Navigating the DevRel job market

Article originally published here.

Developer Relations, aka DevRel, is an ever-changing landscape as the industry becomes more widely known and evolves. The tech industry, in general, is seeing a shift in hiring prioritization and an increasing number of layoffs most recently.

I’ve watched many of my DevRel peers find themselves laid off looking for other opportunities unexpectedly.

With that being said, I still believe our industry will continue growing at exponential rates as more founders & leaders begin to see the impact DevRel can have when companies target developers as one of their primary audiences.

If you’re finding yourself on the job market and considering a role in DevRel, or a shift from a previous role, I’ve pulled together a few resources to help you navigate your DevRel career search.

Where to find DevRel jobs

I wrote a piece last year with a great list of places to look for DevRel jobs, including the following resources:

I’ve also found that LinkedIn has improved its keywords and search results around developer relations and found many key roles there too.

DevRel compensation

Developer relations compensation ranges greatly depending on the role you serve, your experience, and your industry focus. I’ve found that DevRel compensation ranges can be comparable to engineering roles—both engineers and engineering managers.

In my opinion, DevRel practitioners require comprehensive skill sets, and I feel their compensation should match their capabilities. Most DevRel practitioners have some engineering experience and skills in other areas such as public speaking, social media, technical writing, education, etc., making them jack-of-all-trades (or Jill).

Two great compensation surveys have been facilitated in the last year that you can review to understand the salary ranges better.

DevRel roles

Developer relations has a variety of roles and career paths that are ever-changing based on what a company and team needs to succeed. However, I’ll break down a few typical roles you may see while searching job boards and sites.

Developer Advocate
Developer Experience aka DX Engineer
(Technical) Community Manager
(Technical) Program Manager
DevRel Engineer
(Technical) Outreach Manager
Technical Writer / Editor
Head of Developer Relations
Manager, Developer Advocacy
Manager, Developer Experience
Manager, Developer Education
Manager, Developer Marketing

New to DevRel? If so, some of these titles may seem foreign to you. You can leverage a slide deck I created called What is DevRel? to learn more about where these roles may fit within the team.

If you’re curious about learning more about DevRel team levels, there’s a great post from Bear Douglas at Slack you should check out.

Additional research

If you’re looking for additional insights into DevRel roles, compensation, hiring practices, and more, there are a few resources you could check out.

For more insights about developer marketing and DevRel, why not join a growing community of like-minded professionals who share the same goals?