GlobalLogic Insights: What Beginners Need to Enter the IT Industry in 2026

In 2025, GlobalLogic was a leader in hiring beginners. This year, the company plans to onboard up to 1,000 new specialists, including junior-level roles. Which areas are most relevant for a start, and what skills are looked at during interviews — the company shared its analytics.

The IT industry for beginners: fields and sectors

In 2025, GlobalLogic recruited 359 beginners. Among them:

• The largest number of junior specialists joined QA and Engineering fields. There is also high demand for specialists in Machine Learning/AI, Data Engineering, and Automation Testing.
• The top 10 skills for entry-level specialists are Content Engineer, QA Manual, QA Automation, JavaScript, C/Embedded, Linux Kernel, Java, DevOps, .NET, and C++.
• The most beginners joined projects in the following industries: telecommunications, manufacturing, healthcare, and finance.

Today, the company has over 250 open positions, about 30 of which are for specialists with less than a year of experience.

How the labor market is changing

The labor market for young specialists has become more competitive, as the number of candidates exceeds the number of open positions. Employer requirements have increased significantly; today, practical experience is expected from beginners:

• For trainee-level specialists, experience with personal projects, internships, or high-quality coursework is welcomed.
• Junior specialists are already expected to have commercial practice. It is no longer just the fact of having worked that matters, but rather which systems the person has worked with, how well they understand development processes, whether they can independently complete basic tasks, and so on.

Hard & Soft skills: what is expected of specialists

Companies are increasingly looking for specialists who can combine different technologies. “Learning pure JavaScript, which traditionally had dozens of open positions, is no longer a competitive advantage. Combining it with TypeScript, NodeJS, and cloud technologies is what’s relevant today,” comments Kateryna Syrota, Head of Talent Acquisition at GlobalLogic.

In addition, experience with AI has become a baseline market requirement. This also applies to junior specialists. Another important advantage is understanding the industry specifics of a project. “For our company, domain expertise is a major bonus—such as in the medical field, where the ability to work with specific data and devices is valued,” adds Kateryna.

Among soft skills, employers are increasingly paying attention to the ability to present one’s strengths, learn quickly, adapt to changes, and work effectively in a team. It is often these qualities that determine a candidate’s success during an interview.