Whether you are a tech enthusiast, an aspiring developer or a triple-crown investor, keeping up with the latest tech trends can be both highly beneficial and remarkably tiring. As 2024 kicks off, some industries that were backwater contenders some years ago are now getting set for massive growth, meaning job opportunities should pile up. 

These are the fastest-growing tech sectors in 2024.

👨‍💻 Software development 

Yes, this is an up-to-date fact. Though this might seem like an obvious response, the new generation of software development tops 2023’s Deloitte Technology Fast 500 once again for the 28th time. Software and services companies represent 57% of the winners, with Mode Mobile Inc. as the sector’s leading representative. You might wonder: What changes in a trade that’s as old as computers are is causing this growth? Well, tools such as modern code-deployment pipelines and automating processes such as code generation, testing, refactoring, and translation are changing how the lifecycle works, and that could mean bigger output opportunities. These technologies include AI pair programmers, low- and no-code platforms, infrastructure as code, and automated integration and testing. 

Even if we don’t recommend copying-and-pasting code from an LLM such as GPT-4, we won’t underestimate emerging generative AI's potential for simplifying complex tasks. Also, we won’t shy away from suggesting AI is influential in software development’s newfound boom. The consulting powerhouse McKinsey estimated a $2 billion equity investment in new-generation software development in 2022 and a rise of 29% in job postings between 2021 and 2022. With so many players pouring cash into AI, this number could look miniature in a few years.

🤖 AI for applied, generative and industrialised machine learning

Artificial intelligence is everywhere now, and it's doing some unprecedented stuff for businesses. Automation, data analysis, and decision-making algorithms. Suddenly, it brought automation, data analysis, and decision-making algorithms into the hands of CEOs and clerks alike, and it should help businesses run smoother and more efficiently. Even though the potential of LLMs is still up for debate, AI allows businesses to meet customer demands quickly and do it with style. There are different trends within AI you should look out for:

📲 💬 Applied AI 

Companies across industries can use AI tools like machine learning, computer vision, and natural-language processing to collect data for automation, capability enhancement, and smarter decisions — or for displacing a whole team of translators, as the not-so-cool Duolingo did. Reports show a whopping economic value of $17 trillion to $26 trillion is up for grabs through applied AI. And guess what? More and more companies are jumping on the AI bandwagon to grab those opportunities. McKinsey also estimates $104 billion in equity investments in 2022, and increased job postings by 6% from 2021 to 2022. That’s a lot of money.

💬 Generative AI

Easily one of the most-seen terms on each person’s doomscroll, this tech is still in shambles. Generative AI uses unstructured mixed-modality datasets — that could earn you a lawsuit — to create content in various forms, like text, video, code, and, some say, protein sequences. While Gartner forecasts that AI will generate 10% of all data by 2025, other players predict Gen-AI to contribute up to $4.4 trillion in economic value by enhancing productivity. So, 2024 looks like a big year for Gen-AI.

Recent developments, such as OpenAI's release of ChatGPT and Nvidia's strong earnings, have caught investors’ eyes, and stocks are rising. As tech corporations focused on generative AI have outperformed the broad market in 2023, Goldman Sachs suggests it could boost global GDP by 7% in the next decade, influencing business and society. Not only tech-savvy suits can use Gen-AI to make money, though.

How to Use ChatGPT to Make Money →

⚙️ Industrialising machine learning

MLOps tools assist companies in transitioning from pilot projects to viable business products. They speed up scaling analytics solutions, sort out issues in production, and make a bunch of newcomers look like a Japanese conveyor belt. Some reports are very optimistic. When companies get the hang of industrialised machine learning, the whole production process is reduced by eight to ten times, cutting down development resources by nearly 40% — although this is obviously if measured on a company that was doing things at least slightly off pace.

☁️ Cloud and edge computing

As businesses transition to cloud-based solutions and vendors start offering microservices architectures, developers who get the hang of more than one vendor, including AWS or Azure, will get plenty of pings asking for help deploying a new SaaS product. Edge computing takes things up a notch, offering faster data processing, ultra-low latency, and improved data privacy, aligning with data residency laws better than the cloud. 

Some reports predict global double-digit growth for edge computing in the next five years, ranking it at 4 on a 5-point scale for mainstream adoption. This ongoing fusion of cloud and edge resources is still too novel, though. Will the giant vendors infrastructure be able to cope with edge computing? We should wait and see.

🧬 Bioengineering

Advances in biology and digital technology have presented solutions across various sectors, including healthcare, food, agriculture, consumer products, sustainability, energy, and material production. Life sciences are the runner-up industry in the Technology Fast 500. Biotechnological fields like genetic engineering, gene therapy, and pharmaceutical research are experiencing rapid growth, showing great potential for groundbreaking discoveries. Experts point out 400 bioengineering use cases that are currently scientifically feasible. That’s material for 397 generative-AI-directed Blade Runner sequels. 

♻️ Green tech and renewable energy

Governments have been strongly suggested to drive the energy transition, and the world is moving towards sustainability, positioning renewable energy at the fifth spot in the Technology Fast 500. Efforts towards net-zero commitments are propelled by electrification and renewables like solar, wind, hydro, nuclear power, hydrogen, sustainable fuels, and electric vehicle charging. The solar and wind energy industries are slowly becoming a cheaper option, contributing significantly to a greener and more sustainable planet. The Harvard Business Review notes that saving our planet from ecological disaster offers a massive $12 trillion opportunity, even if we focus on just four of the 60 sections, including food and agriculture, cities, energy and materials, and health and well-being. Everything that’s against “the end is nigh” will be in the spotlight in the coming years.

Browse Green Tech Jobs in IT in 2024 →

🔬 Quantum computing

There’s a lot of talk around how quantum computing will destroy encryption, passwords, and wipe out our debt records, but the tech is still more of a buzzword than a reality. Some experts suggest that industries such as automotive, chemicals, financial services, and life sciences could potentially gain up to $1.3 trillion in value by 2035 from quantum computing, and there are talks of using it for drug discovery. According to Fortune Business Insights, the quantum computing market is anticipated to grow from $928.8 million in 2023 to $6.5 billion by 2030. Now, will the server-bearing vendors who want to run this stuff be able to hold up? We’ll see if their infra fries up or if it gets us a new vaccine against hangovers — it could go either way.

Get a developer job and help your sector grow

Many of the terms and sectors we mentioned throughout this article have existed for a while, but investments seem to be pouring in with a bigger volume as of 2024. At WeAreDevelopers, we’re constantly pairing the best developers in Europe with the top companies in Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom, and more countries. So head to our job boards and check how you can participate in the upcoming advancements of quantum computing, artificial intelligence, or machine learning. A pot of tech gold could be at the end of any of those rainbows — it’s up to you to tell us in which one. Good luck!