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Developer attitudes about their workplaces are changing, and software engineers working in more traditional industries are feeling pretty good about things.
As part of its annual State of GitOps report, Octopus Deploy found that engineers in transportation, healthcare, and retail roles reported the highest wellbeing scores, while those working for mining, marketing and public relations, hotel, and legal firms reported the lowest scores; with software landing somewhere towards the middle.
These scores were based on 322 responses to five wellbeing-related questions, such as: do you feel satisfied with your job? While the scores were mostly the same across organization sizes and locations, there were some stark differences when it came to the industries they worked in.
Which industries are rising, and why?
The survey didn’t capture why the different sectors were ranked as they were, but Steve Fenton, principal developer experience researcher at Octopus Deploy, and his team have some theories. Retail offers developers opportunities to work on customer-facing applications, for example, while hotel and food service companies likely allocate limited budgets for technology investment.
While transportation may look surprising at the top of that list, “the logistics space has become a data-led business,” said Jason Hishmeh, a longtime tech investor and entrepreneur. “It’s an exciting area for developers looking to implement AI and automate supply chains.”
On the other end of the spectrum, “legal tech is frequently many years behind other sectors, which can be incredibly frustrating for developers who thrive on innovation. Hospitality IT teams are often small in size, so there’s less room for career progression and usually lower salary,” he said.
We’ve already seen the financial services industry gain cachet at the expense of the big tech companies, but can these other industries start to take advantage of this shift and hoover up talent?
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Don’t forget the mission
While big salaries and tech budgets are categorically appealing to developers, many are also seeking a mission to get behind, especially younger entrants to the job market.
Octopus Deploy’s survey respondents working in healthcare and social assistance rated their job satisfaction relatively high, for example.
In his previous role as former deputy cabinet secretary for the State of California, Jeff Le led various public sector digital transformation initiatives, and has extensive experience working with healthcare and education sectors. He says these fields are “critical infrastructure that everyone is connected to on a daily basis – it’s a very direct connection.” And that’s part of the appeal working there.
But conditions can be difficult, in his experience. “Everything is scrutinized at a very high level, it can be very challenging,” he says. These institutions are critical to their communities, but often are under-resourced.
London • June 16 & 17, 2025
Speakers Gergely Orosz, Camille Fournier and Lara Hogan confirmed.
Chasing more than money
Stability is also an often underrated factor in what tech workers want out of a job. Not everyone is willing to work 60 hours a week in the hope that their options will eventually help them hit the jackpot. Those warehouse and transportation jobs that rate so highly in Octopus Secure’s survey? Yes, those workers get to work with cutting-edge tech; but the sector also offers stable employment.
In the wake of private industry uncertainty and federal employment turmoil, the state and local public sector has a real opportunity to capture tech talent.
“If you’re at a company that reorganizes every quarter, you might start looking for more stability,” Le says. “You might turn down some money, but you could gain the chance to make a real impact in your community and have a more balanced work life. The skills you bring – industry-leading standards, best practices, and operational expertise – could make a meaningful contribution and be genuinely valued in public service.”
“A decade ago, everyone was chasing big tech dreams,” Hishmeh says. “Today, they’re chasing stability, innovation, and work-life balance – three things that many industries now offer better than Silicon Valley, and the industries that provide such opportunities are reaping the best talent.”
