Github is a web-based hosting and collaboration platform used by professional programmers to develop new software. A professional who uses Github can create and manage software with the advanced platform. This guide will walk you through who uses Github and the reasons why it is one of the most popular platforms for coding collaboration.
If you’re interested in knowing more about Github, this guide also contains a list of bootcamps you can enroll in for more in-depth learning. Discover which companies use Github to manage software development projects and what job opportunities are open for experts on this platform.
What Is Github?
Github is the largest and most advanced global collaboration platform where developers and companies build and maintain their software using the Git version control tool. Github is used by software engineers, programmers, developers, instructors, and coding students to build unique code. Companies and educational institutions use it to make coding tasks easier, faster, and more streamlined.
Github is the biggest source code host with over 200 million repositories. A Git repository is the storage space where your projects are stored. Companies and professionals host, store and record their code in the Github cloud.
Hosting is free with an unlimited private and public remote repository. Users can take advantage of the benefits of version history with revision control. This feature, along with pull requests, make collaboration on code files transparent and easier to trace.
How Popular Is Github?
Github started as a small startup company in 2008 and made it to Forbe’s Unicorn List of companies, valued at more than $1 billion in a little over ten years. Github is now ranked No. 60 on the list. Github is different from other software configuration management platforms because of its easy-to-use interface and remote repository of coding version histories. Below are some facts that support Github’s surge in popularity over the years.
- Second leading traffic referrers to LinkedIn worldwide 2021. As of June 2021, Github generated more than 5.09% of the referral traffic to LinkedIn.
- 84% of Fortune 100 companies use Github Enterprise. Many big companies have seen the advantages of using Github Enterprise to help streamline their security, administration, and collaboration efforts.
- 73 million software developers are using Github. The company had 56 million users in December 2020, but the community just keeps growing. The running count as of 2021 is 73 million users. Github projects an increase to 100 million developers in the next five years.
What Is Github Used For?
Github is used by developers, programming instructors, students, and enterprises worldwide to create millions of open source projects and enable organized collaboration in one platform. It is a collaborative web-based platform with version control systems that offers a more efficient way to build excellent software. Below are some of Github’s best features.
Stores Your Code in the Cloud
Github gives your code a home in the cloud. You can record all coding changes in the platform, making it easier to review, trace, and retract changes if necessary. Hosting code is free, and you can start creating repositories for free, even with a basic personal account.
One advantage of using an online repository is that your code and documents are all backed up in the cloud on a remote server. Cloud storage makes the code files and any alternate version available online anytime they are needed for collaboration. However, it’s still crucial to have a multi-backup option in case there are online attacks to the central repository.
Collaboration Tool
Github makes project management easier, whether you’re working on a single official project or a team collaboration. It lets your colleagues work individually on separate branches on the platform, and when everything is in place, it allows you to merge the code in a definitive branch called the master branch.
Another amazing feature are pull requests. This notifies your colleagues of changes you have made to a branch. It enhances code review workflow, making it easier to propose changes, ask for input, browse code, and make suggestions. You can discuss these changes before merging them on the primary branch. You can assign authorized colleagues access to code to make the final merge to the central repository.
World’s Largest Software Package Registry
Github makes coding easier by allowing developers to write less code. The platform has the world’s largest software package registry that includes more than 200 million repositories. You can browse the best community-approved projects and share them with the world.
The Github Package registry lets you develop and host your code in one place. Every package includes details such as download statistics and the entire code history. You can use public code packages for free, but private packages will take up a portion of your account storage space, and you may need to pay if you need additional storage.
List of Github Companies: Overview
| Companies That Use Github | Who Uses Github at This Company? | What Does This Company Use Github For? | Estimated Number of Employees |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3M Corporation | Information analyst, software engineer | Centralize code and teams to speed up research and development of new digital technologies | 95,000 |
| Adobe Systems Inc. | Software engineer, computer scientist, software development engineer | To make legal and technical processes more efficient | 22,516 |
| BuzzFeed | IT engineer, IT manager, principal engineer | For software engineers and news team to collaborate in one platform | 1,840 |
| Coinbase Global, Inc. | Software engineer, risk manager | For organization-wide transparency | 1,249 |
| Dell Technologies | Technical support engineer, Java developer, principal software engineer | To work on bigger projects and finish them faster | 158,000 |
| Research scientist, software engineer, computer vision engineer | To give back to the developer community. Their Github projects React and PyTorch are some of the most-followed projects in the Github platform. | 58,604 | |
| Ford Motor Company | Software engineer, product manager, data scientist | Collaboration work on complex car features | 186,000 |
| Instructional designer, senior software engineer, front end software engineer | To manage end-to-end workflow | 18,000 | |
| Procter & Gamble | IT manager, senior software engineer | To update DevOps and CI/CD tooling and processes | 101,000 |
| Seagate | Senior staff engineer, staff engineer | For its open-source software, CORTX | 40,000 |
List of Companies That Use Github, Expanded
Learn more about the companies and their employees that use Github. Below you will find an overview of the company and the average salaries of their employees that use Github.
3M Corporation
3M Corporation is well known for its trademark brand of sticky Post-it notes. It is a multinational conglomerate corporation in consumer goods, US health care, and worker safety. The company used to have code scattered in different repositories and drives, such as Microsoft Team Foundation Server and Bitbucket.
Since it has embraced Github, the organization now collaborates under one platform to speed up research, code review workflow, and development of new digital technologies.
