Software Engineer

Software engineers must be determined people who are able to work to specific orders under immense pressure. They must be methodical, organized people with excellent communication abilities and the understanding of how a business is run.

Most importantly, software engineers must have an innate understanding of computer systems and how software works. They should be naturally inclined towards information technology and must be quick learners in the field.

Software engineers must be able to adapt to various situations on a typical day of work and should be able to deal with different people with varying demands. This career is for people who actually enjoy spending their day in front of a computer screen.

The primary task of a software engineer is to design new software for operating systems. However, the job does not end there. Software engineering also entails testing and maintaining software to satisfy the specific demands of the clients.

A software engineer may design various kinds of software, including video games, applications for businesses as well as operating systems. There are many more types of software that an engineer may be asked to develop, for wide ranging purposes too. Software engineers may specialize in a particular language software i.e. C++. Most software engineers have a general familiarity with several computing languages, but they normally excel in only one or two of them.

Software engineers may work for a wide variety of employers, or else they can work on a freelance basis. There are various sites that link software engineers to people who require their services. A fulltime employed software engineer work for hospitals, businesses, government organizations and video game creators.

Most software engineers, particularly in India, prefer to work on a freelance basis as outsourcing markets for people in other countries. They conceive, plan, design, test and maintain software for individual clients overseas.

If a software engineer decides to seek fulltime employment, they will normally start out at the position of Developer. Once he or she proves his skill and expertise, the software engineer will be assigned more challenging tasks related to manufacturing new software.

Software engineers are generally people who have a Bachelor’s degree (BS) in Computer Sciences. Moreover, they are required to be not only familiar but in fact fluent in the computing languages they wish to profess in.

This may vary from individual to individual. Although some firms provide training prior to commencement of the job, most expect candidates to already be well versed with what they have to do. As a result, people with higher qualifications are generally preferred.

According to statistics, a software engineer earns, on average, US$ 60,000 per annum. This is quite high compared to other fields within the discipline of engineering. One has the opportunity to earn much more if they are fluent in various languages and have a lot of experience.

In India, as well, there is an opportunity to earn a good living through this profession. Software engineers may earn anywhere between Rs. 450,000 and Rs. 30,00,000 per year depending on their qualifications and who they work for.

Life as a

software engineer

may depend on a wide variety of factors. Firstly, it depends on whether one chooses to work as a freelance

software engineer

or an employed one. Freelance software engineers make their own timings and choose what projects they wish to work on. They may not work for days, or work overtime when they feel the need to.

Employed software engineers, on the other hand, work fixed hours five days a week. They are often required to work over time when deadlines are near. They do not normally work on local holidays. They are generally assigned specific tasks which they must finish by a certain announced date.

A typical day in the career is spent in front of the computer doing tasks such as coding, maintenance, consultations, designing and much more.

Software engineering is an ideal career for many people. They earn a large amount of money, and those who choose to work from their homes save both the monetary and time cost of commuting to work on a daily basis.

Even full time employees can often call in sick from work and do their job from home without any negative consequences. Since the job can easily be done from home if one owns a computer, this added flexibility is a definite perk.

Software engineers do not have much difficulty finding work. Even in the recession in the past few years, the amount of software engineers employed globally was on the rise. There is still a considerable difference between demand and supply of software engineers, so job security is almost guaranteed in the profession.

The main downside often associated with this career path is that software engineers must spend their entire day in front of the computer. They do not get to interact with people regularly, especially if they are working as independent freelancers. As a result, their work can get monotonous.

The little interaction one gets may be frustrating as clients can often be very demanding and projects can go on much longer than expected because of little details that constantly require tweaking. Software engineers must be very patient when dealing with tough customers.

In this field, a profession can never truly become an expert. As technologies continue to develop, the way programming and coding is done, and the means by which software is created is constantly changing. Software engineers must keep themselves up to date with the latest techniques in order to remain competitive. As a result, they must study regularly while working.

While there are a lot of budding software engineers, the demand for them has been rising phenomenally ever since this field was recognized as a viable career path. Software engineers face tough competition to get to the highest levels of the field, but at entry level, anyone who shows signs of talent and technical knowhow can land a job either freelance or full time formal employment.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, this job is expected to grow faster than any other career requiring a bachelor’s degree for the next decade. As a result, the demand for software engineers is likely to grow exponentially.

Because of the low cost of living in the developing world, the most competitive software engineers often work from their homes or in small organizations. The work is easily exportable, so the best place to be a software engineer is a place where the cost of living is low, so that you can charge the most competitive prices to potential clients and still make a decent standard of living.

All over India, in particular, it is great to be a software engineer. India has the highest number of people in the world in this profession, and any place in India with an internet connection and a good computer system is a good place to practice software engineering.

Take physics, chemistry and maths with computer science after Class 10. After Class 12, you may take any or all of the various engineering entrance tests. You need to clear a written test to get into a bachelor’s programme in the department of computer science and engineering (CSE) at the IITs or institutes like the National Institutes of Technology. If you can’t get into an undergraduate programme in CSE in an IIT, then you could try for the IITs’ MTech programme where entry is not as competitive