Gone are the days when companies had to settle for insufficient or incompatible talent simply due to the lack of it. Today, the rise of remote working has made it possible for hiring managers to look beyond the border.
U.S. companies can hire Ukrainian developers to save cost, leverage the established tech talent pool in the company, and benefit from the English-speaking skills of Ukrainian professionals.
But why should you hire Ukrainian developers full-time? How much do you have to pay them? In this guide, we explore the benefits of hiring Ukrainian developers and where you can find the talent for your organization's needs.
The pros of hiring Ukrainian software developers
Hiring local talent is costly for most U.S. companies. Remote hiring helps organizations save money and get the same skill and expertise as local professionals.
Here are some reasons you should hire a Ukrainian development team for your next project.
Cheaper rates
Hiring Ukrainian developers costs much less than hiring local talent for U.S. companies. The lower hiring cost is due to many reasons.
- Low Cost of Employment: The cost of employment in the U.S. is much more expensive than in Ukraine.
- Low Cost of Hiring: Finding local talent takes lots of time and effort. On the contrary, it is easy for hiring teams to find Ukrainian talent on job boards or through social media platforms. Since professionals on talent marketplaces, like Revelo, are pre-vetted, you don't have to spend time or money on vetting potential recruits.
- Lower Overhead Costs: Another added benefit of hiring Ukrainian developers full-time is that many of them work from home or use virtual office spaces, which means you won't have to pay rent for an office. Also, you can save on transportation costs.
An established tech talent pool
Hiring Ukrainian developers enables U.S. companies to access talent pools with diverse skill sets and expertise they would find in local markets for a much higher cost. Ukraine is in the 20th position in the A.T. Kearney Global Services Location Index, which indicates the country's high tech-related involvement in the global workforce.
Moreover, the Outsourcing Journal has ranked Ukraine as the top outsourcing market in eastern Europe. Ukrainian developers are so sought-after mainly because of the country's massive strides in terms of innovation. According to the Global Innovation Index, Ukraine is one of the top 50 most innovative countries. The Ukrainian government regularly undertakes initiatives to promote tech learning in the country.
Ukraine hosts some of the most notable tech events in Europe, including:
- The Games Gathering Conference
- DEV Challenge (a software development contest for web and mobile)
- Agile Eastern Europe Conference
Every year, Ukraine's tech market becomes bigger. According to the I.T. Ukraine Association, 20,000 tech students graduate in the country every year. The universities in Ukraine work with local I.T. teams to ensure the yearly curriculum gets aligned with the recent developments and trends in the tech space. Moreover, it's common for Ukrainian tech students to do internships at tech companies, which means they already get a whiff of the practical side of software development even before entering the professional space.
English-speaking skills
A big part of the Ukrainian software industry is now providing its services to overseas employers. Hence, many Ukrainian software developers speak English fluently, and there's no language barrier when communicating with U.S. teams.
Ukraine ranks 40th on the English proficiency ranking index, being at the 30th position out of 35 European countries. The country marks a steady climb up the ladder every year, which indicates that more and more people are becoming fluent in the language.
Some benefits of not having a language barrier include:
- Seamless Communication: You can collaborate with your Ukrainian development team online and work together seamlessly. Without a language barrier, there won't be any misunderstandings. Your teams will always be on the same page and deliver the best results.
- Shorter Timeframes: Since there's less need for rework due to language misunderstanding, things get done on time.
- Better Outcomes: When your teams speak fluently the same language, you can expect better outcomes from collaborative tasks. Moreover, having an international team that can tightly collaborate means more unique ideas for business progression and growth.
Average rates for dedicated developers in Ukraine
According to Glassdoor, a dedicated developer in Kyiv, Ukraine, makes about $4,820 (USD) a month or $57,840 per year on average. Meanwhile, highly experienced developers make as high as $7,400 (USD) a month or $88,800 per year, while those on the lower spectrum make around US$3,300 a month or $39,600 per year.
In comparison, the average annual salary of US software developers is around $95,517.
Junior hourly rate
If you hire Ukrainian developers full-time, you can expect them to work a 40-hour week. Since there are four weeks in a month, the total number of work weeks per year comes to 160. As a result, the average junior developer salary in Ukraine is $1773.75 a month, which equates to $21,285 USD per year.
An entry-level software developer in the U.S. makes $85,974 per year.
How to hire full-time Ukrainian developers
If you're planning to hire Ukrainian developers for the first time, these tips will help you find the right talent for your company.
Write a thorough job description
A thorough and well-written job description is imperative to the success of your recruitment efforts. It will help you identify the most qualified candidates and weed out people with little or no experience in the tech industry. How do you make it perfect?
Showcase what you want from Ukrainian software developers in detail so that there's no confusion about the nature of their work. Writing a detailed job description includes setting out specific technologies they're required to use in the course of doing their job, among other things.
Here are some essential components of every job description:
- Job Title: Make sure the job title is clear and concise. It should also include the job position, whether junior, senior, or entry-level.
- Job Purpose: It's critical to let applicants know the purpose of the job at hand.
- Company Information: Provide information about your organization, including the name and location (city, state/province).
- Requirements: Mention in detail what developers should expect when doing their jobs. Make sure you mention which technologies they need to excel.
- Preferred Qualifications: If you want your recruits to have a specific degree, mention it in the job description so that you don't end up with applicants without the required qualification during the interview process.
Conduct extensive interviews to ensure cultural fit
Once you've shortlisted applicants, prepare an extensive interview to ensure your Ukrainian hires will fit well in your U.S. company. Make sure to ask questions regarding their career goals, salary expectations, willingness to work in the U.S. office, etc. You can also ask potential hires about the project management tools they're familiar with and the projects they've completed so far.
