How to hire Python developers in Ukraine in 2021 [A Comprehensive Guide]

When it comes to niche expertise or budget constraints, a wise solution is to hire Python developers from overseas. It seems especially reasonable given the results of a recent BLS survey, which shows a 29% increase in demand for developers by 2029. This means that competition is on the rise. No prizes for guessing that to hire Python engineers, you have to research the IT market first.

What if we say that to gain access into an impressive IT talent pool, you should consider hiring Python developers in Ukraine. Nevertheless, that's just the way it is. Today, Python is one of the most beloved programming languages by IT professionals. By choosing Ukrainian Python developers, you can not only expand your team with dedicated professionals but also take your business as a whole to the next level. Let's delve into ‘how to hire Python programmers’ and what you get in return.

Why you should hire Python developers in Ukraine in 2021

According to the Global Developer Population and Demographics Study 2020, there are nearly 27 million developers worldwide. That's an impressive number, isn't it? But how skilled are those professionals? Finding and hiring experienced Python engineers is easier said than done but we have a solution! You can hire Ukrainian Python programmers for a quick and profitable expansion of your team. Better still, in case you're looking for highly skilled coders.

According to a recent study, Python is one of the top five major and complementary programming languages among Ukrainian coders.

Why is Python in high demand? Why are businesses looking to hire Python experts? The key to choosing Python is its high level of readability and versatility. It's a general-purpose language. You can use it to do almost anything in programming. But the most typical use of Python is scripting. Let's see where else, besides scripting, this language is used:

• Mobile applications.
• Desktop applications;
• Web development;
• GUI development;
• Scientific computing;
• System administration, etc.

In other words, if you're building a mobile or desktop application, Python developers, whom you may hire, are crucial to keeping the project up-to-date. You can hire those Python experts in Ukraine.

Ukrainian IT industry: An Overview

As the study showed, Ukraine is considered the #1 IT outsourcing and software development powerhouse in Europe. It's the choice of many companies around the world when they need to hire Python developers. In 2017, Ukraine was named #1 Offshoring Destination (Global Sourcing Association). According to Gartner, Ukraine has been in the top 30 "Outsourcing Destination" for 7 years in a row. At the same time, it ranks 17th in the list of Global Services Locations by A.T. Kearney.

18 Ukrainian companies are among the best outsourcing companies in the world, and SkillValue named Ukraine 8th in its ranking of the best developers in the world. Moreover, Kyiv is one of the leading IT outsourcing capitals in the world. Currently, the number of developers in Ukraine is about 200 thousand people. About twenty-three thousand new hires join the Ukrainian IT talent pool each year, allowing the industry to grow rapidly (e.g., by 26% in 2019).

Besides, HackerRank ranks Ukraine 11th among the countries with the best developers in the world. As for the ranking of the best countries for software development, Ukraine is ranked 24th.

Given this rather impressive data, let's move on to another sign it's time to hire Ukrainian Python developers in 2021.

Hiring remote Python engineers is profitable for your business

Businesses around the world are experiencing a huge shortage of skilled workers. In the U.S., for example, 80% of employers are experiencing a skills gap. About the same situation - 72% - is seen by British employers. It is expected that the demand for qualified programmers around the world will grow by 55% by 2030.

As we know, the skills gap costs U.S. employers more than $22,000 per employee per year. Conversely, a skilled employee generates $10,000 to $30,000 per year for businesses.

What about the cost of bad hiring? In the U.S., a bad hire costs a company about 15% of its annual salary. The U.S. Department of Labor cites a more impressive figure: a bad hire can cost as much as 30% of an employee's potential first-year earnings.

As for the UK, the situation is similar. A bad hire can cost a company up to £132,015 (a specialist with a salary of £42,000 is taken into account). According to an Oxford Economics study, the average cost of replacing an employee in the IT sector is £6,455.

Before hiring Python developers, it would be a good idea to familiarize yourself with the specifics of hiring in-house. Research shows that hiring in-house is expensive, both in the U.S. and in the U.K. and other countries interested in qualified developers.

