The most popular niche industries in software development

In this list of most popular industries, we include niches that attract the most software developers who constantly seek new and creative ways to advance their careers and hone their skills to perfection. This list is not likely to change soon. In software development, there will always be some upgrade to a niche or a new niche emerging that immediately gets the developers’ attention.

Software engineering and development has been a popular vocation type in the last two decades, and the demand for these professionals is continuously rising.

The business needs of the present shift and adapt together with the technologies, almost everything is digital, and everything needs programming and development, one way or another. This is why it’s a good idea to see which niche industries put the main focus on software development, as presented below.

IoT

IoT (Internet of Things), and AI (Artificial Intelligence), are niches that have regular and steady revenue and popularity increase, and this is not likely to cease anytime soon. They are interconnected in a way that AI is used for creating many aspects within IoT, as a whole.

IoT includes many broad aspects, like process manufacturing (formulas), discrete manufacturing (distinct items and goods), consumerism, utilities, automated industries and processes, and more.

These niches encompass an intelligent interaction with consumers and users and increased enterprise efficiency. For example, with AI and Machine Learning, we see a new way to pave the future for everything we see, use, and utilize. Artificial intelligence is on par with humans, simply phrased, and it gets improved by the day. We could even say that this niche is perhaps the most attention-captivating.

Some tools and technologies used in IoT and AI are Tessel 2, Arduino, PlatformIO, Eclipse IoT, Raspbian, Node-RED, Flutter, Scikit Learn, Caffe, and Keras, among others.

iGaming & online casinos

Gaming, online gambling and casinos, and everything related to these will never cease grasping the attention of software developers, most users, and gamers.

Of course, particular marketing strategies draw people in, especially when using the money for entertainment and possible winnings. This industry is popular because it regularly has a rising net worth, new traffic sources, and a constant flow of new players and audiences.

Some tools and technologies used in iGaming and online casinos are HTML5, TLS (Transport Layer Security), C#, C++, JavaScript, Java, and more.

Mobile app development

Nowadays, everything we use and rely on depends on an app, so app development opens up countless possibilities for devs and engineers with exciting ideas for apps that need execution. Whether we order food, call for a taxi, or anything else like leisure time spending - it is all displayed and used on an app.

One look at the Play Store or the App Store, and you already know what you need to download next or what will simplify your life and make chores or habits enjoyable.

Multiple industries are covered with apps, from education to health, beauty, editing, dating, social media, purchasing, and more.

Some tools and technologies used in mobile app development are Jamf, Kobiton, Buddy, Xamarin, Ionic, LongRange, Sencha, NativeScript, and more.

Blockchain

The blockchain niche is extensive, including tokens, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, specific technologies, and more, and we see this popularity rising more prominently in the last few years.

This niche offers possibilities for investments, converting of funds and savings, and specific money management. Additionally, it provides an excellent opportunity for trading, which is incredibly captivating for all tech-savvy users and experts.

Some tools and technologies used in blockchain are Solc, Truffle, Solidity, Geth, Ganache, Drizzle, Python, C#, Go, BaaS (Blockchain-as-a-Service), and others.

Web design and development

With recent advances in eCommerce, purchasing, and online shops, there are and will be more jobs in the field of web design and overall web development.

Almost every web developer and software engineer has some knowledge and expertise with web design or how elements are displayed on a page, so this means it’s not all just coding. There is a creative visual side to software development too.

Some tools and technologies used in web design and development are jQuery, GitHub, Sublime Text, Code Pen, TypeScript, NPM, Apache, Bootstrap, Virtual Studio Code, and more.

Data science and data engineering

The data science and data engineering niche industry is another very popular one, and it requires knowledge of more programming languages, as usually in software development.

In this industry niche, you can find data scientists, data analysts, and data engineers that work with Hive, Python, Spark, SQL, Matlab, HTML, and C/C++, and they excel at working with database systems, machine learning, APIs, collecting and analyzing data, and more.

Some tools and technologies used in data science and data engineering are Tableau, Big Query, Looker, Amazon Redshift, Apache Spark, Apache Hive, Airflow, Snowflake, Segment, Fivetran, Apache Kafka, Mode, Stitch, and others.

