Rust’s Quiet Takeover of Systems Engineering (And Why Backend Devs Should Care)

The Numbers That Caught Me Off Guard

I spend my days on Stack Overflow and GitHub tracking hiring trends. Last month, I noticed something I didn’t expect: Rust developer adoption doubled in just two years — from 2 million developers in Q1 2022 to over 4 million by Q1 2024. That’s not hype. That’s a compounding shift. But here’s the kicker: Rust isn’t replacing JavaScript everywhere. It’s winning specific battles — and they’re high-value ones.

What the 2025 Data Actually Shows

1. Commercial Adoption: The 69% Spike That Matters

Between 2021 and 2024, there was a 68.75% increase in the proportion of Rust developers using Rust commercially. That’s not theoretical adoption. That’s production systems. Why? Major tech firms like Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Shopify have embraced Rust for systems programming, with Shopify joining the Rust Foundation to support its growth. Real examples:

Microsoft uses Rust in Windows components to enhance security, replacing error-prone C++ code and reducing vulnerabilities in certain modules.
Discord, a communication platform with over 150 million monthly active users, adopted Rust for its backend to handle massive concurrent connections with low latency.
Meta rebuilt its internal source control tools in Rust, and AWS developed Firecracker, its microVM technology, entirely in Rust.

Translation: Rust is winning because it solves real problems in production at scale.

2. Developer Satisfaction: 9 Years Running

For the ninth year in a row, the 2024 Stack Overflow Developer Survey named Rust the language that most developers used and want to use again, with an 83% admiration rate.

Compare that to JavaScript, which continues to take the top spot for programming languages, with just over 25 million active developers worldwide, yet remains the most popular language overall with 25.2 million active developers.

The distinction: JavaScript dominates in total volume. Rust dominates in satisfaction and commercial deployment.

3. Market Growth: Where The Jobs Are

In total, over 2.26 million developers are using Rust, a significant jump in its adoption. But the salary data tells the real story:

The average salary for a Rust Developer is $145,650 per year in United States, which is in line with the national average. More granularly: The average salary for a Rust developer in 2025 is 130k, with the highest average salary a Rust developer can get in New York, that is $212,000. By comparison, JavaScript developers range from $80K–$120K for full-stack roles, with entry-level around $60K.

The nuance: Rust salaries are higher because Rust roles typically focus on systems, infrastructure, and security — domains where mistakes are expensive.

4. The Concern DevRel Should Address

Here’s what surprised me: 45.5% of developers worry about insufficient industry adoption (up from 42.5% in 2023), and 45.2% cite complexity as a barrier.

That’s not “Rust is dying.” That’s “Rust is reaching mainstream, but people are nervous about learning curves.” What This Means (And What It Doesn’t) What’s Real:

There was a 68.75% increase in commercial Rust adoption between 2021 and 2024.
Over 2.26 million developers are using Rust, a significant jump in its adoption.
Rust roles command higher salaries and are concentrated in high-leverage areas: cloud infrastructure, systems programming, blockchain, and embedded systems.
Rust has gained a lot of attention because of its unique mix of memory safety, speed, and concurrency. Rust is mostly used for systems programming.

What’s Not Happening:

JavaScript isn’t dying. Industry projections suggest a 4–6% annual growth rate in JavaScript-related jobs over the next five years.
Rust isn’t becoming the default for web apps. (JavaScript and Python still own that space.)
This isn’t a “one language replaces another” story. It’s a shift in where high-value work is happening.

The Real FOMO: Specialization Premium Here’s what should actually worry you (in a healthy way):

Systems-focused roles are paying more. The highest average salary a Rust developer can get in Enterprise Software, that is $145,000, which is 16.0% higher than the average Rust salary, which is $125,000.
Rust skills are more defensible. If you’re a JavaScript developer, you’re competing with 25+ million others. If you’re a Rust systems engineer, you’re competing with 2–4 million — many of whom are still hobbyists.
The cloud/infra wave isn’t slowing. Rust’s integration into the Linux kernel, with drivers merged in 2024, signals growing acceptance in critical infrastructure.

What To Do (Realistically)

If You’re a Backend Developer:

The 2024 JetBrains Developer Survey shows 709,000 developers now call Rust their primary language, with adoption soaring in cloud and embedded systems. If you work with systems, APIs, or infrastructure, learning Rust isn’t hype — it’s future-proofing. Start here:

The official Rust book, available online for free, provides a comprehensive guide to the language, making it accessible to beginners while offering in-depth explanations for more advanced concepts.
Build one real project. A CLI tool. A web server. Something you publish.

If You’re a Frontend Developer:

Don’t panic. The adoption of JavaScript for both front-end and back-end development has led to a 25% increase in-demand for full-stack JavaScript Developers over the past two years. JavaScript remains the king of web UIs and will for years. But? Rust is a popular language for WebAssembly as it enables high-performance applications in the browser and beyond. Companies like Figma and Shopify utilize Rust for WASM.

If You’re Hiring:

Major companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google are increasingly adopting Rust for critical projects, further expanding the language’s reach and resources. If you’re building infrastructure, having someone on the team who thinks in Rust is valuable.

The Honest Take Rust isn’t “replacing JavaScript.” That’s a false frame. Instead:

Rust is winning in domains where safety and performance are worth the learning investment.
JavaScript remains the lingua franca of web development.
The real trend is specialization. The devs who say “I’m a full-stack JavaScript developer” compete with millions. The ones who say “I’m a systems engineer who builds in Rust” compete with thousands.

Rust “threads the needle” by delivering both performance comparable to C and robust memory safety guarantees. This dual advantage made Rust a natural fit for safety-critical and security-critical applications, from embedded systems to enterprise software. That’s the FOMO worth acting on.

The Next 18 Months

Adoption in cloud computing (e.g., AWS’s Firecracker) and AI (e.g., TensorFlow bindings) is expanding, driven by Rust’s efficiency and safety. Watch these spaces:

AI infrastructure: TensorFlow + Rust are pairing up.
Cloud-native tools: Kubernetes alternatives, observability tools, database tools — all increasingly Rust.
Crypto & blockchain: Rust’s safety model is a perfect fit (and the money follows).
Embedded/IoT: Rust’s memory safety without garbage collection makes it ideal.

If any of those domains touch your work, learning Rust isn’t optional — it’s table stakes. Start Here (Seriously, This Week)

Install Rust: rustup.rs
Do the Rust Book intro (1–2 hours).
Build a small CLI tool and push it to GitHub.

That’s it. Not a massive commitment. Just enough to see if it clicks. The 83% of developers who love Rust? They weren’t evangelists first. They tried it and got it.

Read the full article here: https://medium.com/rustaceans/rusts-quiet-takeover-of-systems-engineering-and-why-backend-devs-should-care-3e3a48b6e056