that will go global.
Nevin Lewis, chief executive of Black and Grey Human Resources, said the training campaign would help to launch the careers of future leaders in the world of technology.
“Based on my recent UAE job market observations and recruitment experience, I can confidently say that you’ll be in luck,” he said.
“There are plenty of new programming jobs being created by ambitious tech entrepreneurs who are scouting for talent to collaborate with and bring ideas to life.
“However, don’t expect instant gratification – all programming careers take patience and attention to detail.
“You might consider getting your foot in the door by building your foundational knowledge and portfolio.
“Personally, I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that an entertaining application or sophisticated computer program all boils down to a string of code.”
Entry-level positions typically have a starting salary of Dh10,000 a month.
Karuna Agarwal, director of Future Tense Human Resource Solutions, said salaries may also depend on a person’s level of education and experience.
“With technical expertise at its base, professional prospects for coding are driven by the depth of both functional and industrial expertise,” she said.
“The UAE’s persistent push for raising the bars of digitisation across the economy got a further boost with the latest announcement on the mega plan for coders.”
Salaries for DevOps engineers begin at Dh12,500 and rise to Dh25,000 for midlevel jobs and Dh35,000 for senior positions.
They work with software developers, system operators and other production IT staff to oversee code releases and deployments.
Full stack developers’ salaries start at Dh10,000, rising to Dh18,000 for midlevel posts and Dh25,000 for senior roles.
They work on the front and back ends of a website or app.
“This means they can tackle projects that involve databases, building user-facing websites, or even work with clients during the planning phase of projects,” Mr Lewis said.
“There’s often not a blackand-white distinction between front-end and back-end development.
“Full stack developers are jacks of all trades.”
Software application developer jobs begin at Dh10,000 a month, increasing to Dh18,000 for midlevel roles and Dh30,000 for senior jobs.
They are also known as software developers or software architects.
Back-end developer/engineer roles start at Dh10,000.
Mid-level jobs pay Dh12,000 and senior roles Dh30,000.
A front-end engineer works with designers to make a website functional, user-friendly and fast.
These jobs are in high demand, particularly for those who are skilled in developing websites for mobile devices.
Entry-level salaries are Dh10,000 and rise to Dh15,000 for midlevel jobs and Dh30,000 for senior positions.