A couple of weeks back, I found myself in a discussion about ‘dark matter developers’ – a term coined by Scott Hanselman to describe the vast majority of developers who, like dark matter in physics, we know exist but rarely see or interact with online.
The discussion of these developers started because the Cursor AI team were shocked to find that 80% of their users are on Windows with Laurie Voss tweeting about the episode: “Every so often Silicon Valley devs re-discover that the vast majority of programmers use Windows and are re-surprised.” I responded noting how minds are blown when people realise most developers don’t work at tech companies but in traditional company IT departments.
For new graduates and junior developers, I strongly believe these “dark matter” companies offer excellent places to start your career and get some experience under your belt. While many chase FAANG dreams and get their hearts broken through tough hiring processes or layoffs, thousands of rewarding roles exist in traditional businesses building useful applications for a set of real customers. The secondary benefit of this is that these companies are far more sensitive to their operations and rely less on VC funding or moonshots meaning less volatility and a greater focus on profitability.
Being a dark matter developer is not for everyone and might put you on a track you don’t want to be on long term. Having worked with many over the years, this path does not suit more ambitious developers that want to be on the bleeding edge of technology and innovation. Good work life balance with quality work is a noble goal but taking the dark matter path means forgoing the opportunity to work with brand new technologies at fast paced companies. It is harder to be “cracked” (as the kids say) if you take the dark matter path.
These roles provide stable environments to build core skills, understand business operations, and learn how technology serves real-world needs. For most this is a better option that chasing startup dreams for a lower salary and more chaotic environment.
If you are building developer tooling or offering services to software engineers it is worth considering how the dark matter cohort will interact with you. They won’t be on Twitter or attending every meetup so get creative with your marketing and content to cut through to them and speak to them about the things they value: stability and quality.
