How to Hire Remote Nearshore Developers in Chile

You might know Chile for the mysterious Easter Island or its famous poets, but this country is also home to an emerging tech scene. It’s no secret that Latin America has become a popular outsourcing destination, with several companies nearshoring to this region on a regular basis. As you can surely guess, Chile is a top nearshore outsourcing destination within South America!

This country has minimal time zone differences from the US, a solid all-around English level, and a vast talent pool of remote software developers to choose from. Because of this, Chile is a solid nearshore outsourcing option for any US tech company. Let’s get into everything you need to know about hiring nearshore developers from Chile! 

A quick rundown of Chile’s software development scene

Chile has been growing its IT scene for several years now. In fact, many consider Santiago, the capital, a major Latin American technological hub. It’s easy to see why, as Chile’s startup culture and constant innovation have put the country higher up on anyone’s list. After the government made several investments to attract tech entrepreneurs, the efforts have seemed to pay off – so much so that Chile even ranks first for innovation in Latin America, according to the Global Innovation Index! 

During the past decade, Chile has continued to grow its IT sector. Even in the middle of a global pandemic, the country managed to rank 5th out of 54 countries in the “Total Early Stage Entrepreneurship Activity” category of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Chile also showed the third-best IT growth rate from Latin America, with a 6.5% score. On top of that, it also has free-trade agreements with the United States and an expedited tech visa for IT professionals. As you can see, Chile has the infrastructure and logistics needed when looking for nearshore software development services.

Software engineer education in Chile

As mentioned before, Chile started to become a tech hub during the early 2000s. Now, it’s recognized for its quality developers and referred to as a top nearshore outsourcing destination. The same goes for its education system, which vastly changed after 1981. Today, Chile has 60 different universities, with many of them offering computer sciences as an undergraduate degree. Though there are few programs with a specific focus on coding, online learning platforms like Coderhouse or Coursera have filled this void.

Many Chilean software developers have a degree from the University Of Chile, a highly recognized institution. This university ranks 8th in Latin America for its quality higher education and variety of undergraduate options. It’s famous in the country for fostering some of the best technological programs, which is why many coding talents have attended this school. In 2017, the Chilean government spent over 21% of its annual expenditure on improving its educational programs. This carried hugely positive results! Now, it’s a given that newer generations of nearshore developers will be even better trained to do the job.

Take a look at this Chile overview by EF to see the steady growth this country keeps showing:

Average English level for nearshore software developers from Chile

Chile has a solid English level among its nearshore software developers. Though the overall English of the country can’t compare to Argentina or Mexico, Chilean software developers are (for the most part) advanced or proficient in the language. According to the 2020 EF English Proficiency Index, Chile ranks at #37 out of 100 countries with an EF EPI score of 523. This puts them third within the Latin American region!

Almost every Chilean school offers basic English education, ensuring that a good amount of the population has a basic command of the language. Many Chilean software developers also take additional English classes at language institutes or through online learning. At Blue Coding, we screen all nearshoring candidates to ensure their English level is suitable for working with a US business.

Most popular coding languages and software technologies in Chile

The most popular programming languages with software developers from Chile are: 

• Perl
• ASP.NET
• Java
• Python
• Kotlin
• HTML/CSS
• Ruby 
• MSSQL
• Visual Basic
• WordPress
• PHP
• Django
• React Native
• Angular
• Laravel
• Symfony

Other coding languages frequently used by Chilean software developers: 

• Flask
• Node.js
• C
• C++
• Flutter
• CodeIgniter
• Objective C
• Clojure
• VueJS
• Swift
• Ionic
• Struts
• Sinatra
• Vaadin

Salaries for nearshore software developers from Chile

Like most Latin American countries, hiring software developers in Chile can result in significant savings compared to your local market. Here's what to expect when hiring developers based in Chile:

• Junior developers: $2500-$4000 USD per month. 
• Mid-level developers: $4000-$6000 USD per month. 
• Senior developers: $6000-$7500 USD per month. 

If you are hiring remote developers through nearshore software development services, please note there can be a 30% to 40% increase in these rates.

Where to find remote software developers in Chile

Nearshore outsourcing and staff augmentation firms: Finding Chilean software developers is made easy when you partner up with a firm that has experience hiring nearshore developers in Latin America. Nearshoring agencies handle all the tricky logistics and make sure you find the right talent. Staff augmentation companies like Blue Coding (by the way, that’s us!) take care of the recruitment, onboarding, and payment procedures. This way your company doesn’t have to deal with any unexpected issues that come with local regulations. 

Online job boards: The great thing about job boards is that they are designed to help nearshore software developers and tech companies looking to outsource interact with one another. Post about the open position on a Chilean online software development job board and you will hear from remote software engineers within a few hours.

Local events (both virtual and in-person): Software development events in Latin America are extremely popular, especially in Chile since it’s a big tech hub in the region. In fact, most developers will go to these events with the hopes of discussing work with a US company. Try joining one of their virtual or in-person events as a potential employer or send a small team to their conferences for the best results when hiring nearshore developers.

