Yerevan is one of the most favorable cities for programmers, says Enterprise Times in its list of top 10 cities across the world where it is best to build a career in IT.
Why Yerevan?
The list notes that the need for programmers in Armenia will have increased threefold by 2025, with 30 thousand people in demand. Armenia’s IT sector has in recent years recorded an annual growth of more than 20 per cent, and estimates show that the trend will continue.
Enterprise Times writes that, in addition to the dynamic development of Armenia’s IT sector, the city is also attractive for its low cost of living and crime rate.
What other cities were included on the list?
San Francisco, New York, Austin, Singapore, Melbourne, London, Stockholm, Bangalore and Toronto were also included on the list.
The leading IT companies in the world have offices in all of these cities. The number of companies continues to grow, while the need for programmers is also increasing.
What does the Armenian IT sector look like these days?
The IT sector has for many years been the fastest growing branch of the economy. Major international brands, including EPAM, Optim, Microsoft, IBM and VMware, have opened representative offices in the country. Some Armenian companies have also achieved success in the international arena – among them PicsArt, Sololearn and ZeroApp.
The main problem
Leaders of many Armenian IT companies have for many years been trying to resolve the issue of a lack of specialists. Universities are not able to meet the demand, while private schools only partly help to alleviate the problem.
The lack of specialists has also led to a sharp increase in wages in the sector. Armenian programmers earn about the same as their Russian or Ukrainian colleagues. However, this may work against the budding industry, as Armenia may lose its attractiveness to external customers since it will cease to be cheap. This will leave work quality as the only advantage.
