How much benefit can you get from Software Engineering?

[_Bata_]

This year i finish school, i've been wanting to study Software Engineering for some time now, but i wanted to know how much benefit can you get from it. I know it's basically software development but more oriented to the design and maintenance. The thing is that i've been questioning myself what could a software engineer do that a regular guy with no title but with 2 years of coding experience couldn't. I mean do you get anything else? because i currently see it just as enhanced programming. This makes me thing that i could instead study system engineering, since you ALSO get some programming but also other interesting skills too like you work more with hardware (i love hardware) and you can set up servers, intranets and help people in a workspace. The only reason i still go for Software Engineering is because i think it gives me more oportunities, to at some stage of my life be self employed, rather than working for a company. I seriously need some orientation.

 

[Ralston18]

I think you have answered your own question: Software Engineering.

That said, things IT (and everywhere) have been changing rapidly and will continue to do so in many, many ways. Good, bad, or indifferent.....

Go for the Software Engineering but supplement your studies with some writing, communication, financial, math, and science classes. Keep yourself healthy and out of trouble. Learn to participate as a team player. Be reliable and be honest. Keep working hard but learn to balance that with some fun.

The more skills you have and the more depth/experience you have in those skills the better off you will be with respect to future employment.

That will be the basic benefit. Job satisfaction, opportunites for growth, more salary, and eventually your own business - those will be benefits that will appear and evolve as time goes on.

 

[_Bata_]

Not exactly what i wanted to know, but some really useful life tips, thanks!

 

[Pinhedd]

This year i finish school, i've been wanting to study Software Engineering for some time now, but i wanted to know how much benefit can you get from it. I know it's basically software development but more oriented to the design and maintenance. The thing is that i've been questioning myself what could a software engineer do that a regular guy with no title but with 2 years of coding experience couldn't. I mean do you get anything else? because i currently see it just as enhanced programming. This makes me thing that i could instead study system engineering, since you ALSO get some programming but also other interesting skills too like you work more with hardware (i love hardware) and you can set up servers, intranets and help people in a workspace. The only reason i still go for Software Engineering is because i think it gives me more oportunities, to at some stage of my life be self employed, rather than working for a company. I seriously need some orientation.

There's still some debate in the academic world as to whether or not Software Engineering is in fact an Engineering discipline. In theory, it's supposed to involve applying engineering principles to Computer Science; in practice, it's often treated as a tradecraft akin to Computer Programming but at a university level rather than a community college level.

My degree is in Computer Engineering, which is a specialization of Electrical Engineering that focuses on digital and computational systems.

Legally speaking, a Software Engineering degree from an acredited institution fulfills the legal requirements for obtaining a Professional Engineer designation. Appropriate academic credentials are often required to work on safety critical systems such as those involved in aviation, transport, power generation, medical, and industrial applications. Self-taught "coders" are often prohibited by law from touching these things even under the supervision of a licenced engineer.

If you're interested in hardware and want to talk about microarchitecture, control systems, operating systems, signalling, fabrication, electrical systems, and communication networks look into Computer Engineering.

If you're interested in algorithms and want to talk about O notation, time and space complexity, and computability, look into Computer Science.

If you're interested in system administration and want to spend your days answering stupid end-user questions, remote starting servers, and producing database reports look into Information Technology and/or suicide.

If you're interested in computer hardware and want to spend your days building computers from store-bought components, look elsewhere because this gets very boring very fast and is a complete dead end career wise.

There's a fair bit of overlap between Software Engineering, Computer Enginering, and Computer Science. They are all very academic and lead to a variety of careers. Self-taught coders are at a massive disadvantage compared to anyone with a degree in one of those three fields.

 

[_Bata_]

This year i finish school, i've been wanting to study Software Engineering for some time now, but i wanted to know how much benefit can you get from it. I know it's basically software development but more oriented to the design and maintenance. The thing is that i've been questioning myself what could a software engineer do that a regular guy with no title but with 2 years of coding experience couldn't. I mean do you get anything else? because i currently see it just as enhanced programming. This makes me thing that i could instead study system engineering, since you ALSO get some programming but also other interesting skills too like you work more with hardware (i love hardware) and you can set up servers, intranets and help people in a workspace. The only reason i still go for Software Engineering is because i think it gives me more oportunities, to at some stage of my life be self employed, rather than working for a company. I seriously need some orientation.

