Since 2016, year by year, Rust has been called the "most loved programming language" by the prestigious Stack Overflow Developer Survey. There are not many Rust programmers and Rust consultants — roughly 4.8% of developers use this language — but those who don’t want to go back to other solutions.
The low number of Rust experts on the market, however, makes it hard for companies to find the right people. How, then, can you hire Rust programmers and hire Rust consultants who will truly deliver what you need? We dedicate our guide to this matter.
Why choose Rust and hire Rust programmers or Rust consultants?
But before we go about hiring Rust programmers and Rust consultants, let’s consider why you actually should invest in the language. What is so amazing about it that it gained traction?
Rust initially launched in 2010 — meaning, it’s a still young technology. The language was designed at Mozilla Research when building a new type of browser engine, Servo. Mozilla puts their trust in Rust and considers it the go-to technology for their future tools, including browsers like Firefox. Since then, Rust has been picked up by multiple other digital businesses, including Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, and Dropbox.
What are the most important features that make so many transition from good old C or C++ to Rust?
- Memory safety — protection from system and security vulnerabilities
- Focus on correctness — Rust forces developers to write truly clean, issue-free code
And while Rust is a general-purpose programming language — meaning you can build virtually anything with it — there are a few types of solutions it’s especially useful for. These include things like algorithms, servers, virtual machines, system libraries, machine learnings solutions, microservices, compilers, or interpreters. In other words, everything that requires truly top-notch performance.
What skills should a Rust programmer or Rust consultant have?
The hiring process of Rust programmers or Rust consultants should begin with clarifying the technical skills that the candidate needs to possess. These will, of course, vary depending on your unique project — however, there are some categories of skills that you will always be looking at. We list these areas below.
- Expert knowledge of Rust
Rust changes fast — as any relatively young technology. This means that the Rust programmer or Rust consultant you hire should not only understand all the ins and outs of the technology but also always keep up-to-date with the recent developments in the world of Rust.
- Proficiency with other relevant programming languages
Knowledge of additional programming languages can easily become handy — especially the ones that your company is already using. Businesses most often look for Rust programmers or Rust consultants with proficiency with technologies like C, C#, C++, Python, or Java.
- Experience with any relevant tools
Once again, this one highly differs depending on your company’s unique needs and tech stack. Businesses often look for Rust developers knowledgeable in database management (SQL, NoSQL, or both), the ELK stack, or container technology (Docker + Kubernetes). Make sure to carefully review your needs before starting the hiring process — if needed, ask for advice from a software consultant or an IT project manager.
- Experience with modern IT work methodologies
Most digital businesses nowadays work in a well-planned manner based on principles of specific work methodologies. Agile is the most basic thing — more and more often we see teams turning to Scrum, Kanban, and DevOps. The more experience with these work methodologies your new hire has, the better for the future of your business.
Leveraging the power of soft skills
You won’t get anywhere with a wannabe Rust developer who doesn’t know all the ins and outs of the technology — that’s true. But it’s also true that the right set of soft skills can significantly change the landscape in your company and power collaboration and innovation.
To make sure your business truly aims for the best, hire Rust programmers and Rust consultants with some of the following soft skills.
- Attention to detail
To deliver clean Rust code that won’t cause any issues.
- Expert time management
To swiftly jump between tasks and deliver results regularly.
- User empathy
To always build the product with the user in mind — even if the product will be used internally.
Finding the perfect fit
There is one more thing to consider besides the skillset of your candidate — the company fit. And even though there are not that many Rust programmers and Rust consultants on the market, you still can look into some areas to choose the developer who will truly deliver the best results for your business.
Consider especially the following…
- Product fit
As there are so many different use cases of Rust, try to find experts who have already developed similar solutions with the language to what you have in mind. This way, the development process will surely go faster and smoother.
- Industry fit
Depending on the industry they are operating in, businesses may have a bit different technical needs and obstacles standing in their way. Hire Rusty programmers and Rust consultants with previous experience within your business vertical and improve your development process even further.
- Company culture fit
Sometimes things fall into pieces just because the team working on a project is not matched well enough. Avoid it by hiring individuals sharing similar values that drive them to success. Review closely the elements of the company culture that you consider important for your business — e.g. the preferred style of management, the work environment at the office (startup vs corporate style), or your focus on diversity — and hire Rust programmers/Rust consultants who also share these values.
Hiring remote Rust programmers and Rust consultants
There are not many Rust programmers available — and when you already find one in your area or willing to relocate, they might want to be paid plenty. According to the 2020 Stack Overflow Developer Survey, Ruby programmers are one of the best-paid developers. In the United States, they are paid on average $130k a year.
However, when you look at the global data, the average salary for Rust programmers is lower — $74k. This is because Rust consultants and developers are often based in countries with lower costs of living, providing services either to local businesses there or… remotely. "Remote work options" is one of the top job factors considered by developers when looking for a job and companies worldwide started noticing this.
Choosing to hire remote Rust programmers and consultants gives you then not only a choice to create a job offering more interesting for developers themselves but also:
- Gives you access to top talents from around the globe.
- Allows you to significantly cut costs by hiring experts from countries with lower costs of living.
And these two advantages can even be combined! For example, developers from Central Eastern Europe are considered not only one of the best developers in the world but they also most often require lower salaries than their peers from the West. If you are having a hard time finding Rust programmers and Rust consultants in your local area, exploring remote options in the CEE region should be your top priority.
Who else may you need in your team?
Talented Rust programmers and Rust consultants can truly change the dynamic of your company and your digital products. The right expert can build a robust, top-performing solution that will be noticed by everyone on the market.
But you might also need other experts to turn your solutions into a success. And whether you need AI or machine learning developers, front-end or back-end developers knowledgeable in all kinds of technologies, or IT project managers and Product Owners who can handle the development chaos — we can supply you with them fast.
At Ideamotive, we operate the industry-leading network of IT talents looking for new career options. Just get in touch with us and — after carefully reviewing your company profile and other requirements — we will connect with a tailored selection of top IT experts.
Let us help you build industry-changing digital solutions.