According to Glassdoor, it takes about 24 days to hire a Python programmer. The cost of hiring is about $4,000. But that's not all. Statistics show that more than 40% of new hires leave immediately after being hired. Among the reasons for quitting are unmet job expectations.

Consider other good reasons for hiring dedicated Python developers in Ukraine, for example. We're talking about taxes. This isn’t a joke. Taxes vary greatly from country to country and sometimes end up in daunting numbers.

Hiring Python developers remotely can cut your employment costs because hiring remote developers is cheaper than hiring local ones.

In the United States, for an employee to earn $50,000, the employer must pay up to $70,000 (including wages, taxes, and benefits).

Speaking of taxes, it should be noted that hiring an employee means significant payroll tax costs. For example, the employer's share of FICA is 7.65% on compensation up to the annual wage base. You also need to address the issue of insurance coverage for your employees.

Let's look at how much it would cost an employer to hire an on-site developer.

Full-time software developer cost: company-paid benefits

What about hiring remote Python programmers in Ukraine? With the outstaffing model, there is only a monthly payment, which includes the developer's net salary and the vendor's fee. There are no hassles with taxes and other benefits described above.

Let's look at other reasons why it's worth hiring Python programmers in Ukraine.

6 impressive reasons you should hire Ukrainian Python developers

There are many reasons for hiring Ukrainian programmers rather than experts from other countries. Starting with the most compelling one which is education.

Python engineers hired are well-educated and experienced

Digital transformation, along with the rapid development of the IT industry, has had a major impact on the history of Ukraine. Many world-class technology pioneers come from Ukraine. For example, did you know that in 1942 it was Ukrainian inventors who created the electronic digital computer? Ukrainians are considered to be the third in the world - after the representatives of the USA and Great Britain - to have invented the electronic computer.

When hiring Python programmers, consider the following: The world-famous rocket scientist Sergei Korolev is a native of Ukraine. Ukrainian scientists and engineers have also long been known for their developments in the field of air, land and electric transport. For example, the first electric tram was invented by Ukrainians, in particular, by F. A. Pirotsky. Computer scientist Kateryna Yushchenko, who invented the address programming language in 1955, was born in Ukraine, studied at Kyiv University and obtained a PhD at the Institute of Mathematics of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences.

Today, talented Ukrainians, including the Python engineers you hire, continue the glorious scientific tradition by contributing to the domestic IT sphere. For example, in 2018, Ukraine took 4th place at the International Mathematical Olympiad. Over the past 10 years, it is still among the top 30 mathematical countries in the world.

Almost 90% of Ukrainian developers have higher education. Ukraine ranks 38th in the ranking of the National Higher Education System. The literacy rate of Ukrainians is around 100%, which is not surprising, since Ukraine has more than 200 universities, 150 of which provide technical education.

Once in the IT field, hired Python developers continue to improve their skills and work here for many years. A third of the industry representatives have been working there for more than 6 years and the average age of the IT specialist is 26 years. This shows that Ukrainian specialists, on the one hand, are young, which means they're flexible and ambitious, but on the other hand, they're qualified enough to bring their proven experience to the customer's project.

When deciding to hire Ukrainian Python engineers, remember that the development of the local IT industry is also supported at the state level. Thus, in September 2019, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine created the IT Creative Foundation, which aims to train qualified specialists. The sponsorship is aimed at providing research grants for student scientists, funding student scholarships in Ukrainian universities, and building new campuses and courses for IT professionals.

This is just a brief overview of the educational potential of Ukrainians and the reasons why you should hire Python programmers in Ukraine. Let's see what we have next.

