Stack Overflow is marking its milestone 15th annual Developer Survey with a probe into developer AI use and salaries.
Like many platforms, Stack Overflow faces questions today as users navigate the wild west of AI. Are these new tools becoming trusty companions, or something else entirely? This year’s survey isn’t just about hoovering up new data points, it’s launching developers into a bit of collective reflection.
“This year, we’re not just collecting data; we’re reflecting on the last year of questions, answers, hallucinations, job changes, tech stacks, memory allocations, models, systems and agents—together,” explained Erin Yepis, Senior Analyst at Stack Overflow.
Money talks: Remote work loses its job satisfaction crown
Remember when working in your pyjamas was the ultimate perk? Those days seem to be fading. Last year’s survey highlighted about 80% of developers were either unhappy or just going through the motions at work. What’s changed is that the remote work glow has dimmed considerably.
While we’ve long believed flexibility trumped salary for job satisfaction, the data now tells a different story: cash is king again.
Looking at developers across the UK, Germany, and the US, both hybrid and remote workers hover around 7 out of 10 on the happiness scale (with true “happiness” defined as 8-10). The only bump in satisfaction comes when you’re earning big money—and that holds true whether you’re coding from your kitchen table or an office cubicle.
What is fascinating is how different roles respond to the salary question. Engineering managers, embedded developers, and desktop developers seem fairly content regardless of where they sit on the pay scale. However, mobile, back-end, and full-stack developers leap from merely “putting up with it” to genuinely happy once they hit that top 25% salary bracket.
For those who don’t need a fat paycheck, the satisfaction triggers are wonderfully specific. Embedded developers get their kicks from playing with fancy hardware, desktop developers love their open-source contributions, and engineering managers are all about the thrill of “driving strategy”.
It’s been a bumpy ride for tech salaries. After last year’s average 7% drop across major tech hubs, this year’s data reveals a patchwork recovery that speaks volumes about our fragmented global economy.
UK tech workers must be feeling rather chuffed, with engineering managers enjoying a 21% payrise and front-end developers not far behind with a 15.5% boost. Dutch front-end developers are also celebrating with a solid 15% increase.
On the heartbreaking side of the ledger, Ukrainian developers continue to bear the brunt of war’s devastation, with salary plunges across the board: full-stack roles down by 44%, front-end by 41%, and back-end developers suffering a 39% drop.
Meanwhile, German developers appear to be living in a bubble of stability—with salary changes barely registering at around 0.3%.
The developer honeymoon with AI is ending
While more developers are jumping on the AI bandwagon (up from 70% to 76% year-on-year), they’re doing so with increasing criticism. The percentage viewing AI development tools favourably has dipped from 77% to 72%.
It seems the initial wide-eyed wonder is giving way to a more nuanced, and somewhat sceptical, perspective. We’re seeing a kind of “expectation meets reality” moment playing out in real-time.
The generational split is telling. Coding newcomers are embracing AI tools with open arms (84%) while grizzled professionals remain somewhat more circumspect (77%). This is hardly surprising, when you’ve seen enough tech “revolutions” come and go you develop a healthy dose of “seen it all before” syndrome.
Front-end developers are leading the AI adoption charge at 69%, with mobile and full-stack devs not far behind at 65% each. Mid-career developers (10-19 years of experience) are the most likely to rave about AI productivity benefits. Perhaps they’ve found that sweet spot: experienced enough to know what they’re doing, not so senior they’re stuck in their ways.
The geographical trust gap is also interesting. Indian developers seem most willing to place their faith in AI (59% finding it trustworthy), while German developers are among the most skeptical with 42% stating they don’t trust AI tools. Cultural attitudes to technology adoption laid bare in stark percentages.
What’s next on Stack Overflow’s radar?
This year’s survey ventures into exciting new territory—including whether AI agents amount to anything meaningful in actual developer workflows or remains in the realm of keynote hype.
There’s also a deeper dive into career shifts in these uncertain economic times. Are developers jumping ship to new roles? Has AI changed how we approach professional development? The answers could reshape how we think about tech careers.
And in an era where digital communities rise and fall faster than you can say “trending hashtag,” Stack Overflow is asking more pointed questions about how AI is reshaping online spaces.
As Stack Overflow’s survey gets further into its teenage years, the results promise to deliver far more than just statistics—they’ll offer a snapshot of our industry at a pivotal moment, grappling with the promise and pitfalls of AI while navigating a transformed post-pandemic workplace.
You can contribute your insights to Stack Overflow’s survey here.
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