FinTech

FinTech or financial technology is most attractive for app developers, and it encompasses creating apps for finance management, paying bills, and fund transferring. We could say that this is quite relevant to the Blockchain and cryptocurrencies mentioned above.

And the FinTech devs are the true experts in creating apps for digital financing and transactions that simplify all money-related actions a user makes on their gadget or computer.

Some tools and technologies used in FinTech are JavaScript, Java, C++, Python, Django, Matlab, Ruby, and others.

Cybersecurity

Entering the cybersecurity industry is captivating from many aspects. Professionals decide to work on cybersecurity because this niche is fundamentally essential and requires meticulous attention to critical details. It is excellent for all devs and engineers that enjoy problem-solving tasks, and this niche also offers career-growth opportunities regularly,

In this niche, you’ll find cyber engineer professionals who use digital forensics and security policies and work on network defense programs, among the rest.

Some tools and technologies used in cybersecurity are Splunk, Argus, VeraScrypt, TrueScript, Paros Proxy, Kali Linux, Wireshark, FireMon, and more.

SaaS Software

SaaS, or Software as a Service, is also preferred by software experts because it includes working with apps in a way that they are offered as services online. To summarize, a SaaS dev is the person behind the codes that enable easy app use in cloud computing.

SaaS will continue to be popular because it offers organizations and companies simple access to the latest updates and security versions of software. No one can deny the functionality and practicality of cloud-based apps like Dropbox, Google Workspace, Cisco Webex, and more.

Some tools and technologies used in SaaS are JavaScript, CSS3, HTML5, Basecamp, Acquire.io, BambooHR, Google Analytics, Piwik, Hubstaff, SQL, and others.

MedTech

The healthcare software niche or medical tech differs slightly in this list, not within categorization, but mainly through the outcomes and products in most MedTech cases. Healthcare is also digitalized, as almost everything from our daily lives.

So, in this niche, there are possibilities for developing and engineering medical wearables, gadgets for measuring various bodily values and functions, creating software for improving medical equipment, medical hardware, and more.

Some tools and technologies used in MedTech are Swift, Kotlin, PHP, Python, Java, IDE, Vue, Node.js, and more.

EdTech

EdTech or educational technology is a popular niche for software engineers and devs because it offers many possibilities for various app and website creations. Education can be seen everywhere, from sites that offer courses to videos and tutorials, communication apps and tools, digital whiteboards, video meeting apps, and more.

Some tools and technologies used in EdTech are Flutter, Swift, Java, Kotlin, React Native, and other useful ones for app creation of various kinds.

Vacation and rental

In a way, this here is similar to the app creation point mentioned in the points above. Let’s think of apps like Airbnb – the practicality is stellar. Other similar ones are Skyscanner, Tripit, Trip Advisor and similar. And, everyone uses some sort of travel app these days for booking, orientation and location, accommodation finding, and more.

And, it doesn’t need to be limited to app creation but also travel and accommodation website creation.

Some tools and technologies used in vacation and rental app and website creation are React Native, Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, React.js, and others.

Marketing

The developers and engineers that enter the marketing software niche contribute by helping companies and businesses promote themselves more easily, execute outstanding campaigns with excellent visibility, and lead more sales.

In this niche, devs and engineers maximize resources to manage customer data, organize email marketing campaigns, and design software, social media, and SEO tools for a fully complete website ready to be visible and attract the right audience.

Some tools and technologies used in marketing and marketing software development are SendGrid, Campaign Monitor, Customer.io, SalesForce CRM, HubSpot CRM, Google Analytics, Trello, and similar others.

Automotive

Let’s immediately suggest the Tesla Motors brand here. Working as a software developer or engineer in the automotive industry like this one is not an easy feat, and it is challenging but just as rewarding career-wise.

Niche industries of this type are always attractive, especially for brands that innovate transport ways and add a ‘futuristic’ aspect to products and technologies.

Some tools and technologies used in automotive industry software development are CATIA, ICEM Shape Design, Java, JavaScript, Python, and C++, to name a few.

The takeaway

This list of several niches showcases the most popular ones in the tech and IT industry. Software engineers and developers tend to focus on those niches the most regarding development expertise and job seeking.

But, these niches are not just relevant for job seekers but also for employers and business owners. So, when an employer needs to find a stellar tech expert, they will have the best chances to find and hire niche software experts when browsing predominantly through these niche industries.