Personal referrals: You can’t go wrong with referrals. They are the direct way to learn more about a potential nearshore software developer from someone who has already worked with them or heard of their programming skills. Because you get the information from someone you know, the risks are lower and the recruitment process can be streamlined. Request referrals from your contacts in Chile or in Latin America to hire remote software developers from Chile faster than you would on your own. 

Online software development communities: There are many active programming communities in Chile, thanks to its thriving tech and entrepreneurial scene. Most Chilean software developers join online communities in social media, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Reddit. There are also a few independent online forums available – just keep in mind that these are not as popular as online groups. You might be able to post a job ad in one of these communities, depending on their particular regulations.

Where to find nearshore software developers in Chile

Nearshore outsourcing and staff augmentation firms: Finding Chilean software developers is made easy when you partner up with a firm that has experience hiring nearshore developers in Latin America. Nearshoring agencies handle all the tricky logistics and make sure you find the right talent. Staff augmentation companies like Blue Coding (by the way, that’s us!) take care of the recruitment, onboarding, and payment procedures. This way your company doesn’t have to deal with any unexpected issues that come with local regulations. 

Online job boards: The great thing about job boards is that they are designed to help nearshore software developers and tech companies looking to outsource interact with one another. Post about the open position on a Chilean online software development job board and you will hear from remote software engineers within a few hours.

Local events (both virtual and in-person): Software development events in Latin America are huge, especially in Chile since it’s a big tech hub in the region. In fact, most developers will go to these events with the hopes of discussing work with a US company. Try joining one of their virtual or in-person events as a potential employer or send a small team to their conferences for the best results when hiring nearshore developers.

Personal referrals: You can’t go wrong with referrals. They are the direct way to learn more about a potential nearshore software developer from someone who has already worked with them or heard of their programming skills. Because you get the information from someone you know, the risks are lower and the recruitment process can be streamlined. Request referrals from your contacts in Chile or in Latin America to hire remote software developers from Chile faster than you would on your own. 

Online software development communities: There are many active programming communities in Chile, thanks to its thriving tech and entrepreneurial scene. Most Chilean software developers join online communities in social media, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Reddit. There are also a few independent online forums available. Just bear in mind that these are not as popular as online groups. You might be able to post a job ad in one of these communities, depending on their particular regulations.

How to hire nearshore software developers in Chile

Hire directly through GEO or PEO: It can be smart to take advantage of global employment organizations and professional employment organizations to find software developers from Chile. It’s a form of nearshoring, with the addition of a heavily present third party. These organizations take care of hiring nearshore developers for your company. GEO’s usually charge the total cost of the nearshore developers’ salary, benefits, plus a fee of 10% or more for their nearshoring services. 

Hire through a nearshoring firm: Nearshoring agencies are the most cost-effective strategy to start hiring nearshore developers. At Blue Coding, we have a careful vetting process and handle all the recruitment and payment details when working with nearshore developers from Chile. You only need to worry about analyzing which candidate is a better fit for your company! 

Hire an independent contractor: This is a great alternative for your business if you don’t want to deal with any third-party firms. To start hiring nearshore developers without any intermediaries, working with a contractor is the best option. Try to search for Chilean software developers through LinkedIn or ask for a referral to chat with the potential candidates. This might take longer than using nearshore software development services.

Hire using popular freelancing platforms: UpWork and Freelancer are two of the most popular freelancing platforms for software development in Chile. Though, while they facilitate payments and time management procedures, they also get a share of the salaries of nearshore developers. So don’t be surprised if the rates are higher for Chilean software developers on these platforms. It can also be more complicated to get a proper evaluation of the developer before starting to work together. There are better options, so here are some alternatives to UpWork for hiring remote software developers in 2021. We recommend working with a direct contractor or hiring a nearshoring firm rather than using these platforms.

Establish your own local company: If nearshore outsourcing isn’t for you, this is an effective though very ambitious alternative. So if you are looking to expand your in-house team and want to establish your presence in the region, this can be a solid option. With a Chilean subsidiary of your US company, you can hire local employees at a lower cost than American developers. Just make sure you are complying with all Chilean employment regulations from the start to avoid any legal issues from the start! 

Ready to hire nearshore software developers from Chile? We can help!

At Blue Coding, we work with a talented network of remote software engineers, project managers, QA engineers, and UI/UX designers. For more than 6 years we have helped US companies hire Chilean software developers through our staff augmentation and direct placement services. Our nearshore outsourcing firm handles all the logistics and ensures you find the right developers to work alongside your in-house team. 

Since we are such believers in nearshore outsourcing, we have a full series on nearshoring to Latin America. So far we have covered more than 5 countries! Head over to our blog to learn all about hiring nearshore developers from this region. We also have several articles on remote software development and how to work efficiently with a distributed team. 

If you are interested in hiring nearshore developers that are the perfect fit for your business, we can help you find them in Chile and all of Latin America. Contact us today to learn more about how you can hire nearshore developers from Chile!