Average Salaries for 3M Corporation Employees Who Use Github
Adobe Systems, Inc.
Adobe is a multinational software company providing digital marketing solutions. It has software products for graphic design, web design, video editing, animation, elearning, server, and audio editing. As a company that develops a diverse family of products, Github allows them to collaborate in one open developer environment. Through Github Enterprise, they’ve cut down legal and technical processes from weeks to just half a day.
Average Salaries for Adobe Employees Who Use Github
BuzzFeed
BuzzFeed is an independent digital media news and entertainment company. It is known for producing breaking news, original entertainment videos, and online content. Its cross-platform news and entertainment network requires a stable infrastructure to support multiple deployments per day. Github Enterprise enables its team of software engineers and news staff from various parts of the world to collaborate within one platform.
Average Salaries for BuzzFeed Employees Who Use Github
Coinbase Global, Inc.
Coinbase Global is a cryptocurrency exchange platform that operates completely remotely. The company uses Github Enterprise mainly for organization-wide workflow transparency. Everything from security controls to internal policy application code is kept within Github for employees to access and for easy review of version controls.
Average Salaries for Coinbase Employees Who Use Github
Dell Technologies
Dell Technologies is a multinational technology company that provides products such as personal computers, servers, network security, software, television, and information security services. Github Enterprises enables it to take on bigger projects and finish them faster. It uses the platform to contribute to the community by providing open source projects.
Average Salaries for Dell Employees Who Use Github
As a global social media giant, Facebook has consumed many open source projects and believes it is just fitting to give back to the developer community via Github. Its Github projects, React and PyTorch, are just some of the most-followed projects in the Github platform, allowing other developers access to Facebook repositories.
Average Salaries for Facebook Employees Who Use Github
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is a multinational automobile manufacturer that was founded by Henry Ford in 1903. The company is constantly improving its car features, and it needed a platform to streamline the work done by different departments. Github gave them a more open platform for working, which allowed its developers to interact and follow through on ideas and enhancements.
Average Salaries for Ford Employees Who Use Github
LinkedIn is an employment-oriented professional networking platform with more than 756 million users worldwide. LinkedIn uses Github Enterprise to create end-to-end workflows and streamline its development process. It also uses Github Advanced Security to run code scans and reduce risks.
Average Salaries for LinkedIn Employees Who Use Github
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble (P&G) is a multinational consumer goods company known for popular home brands like Tide, Gilette, Dawn, and Crest. In 2020, P&G went through massive undertakings to upgrade its DevOps and CI/CD tooling and processes using Github to sync its systems together. It used Github Actions for automation and Github Pages for internal documentation.
Average Salaries for Procter & Gamble Employees Who Use Github
Seagate
Seagate is a global hardware company for data storage. It is known for being the first company to develop the 5.25-inch hard disk drive. Seagate uses Github Enterprise for its open source software, CORTX. It needs Github to accommodate its growing open source community and to consolidate its code in a single platform.
Average Salaries for Seagate Employees Who Use Github
Github Bootcamps: Who Uses Github to Teach Students How to Code?
Github for Classroom is used in schools and learning institutions to teach students how to code. It automates tasks such as private and public repository creation and access control, making it easier for instructors to distribute starter code, send pull requests feedback, and collect assignments. Below is a list of other online learning providers that use Github as a mode of instruction in teaching basic HTML and CSS.
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- SPICED Academy. The web development bootcamp is a 12-week course that teaches HTML and CSS, Git and Github, Node.js, Javascript, Vue.js and React, and building SQL databases. Github is taught in the first phase of the curriculum.
- LearningFuze. The web development prep course is a two-week bootcamp focused on the core skills needed to build dynamic applications. The course uses Github Workflow on HTML and CSS. It teaches Core Javascript, JS plugins, debugging, tracing, and prototyping.
- Awesome Inc. This web developer bootcamp is a 16-week bootcamp that teaches the basics of full-stack web skills. The first four weeks will focus on HTML/CSS, Git, and navigating the Github platform. Weeks five through 12 focus on front end and backend development, and the final four weeks focus on agile development.
Which Real-World Github Use Case Is Right for Me?
If you’re an aspiring professional programmer or software developer, learning Github is an essential skill that will add value to your resume. Since many Fortune 500 companies are using this platform for team collaborations, hiring managers see familiarity with the platform as an advantage to hiring a candidate.
Github is a helpful platform to practice professional coding on open source software for novice programmers, but it’s not for beginners. If you’re new to programming, the best way to learn Github is to take a short online course that includes Github in the curriculum. Attending a coding bootcamp is the best alternative if you have intermediate to advanced coding knowledge and want to jumpstart your career.
Uses of Github FAQ
Github can be used for free if you sign up for personal accounts or organization accounts. With these accounts, you can own an unlimited number of public and private repositories. However, you will have limited features. If you want access to full features, you can upgrade to Github Pro.
Github is not for beginner programmers just learning to code. Github is ideal for those with intermediate to advanced coding skills. Advanced programmers can sharpen their skills with the Github Learning Lab through realistic projects. Github houses a community of developers who want to collaborate on projects and share code.
Yes, Github is a technical skill that you can put on your resume. It is used by numerous companies who want to hire professionals with working knowledge of Github. It is used by companies to make software development easier and faster by monitoring code changes made by team members.
Github Education gives students free and premium access to different developer tools. It allows students to create a portfolio and collaborate with students for school projects. Github Education can be requested if you have a personal account, or you can check with your school to see if they offer the Github Campus Program for chosen students.
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