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Description

This is an ideal career for creative and analytical thinkers. Software engineers have a hand in technology we use every day. As a software engineer you research, design and develop software systems to meet internal or external clients’ requirements. Once the system had been completely designed, you will then test, debug, and maintain the system.

Career Advice - Software Engineer Career

The requirement for engineers to possess knowledge of a variety of computer programming languages and applications is becoming more and more important nowadays; this is due to the variety of work they could be exposed to as well as the industry’s focus on innovation and developing new technologies.

Software engineers are sometimes referred to as computer programmers or software developers. Depending on the type of organisation you can become specialists in either systems or applications. You can work for software development firms, consulting firms, research laboratories, or governments; in fact, in any organization that relies on complex computing systems.

What you do every day

Your typical work activities each day will usually include some or all of the following:

You generally work closely with various staff within a company - such as project managers, graphic designers, information architects, business analysts and salespeople.

Personality that best fits this occupation

You will be suitable for this occupation if you enjoy the challenge of keeping up with technology as it advances, particularly when it comes to computers. While “near enough if good enough” works for some occupations, this is not one of them! Solutions must be fully thought through and documented at all times.  You have an analytical though process whilst still being creative.

Best things about this career

The industry is always moving and advancing.  You have to keep up with the times but things never get boring. The personal satisfaction from knowing you make a difference from concepts to operational excellence.

Worst things about this career

The biggest source of frustration that developers have is being asked to work on a “legacy project.” Just like different dialects of a language, there are many different methods of getting to the same outcome and some are considered better practice than others.  If you end up working in an organisation larger than just yourself, then it’s possible one of your biggest frustrations will be working on applications that were not built by you, either by someone less experienced or at a time when standards had not evolved to what they are now.