There's still some debate in the academic world as to whether or not Software Engineering is in fact an Engineering discipline. In theory, it's supposed to involve applying engineering principles to Computer Science; in practice, it's often treated as a tradecraft akin to Computer Programming but at a university level rather than a community college level.

My degree is in Computer Engineering, which is a specialization of Electrical Engineering that focuses on digital and computational systems.

Legally speaking, a Software Engineering degree from an acredited institution fulfills the legal requirements for obtaining a Professional Engineer designation. Appropriate academic credentials are often required to work on safety critical systems such as those involved in aviation, transport, power generation, medical, and industrial applications. Self-taught "coders" are often prohibited by law from touching these things even under the supervision of a licenced engineer.

If you're interested in hardware and want to talk about microarchitecture, control systems, operating systems, signalling, fabrication, electrical systems, and communication networks look into Computer Engineering.

If you're interested in algorithms and want to talk about O notation, time and space complexity, and computability, look into Computer Science.

If you're interested in system administration and want to spend your days answering stupid end-user questions, remote starting servers, and producing database reports look into Information Technology and/or suicide.

If you're interested in computer hardware and want to spend your days building computers from store-bought components, look elsewhere because this gets very boring very fast and is a complete dead end career wise.

There's a fair bit of overlap between Software Engineering, Computer Enginering, and Computer Science. They are all very academic and lead to a variety of careers. Self-taught coders are at a massive disadvantage compared to anyone with a degree in one of those three fields.

Thank you so much, but like you gave small definitions about IT, Computer Science, Computer Engineering and so on. Could you please give one about Software Engineering? to be more aware of what i'm dealing with. Yeah i love hardware and building computers but i'll keep it as a hobby, thanks you again!

 

[Micheal Ethan]

This week I will give a presentation at a local high school on what it is like to work as a programmer. I am volunteering (through the organization Transfer) to come to schools and talk about what I work with. This school will have a technology theme day this week, and would like to hear what working in the technology sector is like. Since I develop software, that’s what I will talk about. One section will be on why I think a career in software development is great. The main reasons are:

1 Creative. If you ask people to name creative jobs, chances are they will say things like writer, musician or painter. But few people know that software development is also very creative. It is almost by definition creative, since you create new functionality that didn’t exist before. The solutions can be expressed in many ways, both structurally and in the details. Often there are trade-offs to make (for example speed versus memory consumption). And of course the solution has to be correct. All this requires creativity.

2 Collaborative. Another myth is that programmers sit alone at their computers and code all day. But software development is in fact almost always a team effort. You discuss programming problems and solutions with your colleagues, and discuss requirements and other issues with product managers, testers and customers. It is also telling that pair-programming (two developers programming together on one computer) is a popular practice.

3 In demand. More and more in the world is using software, or as Marc Andreessen put it: “Software is Eating the World“. Even as there are more programmers (in Stockholm, programmer is now the most common occupation), demand is still outpacing supply. Software companies report that one of their greatest challenges is finding good developers. I regularly get contacted by recruiters trying to get me to change jobs. I don’t know of many other professions where employers compete for you like that.

4 Pays well. Developing software can create a lot of value. There is no marginal cost to selling one extra copy of software you have already developed. This combined with the high demand for developers means that pay is quite good. There are of course occupations where you make more money, but compared to the general population, I think software developers are paid quite well.

5 Future proof. Many jobs disappear, often because they can be replaced by computers and software. But all those new programs still need to be developed and maintained, so the outlook for programmers is quite good.

 

[_Bata_]

This week I will give a presentation at a local high school on what it is like to work as a programmer. I am volunteering (through the organization Transfer) to come to schools and talk about what I work with. This school will have a technology theme day this week, and would like to hear what working in the technology sector is like. Since I develop software, that’s what I will talk about. One section will be on why I think a career in software development is great. The main reasons are:

1 Creative. If you ask people to name creative jobs, chances are they will say things like writer, musician or painter. But few people know that software development is also very creative. It is almost by definition creative, since you create new functionality that didn’t exist before. The solutions can be expressed in many ways, both structurally and in the details. Often there are trade-offs to make (for example speed versus memory consumption). And of course the solution has to be correct. All this requires creativity.