World-renowned enterprises choose Ukraine, no matter what

These days, Ukraine is full of outstanding engineering and scientific talent to hire, including Python developers. No wonder it attracts the most famous market players. Ukraine is host to R&D offices of major international corporations (110+) such as Google, Samsung, Siemens, Netcracker, Ericsson, Ring, Sitecore, Huawei, Snapchat, Boeing, etc. Since 2007, there has been an increase in the number of patents and utility models (146,000+). At the same time, IT services exports are growing. It was $3.6 billion in 2017 and is expected to grow to $8.4 billion in 2025.

In terms of IT services exports, Ukraine's largest partner is the United States. They account for 45% of the country's revenues in this sector. These figures seem quite reasonable given the average salary of American programmers, which is about $101,000, while their Ukrainian counterparts earn from $24,000 to $48,000 a year.

The Ukrainian IT community is growing

You can get the most experienced Python engineers in Ukraine because of its strong IT community. There are about 30 industry communities, more than 50 coworking spaces and hubs out there. There are about 1000 IT events yearly held for investors, startups and IT specialists. Such events as PyCon Ukraine iForum, DEV_Challenge, IT-Arena, Agile Eastern Europe, IT Weekend Ukraine, among others.

We can’t but mention the IT clusters in Ukraine, the largest of which are located in Kyiv, Lviv and Kharkiv with about 40 local IT companies having their own R&D centers. All these initiatives help to strengthen the Ukrainian technology sector and bring the best developers, including Python developers, to the next level.

Ukraine is an investment destination

Ukraine's healthy culture makes it attractive not only in terms of hiring dedicated Python developers but also in terms of investment. In 2017 alone, 44 deals with investment companies raised $265 million.

Ukraine can be proud of the fact that we managed to close profitable deals in terms of attracting investment in Ukrainian startups. Among such startups are Gitlab ($130 million), Grammarly ($110 million), BitFury ($110 million), Neoromation ($70 million), People.ai ($37 million) and others.

Among the most notable investors are such organizations as Soros Fund Management, Dragon Capital, IVP, General Catalyst and AVentures.

Ukrainian developers work hand-in-hand with business leaders in a variety of industries. This once again confirms the fact that Ukraine has a rich, highly educated pool of technical professionals, supported and empowered by a thriving and wealthy educational background. This is why you should hire Ukrainian Python programmers.

The pool of tech talent to hire is ever-increasing

There are about 22,000 Python programmers in Ukraine as Python is one of the most loved programming languages. The pool of experts is only expected to expand in the coming years and you can get the best of those experts for your project. Ukrainian Python developers are skilled in Python frameworks, libraries, extensions and API development. The most popular ones are the following:

When it comes to programming languages, Python is studied in many Ukrainian schools, and students are encouraged to solve puzzles using Python. The first-year engineering curriculum for graduate programs also includes training in a variety of areas such as Python, computer science, ML/AI, etc. In addition to the specialized higher education, there are also many specialized courses and additional training for software developers who want to upgrade their skills in Python and as a result of that, you'll get certified as an experienced Python developer.

More and more Python developers you can get are fluent in English

"How can we communicate with each other after I've hired Python programmers?". That's what one of the most popular questions that many overseas clients ask looks like. And they're right. When planning to hire dedicated Python developers, it doesn't hurt to find out what language they speak. If you speak English, be rest assured that the Ukrainian developers will understand you.

Almost 50% of IT experts in Ukraine are fluent in English, and about 80% of Ukrainian developers speak English at a high level. This is one of the preconditions for Python engineers to be hired. As a rule, English language is studied in elementary schools, coupled with many additional language courses and schools in Ukraine. In Kharkiv alone, there are about 150 of them and almost every Ukrainian IT company offers English-speaking clubs with native speakers and English language courses.

Salaries of Ukrainian Python developers you can hire

According to Glassdoor, the average Python developer in Ukraine earns about $2,000 per month and compared with the average salaries for a Python developer in other countries:

• In the U.S., it's about $6,300 per month;
• In the UK, it's about $5,400 per month.

As Payscale reports, in Ukraine, a Python software engineer earns up to $1,300 per month.

