Software engineers take thoughts and ideas and turn them into tangible software products.
To be able to do this, software engineers are required to have the right combination of soft skills, technical skills, and personal qualities.
Many of these skills and qualifications can be learned and achieved, while some of them are innate qualities that the engineer ought to already have.
If you think software engineering could be the career for you, here are the skills you need to thrive in the field.
FORMAL QUALIFICATIONS
Becoming a software engineer requires minimal formal qualifications, usually a bachelor’s degree.
A degree in computer science, software engineering, or mathematics is often advisable.
Once you have your bachelor's degree, there are many career paths that you can get into including software development, data analysis, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity.
However, some employers require advanced degrees for specific roles such as software engineering team leaders.
A master’s degree will often suffice here and there are lots of programs to choose from.
You can check out the software engineering degree programs offered by Baylor University to find one that is a great fit for you.
There are also certifications in specific areas such as web development or cybersecurity that you can complete to demonstrate competencies in these areas and to make yourself a more desirable candidate if you are interested in them.
CODING AND PROGRAMMING SKILLS
Every software engineer is required to know how to code; this is a crucial part of your software engineering career.
Do note that you might not be writing code for long, especially if you go into product development, but it is still a critical skill to have.
There are numerous programming languages, and you might be worried about whether you need to learn them all. If you're not feeling experienced enough in programming, maybe you should choose between top outsourcing companies providing python custom development solutions.
You do not. However, you do need to learn at least one programming language and the languages used by web developers.
For programming languages, you can choose from Ruby, Python, Java, C/C++, and others.
For other languages, you need to learn HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Because JavaScript is the most popular programming language right now and is very versatile, it’s a good idea to learn this and at least one other major programming language.
You also need to know programming fundamentals like algorithms, data structures, and code optimization.
If you do not know how to code, learn online, or attend a boot camp. The best thing about learning to code is that once you learn one language it gets easier to learn other languages as the basics are usually the same.
That said, every programming language has its nuances, and you also need to learn this within the main 2-3 programming languages you learn.
SOFTWARE TESTING
One of the worst things you can do as an engineer, programmer, or developer is ship untested code.
Doing so means you are likely shipping bugs that will make for a bad experience as people use your software.
While you can automate software testing, you still need to understand software testing intimately if you want to do it properly.
There are about 10 methods you can use to test your software, but senior software engineers advise that you learn about three and stick with them.
Testing is so important because even the smallest issue can lead to massive problems.
Testing requires logical thinking so you can walk through your code finding areas it could break and refactoring to ensure it does not.
It also means actively trying to find problems that may or may not exist within your codebase.
While there are automated options as discussed, testing remains a costly and time-consuming component of software development.
If you can learn how to do it well, you could prove your value by saving the company time and money.
OBJECT-ORIENTED DESIGN (OOD)
OOD is an approach that seeks to make software engineering better by allowing engineers to create modular, flexible, and reusable software.
There are numerous OOD principles and software engineers can benefit a lot by learning these principles.
SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Every software engineer has to understand the software development process. Having these skills means they can manage a team of developers, and this is impossible to do if an engineer does not understand how software development works.
Project management is another key skill for software engineers who want to manage their own teams.
It is important to remember that software development and project management skills mainly apply to software engineers who want to manage teams, but it never hurts to have them.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Even when they freelance, it is very difficult to find software engineers who work in isolation.
Software engineers depend on high-level collaboration, team building, and leadership to complete their tasks. Communication skills are essential to making this possible.
Software engineers would be able to express themselves in writing and when speaking, but they should also be good listeners.
They receive a lot of information from numerous parties, and they need to understand this information before doing anything with it. They also need to listen to understand client needs and project requirements.
PROBLEM-SOLVING AND ATTENTION TO DETAIL
Software engineers and developers encounter lots of small issues throughout the life of a project.
They cannot ship their code with the issues and they, therefore, have to find them and solve them.
For this, they need to be creative problem solvers who cannot only identify problems but also find ways to solve them.
They should also be curious as this quality helps them dig through code looking for an answer until they find it.
To ensure successful project completion and high-quality products, software engineers have to be meticulous and precise while also maintaining a high level of attention to detail.
These qualities apply through their work, from coding and testing to documenting. Version control also falls in this category as it helps software engineers keep track of their projects.
Beyond formal and educational qualifications, software engineers are required to have other qualities that make them great at their jobs.
A typical software engineer will be required to have this mix of technical and soft skills if they want to thrive in the field.