2 Collaborative. Another myth is that programmers sit alone at their computers and code all day. But software development is in fact almost always a team effort. You discuss programming problems and solutions with your colleagues, and discuss requirements and other issues with product managers, testers and customers. It is also telling that pair-programming (two developers programming together on one computer) is a popular practice.

3 In demand. More and more in the world is using software, or as Marc Andreessen put it: “Software is Eating the World“. Even as there are more programmers (in Stockholm, programmer is now the most common occupation), demand is still outpacing supply. Software companies report that one of their greatest challenges is finding good developers. I regularly get contacted by recruiters trying to get me to change jobs. I don’t know of many other professions where employers compete for you like that.

4 Pays well. Developing software can create a lot of value. There is no marginal cost to selling one extra copy of software you have already developed. This combined with the high demand for developers means that pay is quite good. There are of course occupations where you make more money, but compared to the general population, I think software developers are paid quite well.

5 Future proof. Many jobs disappear, often because they can be replaced by computers and software. But all those new programs still need to be developed and maintained, so the outlook for programmers is quite good.

That's also what i wanted to know, thank you so much. If i could give you 2 best answers i'd give you 3.

 

[k1114]

Michael is a copy paste bot. They are getting smarter...

 

[_Bata_]

Michael is a copy paste bot. They are getting smarter...

I don't even know how to feel right now...

 

[Ralston18]

Turing?

What have I missed here.....?

PS. I am not a bot - but then I may have been programmed to say so.

 

[facultyrowreview]

If you have good knowledge of coding and testing then software engineering can work for you.

 

[galerecon]

This week I will give a presentation at a local high school on what it is like to work as a programmer. I am volunteering (through the organization Transfer) to come to schools and talk about what I work with. This school will have a technology theme day this week, and would like to hear what working in the technology sector is like. Since I develop software, that’s what I will talk about. One section will be on why I think a career in software development is great. The main reasons are:

1 Creative. If you ask people to name creative jobs, chances are they will say things like writer, musician or painter. But few people know that software development is also very creative. It is almost by definition creative, since you create new functionality that didn’t exist before. The solutions can be expressed in many ways, both structurally and in the details. Often there are trade-offs to make (for example speed versus memory consumption). And of course the solution has to be correct. All this requires creativity.

2 Collaborative. Another myth is that programmers sit alone at their computers and code all day. But software development is in fact almost always a team effort. You discuss programming problems and solutions with your colleagues, and discuss requirements and other issues with product managers, testers and customers. It is also telling that pair-programming (two developers programming together on one computer) is a popular practice.

3 In demand. More and more in the world is using software, or as Marc Andreessen put it: “Software is Eating the World“. Even as there are more programmers (in Stockholm, programmer is now the most common occupation), demand is still outpacing supply. Software companies report that one of their greatest challenges is finding good developers. I regularly get contacted by recruiters trying to get me to change jobs. I don’t know of many other professions where employers compete for you like that.

4 Pays well. Developing software can create a lot of value. There is no marginal cost to selling one extra copy of software you have already developed. This combined with the high demand for developers means that pay is quite good. There are of course occupations where you make more money, but compared to the general population, I think software developers are paid quite well.

5 Future proof. Many jobs disappear, often because they can be replaced by computers and software. But all those new programs still need to be developed and maintained, so the outlook for programmers is quite good.

100% agree with these points. I have a degree in Computer Science but my job title is Software Engineer. 3rd point is the biggy. I too get contacted by recruiters and the demand for Software Developers in general is growing!

 

[_Bata_]

My younger brother is in last semester of software engineering and he is already making good money by freelance projects.
Furthermore, his skill set has increased a lot and his logic have improved due to programming languages.
He can immediately start his own company by creating a team of similar engineers.

Motivating.