Ukrainian Developers Life and Working Process in War Conditions

Updated – December 27, 2022

Ukraine has gone through hard times and is still adjusting to the new life conditions which the war has brought. But what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. Of course, the war couldn’t positively affect the Ukrainian economy, and the range of new vacancies and job opportunities decreased. 

Qubit Labs did their research and had an opportunity to talk with Ukrainian developers who shared their stories with us.  

But now, let’s look at statistics that show how the war affected the labor market:

According to Dou.ua, the whole labor market went through a shortage. As a result, the number of new vacancies decreased twice before the war. 

A big decrease is among the Ukrainian developers and web designers in March. In addition, the number of new vacancies swiftly decreased, and the number of responses massively increased, which means that more people now are looking for job opportunities.

That’s why the companies from other countries should hire our developers to improve the economic situation and reestablish working places. 

But in April, we can see a good improvement. Many job opportunities came back to the position like before the war. As a result, the number of vacancies for Ukrainian developers increased significantly: from 92 vacancies in March to 155 vacancies in April (70% of the number of vacancies published in January 2022). Python developers, C+, JavaScript, and Ruby developers have the highest demand.

More than 80% of Ukrainian developers are still working full-time, although 61% had to leave their houses and move to safer places like Kyiv and Western Ukraine.

What do they feel working in such difficult circumstances? More than 53% of IT developers feel hopeful. Moreover, 91% of specialists are actively helping the country by transferring money to the army and volunteers. 

In March 2022, around 84% of software developers returned to full-time work, and only 7% – were part-time. So approximately 93% of all the IT developers work full-time like before the war. 

Nearly 6% of Ukrainian developers have mentioned that they have become busier than before, and the number of responsibilities massively increased. It is because business in Ukraine is slightly adapting to new conditions.

These numbers and statistics clearly show us the courage and devotion of Ukrainian software developers. It doesn’t matter where and how – but they work, learn and support the economy. 

Work of Ukrainian Developers: How Has it Changed during the First Weeks of the War?

Developer life in Ukraine during the first weeks of the war was quite challenging. The air-raid warnings became a daily routine, and the basement was like a second home — everyday stress and worrying about family and friends. According to the Kyiv Metro Chief, from the beginning of the war till the 15th of March, the metro stations became a shelter for more than 15 000 people. Then they moved to the basements and shelters and had to work there.

Did they give up? No. If there is a will, there is a way! Ukrainian developers valiantly support the economy of Ukraine, donate money to charity and work for foreign companies to show the strength of our people (you can hire developers from Ukraine to support our economy and overcome worldwide IT talent gap). They can deal with any project if they adjust to working from the basement under bombing.

Developer Life in Kharkiv: Real Story 

Kharkiv is one of the Ukrainian cities which struggled during the war. Many people had to leave their homes, but many IT developers stayed in Kharkiv. What is developer life in Kharkiv today, and how did it? We had an opportunity to talk with Python developer Aleksandr who shared his story.

Aleksandr is one of Python developers who remains in Ukraine and stayed in his home city from the beginning of the war. He was hiding at a metro station for the first week when it all started.  

Then, Aleksandr moved to the bomb shelter for the next few days and started to work from there (photos from the shelter):

Nowadays, Aleksandr is in a safe place and has moved to Cherkasy city. 

Today, developer life in Kharkiv is still not safe, but our software developers adjust to any conditions and circumstances.

What is Developer Life in Ukraine Right Now? 

The IT industry in Ukraine is pretty flexible and can amazingly adjust even during the war. So how and where are Ukrainian developers working right now? Most of them have moved to safer cities like Kyiv, Lviv, Ternopil, and other cities in Western Ukraine. They either work from home or go to coworking spaces and IT hubs, starting to work in most cities.

In addition, there are a lot of coworking spaces that have already opened their doors for everybody who needs a space to work.

For example, the “Ventures.space” coworking space opened its doors on April 18th.

There are hundreds of coworking spaces that offer a great space for everybody who needs space and equipment. They provide computers, stable internet, desks, coffee and everything for productive work.

How Ukrainian Programmers Continue Working While Being Bombed: Ukraine Power Outage (last updates)

According to The Guardian – President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned Ukraine power outage and estimated that 30% of Ukraine’s power stations had been damaged or destroyed. However, the figure is now likely to be more significant. Gas and water supplies have also been targeted in attacks that began on 10 October, disrupting that, in some cases, will take years to fix. According to private energy firm DTEK — which serves four significant regions, including Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv — Ukraine goes dark, and 70% of the capital’s residents were cut off from power supplies due to the attacks. However, restoration efforts had it down to a quarter by the following day. 

However, the workers of communal services — those who restore electricity, water supply, heating, and other essential logistics for civilians following Russian rocket attacks on infrastructure over the past two weeks —are the true heroes who fight with a power outage Ukraine. 

Despite the third blackout in Ukraine, the government does everything to provide the country with electricity. According to Shmyhal, 8,500 generators are being imported in Ukraine daily. According to the same resource – on December 10, the German embassy in Ukraine made the announcement that the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) would supply Ukraine with 470 electric generators. 

So, how did Ukrainian programmers continue working during the power outage in Ukraine? 

• All Ukrainian shopping malls, coworking spaces, cafes, and restaurants provide powerful generators, hence the stable WIFI for our people to work comfortably. There is no limit in time, so Ukrainian software engineers can work as long as they need. Moreover, there is a space for everybody in the cafes, as everybody shares a table with other people for an opportunity to work. 
• Coworking spaces have bought lots of generators to provide comfortable working conditions for Ukrainian developers.
• Many big tech companies provide their offices with generators to give opportunities for their employees to work from the office like before the war. 

In addition to the unstable traditional telecommunication infrastructures, to work during power out in Kyiv –  Starlink now serves as an essential communication link in the war-ravaged Ukraine. Ukraine had 23,000 Starlink terminals as for September 2022 – According to Space.com. Even going through a Ukraine power outage, our people, including software developers, find a way to keep building their careers and work no matter what. As a result, developers can continue their work as successfully as before.