Software engineer
 | It has been suggested that this article be merged into Software engineering. (Discuss) Proposed since July 2021. |
 Margaret Hamilton (shown in 1989), a leader on Apollo moon landing software, entrepreneur, and one of the people credited with coining the term "software engineer" | |
| Occupation | |
|---|---|
Occupation type | Profession |
Activity sectors | Information technology, Software industry |
| Description | |
| Competencies | Requirements analysis, specification development, algorithm design, software quality assurance, documentation tasks. |
Education required | Varies from bachelor's degree to advanced degree in software engineering or related field |
A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to the design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term programmer is sometimes used as a synonym, but may also lack connotations of engineering education or skills.
Profession
Employment
Most software engineers work as employees or contractors. Software engineers work with businesses, government agencies (civilian or military), and non-profit organizations. Some software engineers work on their own as consulting software engineers. Some organizations have specialists to perform all of the tasks in the software development process. Other organizations separate software engineers based on specific software-engineering tasks. These companies sometimes hire interns (possibly university or college students) over a short time. In large projects, software engineers are distinguished from people who specialize in only one role because they take part in the design as well as the programming of the project. In small projects, software engineers will usually fill several or all roles at the same time. Specializations include:
- in industry (analysts, architects, developers, testers, technical support, managers)
- in academia (educators, researchers)
Impact of globalization
Most students in the developed world have avoided degrees related to software engineering because of the fear of offshore outsourcing (importing software products or services from other countries) and of being displaced by foreign visa workers.[1] Although government statistics do not currently show a threat to software engineering itself; a related career, computer programming does appear to have been affected.[2][3] Often one is expected to start out as a computer programmer before being promoted to software engineer. Thus, the career path to software engineering may be rough, especially during recessions.
Some career counselors suggest a student also focus on "people skills" and business skills rather than purely technical skills because such "soft skills" are allegedly more difficult to offshore. Reasonable command over reading, writing & speaking English is asked by most of employers.[4] It is the quasi-management aspects of software engineering that appear to be what has kept it from being impacted by globalization.[5]
Prizes
There are several prizes in the field of software engineering:[6]
- The Codie awards is a yearly award issued by the Software and Information Industry Association for excellence in software development within the software industry.
- Jolt Awards are awards in the software industry.
- Stevens Award is a software engineering award given in memory of Wayne Stevens.
See also
- Programmer
- Systems analyst
- Systems architect
- Bachelor of Science in Information Technology
- Bachelor of Software Engineering
- Release Engineer
- Software Engineering Institute
References
- ^ "IT news, careers, business technology, reviews". Computerworld.
- ^ "Computer Programmers".
- ^ "Software developer growth slows in North America | InfoWorld | News | 2007-03-13 | By Robert Mullins, IDG News Service". Archived from the original on April 4, 2009.
- ^ "Hot Skills, Cold Skills". Archived from the original on February 22, 2014.
- ^ Dual Roles: The Changing Face of IT
- ^ Some external links:
