Top Skills Developers Need for Career Success

If you want to land a $100k+ remote job offer as a software engineer in 2025, I would 100% suggest you invest your time in these technologies (based on my experience from the last 15+ years). 1/AI agents are the hottest thing right now - half of SF is building agent startups, why? Because they’re the closest thing to AI automation before AGI. - think of them as LLMs that make decisions, automate workflows, and interact with real-world apps (Gmail, WhatsApp, databases). - startups are racing to build voice agents, chatbot-based automation, and AI-driven assistants and they need engineers who know how to integrate LLMs with real-world APIs. - learn LangChain, OpenAI API, and automation frameworks to get into this space. 2/ Browser automation is the secret weapon for AI companies - Many AI companies need their models to control and interact with websites, booking flights, scraping data, handling forms. - Startups like Induced AI and Browserless are being built purely to automate browser interactions. - If you learn Selenium, Playwright, and Puppeteer, you can land jobs in AI companies that need large-scale browser automation for their systems. 3/ Vs code extensions and developer tools are printing money - AI-powered developer tools are booming, Cursor, Cody, and Devika are at billion-dollar valuations. - Understanding how VS Code works under the hood, how to build extensions, and how to index and parse large codebases efficiently is a valuable skill. - Want to future-proof your skills? Learn how to build AI-powered coding assistants or improve existing developer workflows. 4/DevOps and cybersecurity will never go out of demand - Every company hitting scale needs DevOps engineers to optimize cloud costs, monitor infrastructure, and automate CI/CD. - Good DevOps engineers are rare, and companies pay massive salaries for experts who can save them millions on AWS bills. - Cybersecurity is another evergreen skill. Even AI-written code will have security vulnerabilities. If you understand penetration testing, bug bounties, and infrastructure security, you will always be in demand. 5/ AI image and video generation will only grow -Companies like Runway, Ideogram, and Midjourney are disrupting design, media, and content generation. - Learning diffusion models, LLM-based video generation, and AI-powered media tools will put you in one of the fastest-growing industries. - This is a difficult field to break into, but if you can build AI-powered media tools, you’ll be ahead of 99% of developers. Pick a field, go deep, and build real things. AI is making engineers 10x more productive, which means companies are hiring fewer, but better engineers. Don’t just learn—show proof of work.

Here are some essential skills I suggest mastering to differentiate yourself in today's tough tech job market, especially in prompt engineering: 1. Cloud Computing and Containerization: - Get to know cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud - Gain experience with containerization tools such as Docker and Kubernetes 2. Data Analysis and Business Intelligence: - Become proficient in data analysis tools such as Excel, SQL, Python, Tableau, or Power BI - Learn to extract insights from data and present them effectively 3. Cybersecurity and Ethical Hacking: - Understand network security, penetration testing, and incident response - Familiarize yourself with tools and techniques used in ethical hacking 4. DevOps and Site Reliability Engineering: - Hands-on experience with Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines - Know infrastructure as code, monitoring, and automation 5. Full-Stack Web Development: - Master both front-end (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, Angular) and back-end (Node.js, Python, Ruby on Rails) technologies - Grasp web application architecture and design patterns 6. Mobile App Development: - Specialize in building native or cross-platform mobile apps for iOS and Android - Understand mobile-specific frameworks and best practices 7. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence: - Experience with machine learning frameworks like TensorFlow, PyTorch, or scikit-learn - Know data preprocessing, model training, and deployment 8. Prompt Engineering: - Develop the skill to craft effective prompts for language models like GPT-3 or ChatGPT - Understand prompt design principles and techniques to optimize model outputs 9. Soft Skills: - Cultivate effective communication and presentation skills - Sharpen problem-solving, critical thinking, and adaptability - Foster teamwork, collaboration, and leadership abilities Focus on developing a mix of technical skills and soft skills that are highly sought after and match the current tech industry needs. Stay updated with the newest technologies, trends, and best practices, including prompt engineering, to stand out and boost your chances of landing a rewarding role in this competitive job market.

Developer Technical Growth Checklist Moving from a junior to a senior developer requires expanding your technical and problem-solving skills while improving collaboration and decision-making. It’s not just about coding—it’s about building scalable, efficient systems and working effectively within a team. Key areas to focus on include: • Programming Languages – Strengthen your proficiency in multiple languages to solve a variety of problems. • API Development – Understand REST, gRPC, security, and encryption to build reliable services. • Databases – Gain experience with relational and non-relational databases for better data management. • System Design – Learn concepts like caching, load balancing, and distributed systems. • Testing & Authentication – Implement best practices to ensure security and reliability. • CI/CD – Automate workflows to streamline development and deployment. • Collaboration Tools – Work effectively with tools like Jira, Slack, and Confluence. • Design Patterns & Algorithms – Improve code structure and problem-solving efficiency. • AI Tools – Leverage tools like GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT to boost productivity.

Forget what you know about "must-have" skills. New Coursera data shows how to future-proof your career. 📊 New data shows that 70% of leaders would choose AI-savvy candidates with less experience over seasoned professionals who lack AI skills. A recent Forbes analysis reveals what actually drives success in the AI era: 🛜 Technical Foundation - AI fluency is becoming as fundamental as math or language skills. With an 866% surge in generative AI course enrollments, professionals who adapt early are pulling ahead. 🗣️ Human Skills Premium - While AI handles tactical tasks, strategic thinking and relationship building remain irreplaceable human domains. Top emerging skills include risk mitigation, assertiveness, and stakeholder communication. 🛡️ Cybersecurity Focus - 6 of the top 10 fastest-growing tech skills are cybersecurity-related, reflecting our evolving digital landscape. It's not about choosing between human skills and AI proficiency—it's about mastering both. The most valuable professionals will be those who can leverage AI while excelling at uniquely human capabilities. 🗝️ As Coursera's CEO puts it: "Generative AI will be important for anyone who thinks, anyone who makes decisions, and anyone who communicates." What's your strategy for developing this dual skillset? #artificialintelligence #changemanagement #futureofwork

There's been over 50,000 tech layoffs this year. (And we’re not even halfway through) Truth is job security doesn’t exist anymore. But, career security does (if you build the right skills). Whenever I coach career changers facing uncertainty in tech, We don’t hope for "stability" like everyone else. We engineer it with irreplaceable skills. AI isn’t coming for your job. It’s coming for the person who’s only doing surface-level work. So, you need skills that will make your career last. Here are 5 skills that will future-proof your career in tech: 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 → If you can’t translate data into decisions, you’re replaceable. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘁 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 → In the AI age, it’s not about who codes better, it’s who communicates better with machines. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 → AI still writes broken code. Only real coders know how to fix it. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 → Templates and tutorials won’t save you when real problems hit. 𝗦𝗤𝗟 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲 → Data isn’t optional. SQL is your passport to decision-making power. AI can automate tasks. But, humans who master these skills will automate 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴. Tech is changing faster than ever. The winners won't be the smartest, they'll be the most adaptable. In a world drowning in AI, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘵. Which skill are you doubling down on for 2025? Drop a number (1-5) below. Let’s see who’s playing the long game.