How to Become A Software Engineer?
Software engineering is an ever-changing profession. Therefore, one should adopt as new technologies are developed. As it has shifting nature, there are many different entry points into the IT profession.
However, there is no single way of achieving this. Here are some steps to becoming a professional software engineer.
tep #1: Be Clear About Your End Goal
Starting a new career is not easy. However, when you have a final destination in mind, it helps when you find and deal with a hurdle in your road. You should have a clear goal like:
- I want to build my career as a software engineer
- I want to work as a software engineer at an established IT company.
- I want to work as a team member and get paid well for it.
Step #2: Select A Language to Learn
Software engineering never focuses exclusively on coding. However, you should know at least a couple of languages, and a deeper understanding of how they will function. There is no common agreement on which languages are most useful.
Below are given the list of some popular programming languages:
Step #3: Earn A Degree in Computer Science or A Related Field
You should first earn a degree in computer science or a related field. You should have at least a bachelor’s degree to begin your career as a software engineer.
Majoring in computer science will offer you the most useful background for designing software. Interviewers will ask questions regarding data structures and algorithms. Therefore, the theoretical knowledge provided by traditional computer science degrees best prepares you for this.
However, you will mostly spend your time outside of the classroom coding software and to learn how to write real software.
Step #4: Supplement your studies
Educational books are frequently outdated. Reference books are revised much slower than software is updated. All the education institutes provide theoretical concepts and ways of thinking that can be important for your success.
Although, how much you will get paid is being able to apply the knowledge of the real-world software. This is where your study helps you.
Here are some ways to supplement your learning:
- StackOverflow is the most reliable question and answer website for developers. You can search according to the technology, problem space, or language you want to improve in.
- Sites like CodinGame and CodeWars offer thousands of programming solutions which help you to test your skills.
Step #5: Read Code Written by Experienced Developers
Another useful aspect of becoming a software engineer is learning how to read other people’s code. You can do this easily by visiting sites like GitHub repositories and looking through documentation.
However, sometimes documentation also goes wrong, but most of the source code accurate in these sites. Therefore, by learning to read that code, you’ll be able to understand how a specific program is working.
Step #6: Find A Community of Software Engineers
You need to find a community to learn which guide you to success as a software engineer. Therefore, when you are surrounded by a community of like-minded people, you have an automatic support system. A real-world software engineering community gives you guidance on where to focus your learning. Sites like Meetup is an ideal choice to find other professionals.
Planning Your Career Path
Though many software engineering (or coding) skills are transferable between roles, aspiring software engineers should have a career trajectory in mind. After all, the term “coding” can encompass a variety of different positions; understanding the distinction between software engineering and related fields such as web programming is crucial during the initial career planning stage.
As the name suggests, software engineering generally refers to the creation and implementation of computer software and utility programs. Software engineers use their comprehensive knowledge of computer science and mathematics to develop software products that suit users’ digital needs. Web developers, on the other hand, focus primarily on coding websites. These professionals are tasked with creating and maintaining everything from layouts and functions to navigation and overall usability.
Once you have a clear idea of your intended career path, you can start navigating it. With that in mind, now let’s continue our discussion on how to become a software engineer.
2. Obtaining an Education
Generally speaking, there are three main paths aspiring software engineers can take to pursue their education: coding bootcamps, college, and self-directed learning. The option you choose will be contingent on your preferences as a learner and your lifestyle circumstances (such as schedule conflicts, intended timelines, financial resources, etc.).
Each route comes with its own set of pros and cons, so consider them carefully before enrolling in an academic course!
Now, let’s assess the educational options which may help you become a software developer from scratch.
Coding bootcamp
By attending a coding bootcamp, you’ll have the opportunity to gain a set of job-ready programming skills through an accelerated curriculum. Software engineering is challenging to learn from scratch — but with a bootcamp, even industry newcomers can build a strong knowledge base and ready themselves for an entry-level role quickly if they are willing to put in the time, hard work, and dedication.
Coding bootcamps may be worth it for those who don’t have the time or resources to attend a four-year degree program. These courses last just three to six months, depending on whether you opt for a part- or full-time schedule, and are often cheaper than multi-year degree programs. Bootcamps are also highly flexible; many offer virtual, in-person, and weekend options to suit working professionals’ scheduling needs.
That said, because bootcamps tend to focus on web-based coding rather than software engineering, a coding bootcamp may not be the best choice for someone who wants to land a job in the latter field as soon as they complete their formal education.
But if you want to develop your coding fundamentals and start gaining work experience as soon as possible, you should still consider enrolling in a coding bootcamp geared toward helping you become a full stack developer. Such a course will provide you with a “full stack” of back end (server-side) and front end (client-side) programming skills. Having this foundation will better equip you to hit the ground running as an entry-level professional and start accumulating real job experience — which you can then use to springboard into software engineering.
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