Where to find Ukrainian software engineers
You can find Ukrainian developers and software engineers on job boards and talent marketplaces. There are other ways as well. You can contact universities and other educational institutions that offer computer science courses, especially if you want fresh talent straight from school.
Biggest tech talent centers in Ukraine
Like every other country, some cities in Ukraine have a more expansive tech talent pool than others. Most U.S. companies hire Ukrainian developers full-time from the following regions:
- Kyiv
- Kharkiv
- Lviv
- Dnipro
- Odesa
Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine and is also one of the largest cities in the country. It's home to a vast pool of highly skilled software developers. The city also has a booming I.T. outsourcing industry, which allows you to save on costs while still getting high-quality work from Ukrainian web developers.
Ukrainian job boards
You can also search for talent on the following job boards in Ukraine:
All three of these job boards allow users to filter jobs by technology, city, and company.
The Cons of Hiring Ukrainian Software Engineers
Ukraine is undoubtedly one of the most forward countries in the world concerning tech innovation and advancements. However, there are a few downsides to hiring talent from Ukraine.
Substantial time zone differences with the U.S.
Ukraine and the U.S. have a massive time difference since Ukraine is seven hours ahead of Washington, DC, USA. There could be a time difference of up to nine hours in some cities.
With such a significant time difference, it's almost impossible for U.S. companies to collaborate with employees in Ukraine in the same working-hour range. Meetings and collaborations may need to get crammed into small windows of convenient timings for both parties. On the whole, this complicates the work process and makes collaboration a pain.
Smaller population and saturated talent pool
Ukraine has a small population of 43,338,000 citizens with a saturated talent pool, making it difficult for U.S. companies to find talent capable of full-scale development work. On top of that, there could be some reluctance of Ukrainian developers to work in a foreign environment, which can complicate things even more. Although there's a growing number of Ukrainian developers going abroad for short-term contract jobs, that's still not enough for the high demand for talented software engineers from U.S. companies.
Why you should consider Latin America over Ukraine for hiring developers
As mentioned earlier, Ukraine's time difference from the U.S. makes it very difficult for companies to collaborate and communicate with their hires. Moreover, the cost of hiring Ukrainian developers, although lower than the U.S., can someone exceed the preferred rate compared to some other countries. Here are some reasons you should consider hiring Latin American developers.
Same or similar time zones as the U.S.
Latin American countries like Mexico and Costa Rica use the same time zones as the U.S. including PST, CST, and EST. Other countries such as Brazil and Colombia have only a one-hour time difference from Washington DC, making it much easier for U.S. companies to hire and collaborate with talented software engineers from these countries.
Working with employees in similar or same time zones has the following benefits:
- Swift Collaboration: Since the time zone difference does not exist, companies can easily collaborate with their Latin American hires.
- Work Facilitation: Unlike the time gap of seven or nine hours, the work-time difference of one or four hours doesn't complicate the work process much. Thus, a company's in-office workforce and remote employees can work in pretty much the same timeframe.
- Easy to Hold Meetings: Since there's little to no time difference, you don't have to struggle to find the right time for a meeting. Your entire team should be available when needed, and you can fully utilize the workday.
On top of everything we mentioned, the English proficiency rate is high in Latin America, especially among recent graduates who can join you as junior employees. Moreover, Latin America is home to millions of people, making it easier for U.S. companies to find enough developers for their projects. You won't have to make compromises with the quality and talent of your hires.
High cost/quality ratio
When you hire a Ukrainian development team, you'll have to pay higher salaries than you would if you hired professionals from Latin America. The average annual cost to hire software developers from Latin America is between $90,000 to $125,000.
Considering the salary difference, if you hire software developers from Latin America rather than Ukraine, you can save a lot of money without compromising on the quality of work or expertise. Latin American developers are just as qualified, technically literate, and English-proficient.
Larger talent pool
Latin America comprises many countries with a large population, making it easier for U.S. companies to find perfect candidates without compromising on their expertise. A larger talent pool also means that the competition among Latin American developers is fiercer than in Ukraine and Russia since more people can apply for your positions. Therefore, if you're looking for junior engineers or mid-level developers, you'll have better luck finding the right pick for your organization in Latin America.
Latin America is becoming a hub of tech talent and start-ups. Last year, the region made $4 billion in tech deals, making a record of 488 total deals. The reasons Latin America is making it in the tech space are the support of larger companies in the U.S. and the local government's efforts towards promoting tech education in the country.
There's another great news about Latin America and developers. State universities offer scholarships and training programs to students in tech courses. According to World Finance, the leading tech hubs in Latin America are:
- São Paulo
- Mexico City
- Santiago de Chile
- Buenos Aires
- Medellín
Therefore, U.S. companies who want to hire remote developers should look for talent in these cities when using talent marketplaces or job boards.
Hire Latin American engineers with Revelo
The benefits of hiring in Latin America are rock solid. Nevertheless, we talk about a multi-country region. Finding the right talent in such an expansive population may prove a little challenging. Instead of wasting your resources and time on conventional recruiting methods, consider using the benefits of a talent marketplace.
If you've never used a talent marketplace, you'll be pleased to hear about such a seamless and efficient option. Candidates come to you rather than you going after them, which saves your time and effort in finding tech talent. A talent marketplace differs from a job board as it has fewer but better quality candidates. It also allows you to access the Latin American tech community at once rather than having to go through applications one by one on a traditional job board.
Revelo is a talent marketplace that connects organizations with developers and other tech talents in Latin America. Since all professionals on Revelo's platform are pre-vetted, companies can start the onboarding process instantly without worrying about vetting the talent. You can also find developers from all backgrounds with your preferred qualifications and experience.
What's more, Revelo offers competitive packages for developers, which allow you to hire the right talent on short notice. Contact us today to learn more about how we can support the growth of your team.
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