According to dou.ua, the average salary of a Python developer in Ukraine is $3800 for Senior SE, $2000 for a Mid-level programmer, and $700 for Junior SE.

What’s the average Python developer hourly rate in Ukraine?

According to Upwork, the hourly rate to hire Ukrainian Python programmers is the same as that of PHP developers which ranges from $20 to $80.

Comparing these figures with the hourly rate in different countries, The Codementor claims that Python developers in all countries on average earn between $61 and $80 per hour. To be precise:

• North America, $81 to $100 per hour;
• Western/Eastern Europe - $61-80 per hour;
• Asia and Pacific, $61 to $80 per hour.

According to ZipRecruiter, a Python programmer in the U.S. earns $54 per hour ($9,324 a month or $111,899 a year).

Steps to hire dedicated Python developers

If you plan to expand your team or delegate some tasks, consider the following steps for finding and hiring Python programmers.

Do your research

Research representatives of the Ukrainian IT industry before hiring Python engineers in Ukraine, then narrow down your list of companies to 2-3 choices, review their portfolios and testimonials, and use your connections to learn more about your choices.

Set up a meeting with the selected IT service provider

Be as specific as possible about your expectations regarding the Python programmers you hire, and align them with the capabilities of your future IT service provider. Also find out the company's approach to recruiting specialists, what their expertise is in the area you are interested in, what technical stack they use, get information on pricing and additional services, find out how many senior, middle and junior developers they have, how soon they can join the team, etc.

Hold an introductory workshop

Once you have your basic questions answered, begin discussing your tasks or project. Be as specific as possible when communicating your requirements, goals and deadlines. Describe the requirements for the developer you are looking for and the structure of the team he or she will be extending, his or her role. The more information you provide at the outset, the better your chances of hiring the right Python developers the first time.

Put the recruitment process into action

This stage usually consists of sub-stages such as Search, Pre-Screening and Feedback. Once the recruiters on the service provider side receive your requirements, they will begin the search. This usually takes up to 10 days and involves the following:

• Recruiters select suitable candidates from the internal talent pool and then from among the Python developers available for hire in the marketplace.
• Along with the company's senior technical staff, they interview them to learn about their soft and hard skills.
• They send you resumes of the best candidates, backed up by their feedback.

Interview the best Python developers selected

At this stage, you are supposed to interview selected Ukrainian Python programmers and ask them job-related questions, give them test assignments to determine their technical background. You also need to find out how they fit into your team in terms of personality and how comfortable you will be working with them. You must provide feedback on each of the interviewed candidates to speed up the hiring process or adjust it.

Start the hiring and onboarding process

When the right developers are selected, they receive a job offer and go through the onboarding stage. HR managers familiarize hired Python programmers with all the communication tools and channels, as well as the corporate culture. They are given all the access they need to work, workflows are established, and it's checked whether the new professionals get their team roles and work tasks straight.

Set up the workflow

As the workflow progresses, you track the workload of the hired Python programmer or the entire software development team. There are also performance reviews, support and consultations, team adjustments, task and rate revisions. All workflow issues are decided together, and new things to be introduced are discussed and agreed upon in advance.

What to consider when hiring Python developers in Ukraine

Companies that lack Python expertise usually turn to outstaffing service providers to get qualified and dedicated programmers. But how can you be sure that the new hires are the perfect fit for you? Below is some information on what to consider when looking to hire Python developers in Ukraine.

Hard skills assessment

Python developers are not equally proficient in the technology you need. Your ideal candidate should:

• Have a grasp of basic database knowledge as well as technologies such as HTML, CSS, JavaScrip, etc.
• Know Python fundamentals: syntax and semantics, libraries and built-in container data types, limitations of threading and how to deal with them, etc.
• Know Python development tools (IDEs and code editors) and the Python ecosystem in general.
• Have experience with libraries and the most common Python frameworks such as Flask, Django, TensorFlow, NumPy, SciPy, Pandas, etc.
• Be able to integrate different data sources into one system, work with version control systems, and know well the key principles of software testing.

