Career in Software Development
Money magazine rated software engineers as THE best job in America. Factors considered in these rankings included: job growth and pay, job stress level, flexibility in work environment and hours, creativity, and ease of entry and advancement in the field. The average pay for this profession is $80,500, and there are typically over 44,800 annual job openings.
So it sounds like the perfect field...afterall, it beats out all other career fields when weighing out the factors that count. So, how do you know if this field is a good fit for you? Were you one of those children who was fascinated with pulling things apart and putting them back together again? You wanted to understand how things worked and how to fix things that were broken. Have you been regularly defined as an outside-the-box thinker?
If these traits describe you, software development or software engineering may be just the field for you. These professionals often take pride in being described as “geeks” since they enjoy and have a need to write code. Although your typical developers are members of teams of IT professionals, they are content working independently most of the day, without much interaction.
One of the huge benefits of the software development field is that it is extremely lucrative, much more so than other IT fields. This field is constantly growing and changing, therefore software developers are never “safe” from having to learn the latest “tricks of the trade”. New programming languages are constantly surfacing, as with other new technologies. The training and learning never ends in this field, however, most people who were “born to be developers” enjoy this constant learning and evolving and don’t find that to be a downfall. To be successful as a software engineer, you must be detail oriented and enjoy abstract thinvwking.
Find Software Development Degrees
How to Become a Software Developer
To be hired in the software development field, you need a four year degree in a curriculum that teaches software development (for example, computer science, computer information systems, or software development). It is also very beneficial to get internships and/or work part time in areas of software development or very close to software development while in college. Work that helps build your resume will show that you are committed to be becoming a software developer and will likely stay in that career for a long time, which is important to employers. Certificates in software development, like the Microsoft Certified Professional Certificate (MCPD), also increase your chances of landing a job in this field.
When first entering the software development field after college, your best option is to find a company that is hiring an entry level developer. There are fewer of these entry level jobs available, but they do exist.
Most non-entry level software development jobs require two to three years of experience at a minimum for the employer to grant you an interview. The years of experience in the type of framework or language the applicant is applying for is one of the first things that employers look at when hiring a software developer. Landing that first job in software development can be difficult because you do not have any years of experience, and there are few employers hiring entry level developers. However, once you’ve put in your two or three years as a software developer, many doors of opportunity open in this field since there are an abundance of jobs available for experienced developers.
Job Titles
- Software Engineer
- Software Developer
- Application Architect
- Enterprise Architect
- Java Programmer
- Computer Programmer
- Web Programmer
Day in the Life of a Software Developer
Below are examples of individuals who work in the software development/software engineering field and their experiences and viewpoints about the field.
- Lee Anderson - Software Developer II
- Bill Williams - Senior Software Engineer
- Tim Oakley - Test System Engineer
- Sam Healey - President, Software Developer
- Windsor Fanning - Application Developer
Other Software Development Categories
To learn more about Software Development careers, degrees, schools, and salaries, visit the following links/pages.
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