It’s estimated that there are approximately 10,000 qualified programmers in Cape Town, compared to 30,000 in Johannesburg. That means the Cape is facing something of a skills shortage here, and qualified professionals are in high demand. The city bowl is home to a mix of start-ups and long-established tech names, all in need of people with cutting-edge development capabilities.
Naturally, this is good news for developers looking to earn a substantial salary in Cape Town.
The typical starting salary is estimated at an average of R25,000 for Capetonian developers, adding up to R300,000 a year. With a few years of experience, that figure can rise to between R50,000 and R60,000 a month (R600,000 to R720,000 a year).
There are a number of different routes into the South African tech industry.
The traditional route would be to study Computer Science or Engineering at university, for a minimum of 3 years. This method is now competing with a range of more agile and modern learning paths, including diplomas, certifications, and the ever-expanding world of online education.
Important to note: South Africa’s education system operates under the National Qualifications Framework (NQF), which recognises and categorises qualifications into levels of achievement ranging from NQF Level 1 (Grade 9 of high school) all the way up to NQF Level 10 (a post-doctoral research degree). The courses discussed here are qualifications that fit into the NQF in South Africa.
These are part-time online courses, which are internationally recognised and can be good CV-boosters.
Timeline: Typical duration for short courses is 3-9 months.
This qualification is skills-based and industry-orientated. It could help propel you into the world of technology. Developers taking this route would typically study a Higher Certificate in IT or Systems Network Engineering.
Timeline: Duration is usually 1 year.
These are good qualifications for South African developers to look into. A National Diploma in IT or Software Management will be quite similar to a degree, but will often be more practical and career- centric.
Timeline: It will take 2-3 years of full-time study to get your diploma.
This is a practical-focused qualification that can be done as an alternative to a Bachelor degree in South Africa. There is less focus on theoretical knowledge. A developer would usually study a B.Tech IT B.Tech Software Development.
Timeline: A 1-year top-up following completion of a National Diploma.
Studying a BSc is one of the more traditional learning routes. A BSc Computer Science BSc IT qualification aims to balance theoretical Computer Science with software development skills.
Timeline: This course will take 3 years full-time, or 4-5 years part-time
This is a higher, more specialised qualification that focuses on A single subject and comprises at least 25% research.
Timeline: 1-year top-up following completion of a Bachelor’s Degree
HyperionDev offers a choice of industry-aligned online and on-site bootcamps, complete with personal mentorship and professional code review to make the learning process easier.
Timeline: Bootcamps take 3-6 months to complete.
HyperionDev is partnered with international tech companies, to assure our learning is internationally relevant and industry-aligned. We also became the first Google Authorised Training Provider in EMEA in 2017.
Aspiring programmers can choose between the Full Stack Web Developer bootcamp, Software Engineering bootcamp, or Data Scientist Bootcamp.
While we don’t directly place our graduates in jobs, we do offer post-course support, which includes CV building and interview preparation. We also introduce our graduates to our hiring partners, which helps many of them to find a job shortly after graduating.
Just 2 weeks after starting our Full Stack Web Developer Bootcamp, Cape Town student Anneke had already managed to find an internship in her chosen career. Anneke says her bootcamp studies helped her to excel during her internship.
“Thanks to the HyperionDev coding bootcamp, I already had knowledge about HTML and CSS which undoubtedly provided an excellent foundation for what I was to learn next.
Also, the fact that I was doing an online bootcamp (thus showing my desire to learn how to code properly and seriously) hugely impacted their decision to take me on in their company, to learn and grow as a female in this industry.”
Look into our programming courses Cape Town and you could soon be launching your dream career, just like Anneke did.
