Developers remain in high demand, but the best developers share specific characteristics that make them succeed both professionally and personally, according to HackerRank’s 2018 Developer Skills Report, released Tuesday.

Among the more than 39,000 developers surveyed for the report, five habits contributed to their success. Some of these habits will help developers succeed, while others will help anyone achieve.

1. Learn multiple coding languages

HackerRank found that developers know four languages on average and say they want to learn four more. According to another recent study, the top 25 companies in the Fortune 500 use four different languages on average.

 

2. Be thrilled to learn

A quarter of the developers surveyed wrote their first piece of code before they were 16 years old. HackerRank found that of those who started coding after the age of 26, 36% are now senior or higher-level developers.
A survey found that most developers are self-taught, regardless of age: While 67% of developers surveyed have computer science degrees, about 74% are at least partially self-taught.

3. Do excellent research

Learning new languages and skills can give developers an edge, but it’s also essential to keep track of employers’ needs. According to HackerRank, JavaScript, Java, Python, C++, and C remain the most popular programming languages. The report found that AngularJS, Node.js, React, Spring, and Django was employers’ most in-demand frameworks.

4. Experience > Education

The most common qualification that employers seek in developers is problem-solving skills, even more so than programming language knowledge, according to HackerRank. As noted in the report, companies place far greater emphasis on a developer’s experience and portfolio (such as GitHub) than on their education and training.

5. Know what you are doing

According to a survey, most tech companies focus heavily on their office perks, but developers rank work/life balance as the essential factor in an employer. This is closely followed by professional growth and learning, and compensation. Perks ranked in the bottom three.