With those in mind, you'll get experienced developers to interview.

The right questions to ask during a job interview when hiring Python coders

The purpose of a technical interview is to find out how competent the technical candidate you are going to hire is.

To do this, you need to ask the right Python-related questions. The basic ones can deal with differences between lists and tuples, as well as a deep and shallow copy; monkey patching and how to do it in Python; using range and xrange functions; pickling and unpickling processes; achieving multithreading in Python, and many other related questions can be asked.

Puzzles and technical issues are also a reliable way to screen a developer's skills and experience. It's best to ask a developer a hands-on question or give him/her a task you encountered while working on a client project. This approach is as close to the actual work environment as possible, so you're more likely to get a quicker idea of the expert's skill level and be able to successfully hire him or her for the job.

Goals of cooperation with Ukrainian Python developers

When hiring dedicated engineers, keep in mind that the best way to collaborate is through long-term projects. Such working conditions will allow developers to fully contribute to your project without being distracted by other tasks. By doing so, this model will prove to be flexible and capable of adapting to the project dynamics. However, in case of an urgent need, you can also hire just one Python developer from Ukraine. For example, a specialist is needed now to solve a very specific task. Your requirements for hiring developers are discussed, feel free to voice your expectations and the tasks to be done.

If you need more information on how to hire experienced Python engineers in Ukraine and what the benefits of working with specialized technicians are, let us know. We'll show you how DDI Development helps overseas companies to thrive through technology.

Your benefits when hiring Python developers in Ukraine

Cooperation with remote Ukrainian Python developers means flexibility, speed and coherence. You specify your requirements for software engineers as well as describe the task/project, and in return, you get the following:

• Quick access to a huge pool of dedicated Python programmers with niche expertise who will not only listen but hear you.
• Experienced specialists, who at the same time were raised on the rich educational traditions of our country and consider it a matter of honor to provide only top-notch solutions to complex problems.
• Well-educated Python programmers who speak English, so that every meeting would be meaningful and bring you closer to the result.
• A flexible but yet tailor-made approach based on the specifics of your project and years of proven programmers' experience.
• Full control over the team of hired Python engineers, as well as the processes, while maintaining an optimized workflow and delivery of products on schedule and of the required quality.
• A comprehensive set of Python-related tools. Depending on your tasks, Ukrainian Python engineers, whom you can hire, will find the most suitable technical stack (libraries, frameworks, such as Flask, SciPy, NumPy, Django, etc.) to solve your task.
• Freedom from paperwork and legal issues in this shared journey. All administrative issues such as hiring, providing workspace, hardware and software to new employees, conducting HR processes, paying salaries and resolving legal issues are handled by the vendor.
• Reasonable prices for in-demand IT services provided by dedicated Ukrainian engineers.
• Collaboration, through which employment costs are reduced. No taxes or hidden fees - only a fixed monthly rate, which includes the Python developer's net salary and the vendor's fee, and which is agreed upon before the cooperation begins.
• The software development team from the right time zone. The time difference between Ukraine and Western Europe is only 1-2 hours. As for North America, it's possible to agree on a convenient time for both sides to make calls and resolve business issues.
• If necessary, additional services (to reduce time to market or boost your business).

Bottom line

Apparently, you can hire experienced Python programmers. Even though there are a lot of qualified Python developers, finding and hiring them is time-consuming. Moreover, there are a lot of nuances to consider in getting things right. If you want to expand your team with experienced Python programmers as quickly as possible while maintaining full control of the process, consider hiring Ukrainian Python developers in 2021. There's a large pool of experienced Python engineers with proven expertise and additional skills in sought-after technologies.

Specifically, you can contact us so that we can hire a Python engineer in Ukraine with a specific technology stack or experience you need. Using various technologies related to Python, hired software engineers can help you to grow your business. We provide our clients with a wide range of services, applying unique strategies and approaches to each task. Would you like to know more about it? Let's get in touch.