What Qualifications Do Software Engineers Need?
Welcome to my third of a series of posts where I try to bring you up to speed on the knowledge, skills, and attributes required to be a modern software engineer. If you haven’t yet, be sure to read the posts in the series leading up to this one, starting with what a software engineer actually does. In this post, we’ll be exploring the different qualifications that might be required to become a software engineer.
From our previous two posts in the series, we know that software engineers produce code and that the key qualities of a software engineer are curiosity, adaptability, and selflessness. We can use this information to help us understand what qualifications software engineering requires.
There are generally two schools of thought when it comes to the qualifications required for software engineering. The first school says that you can’t be a software engineer without a solid foundation in maths, algorithms, and data structures, preferably through a university degree. The second says that experience trumps all other qualifications and, enough experience in the field is sufficient to make someone a capable software engineer. I’m sure you’re now wondering which of the two is correct so let’s break them both down.
Software engineers who hold degrees generally study topics in the fields of computer science, electrical engineering, and information systems. These fields include topics such as algebra, calculus, analysis of algorithms, data structures, programming, microprocessors, operating systems, the software development life cycle, and many more. While all of these topics may definitely be useful to software engineers, there is something far more valuable to be taken out of earning a degree. Graduates from any of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields tend to have an ability to solve problems by using basic knowledge to build up an understanding of what the issue is. Additionally, the ability to learn complex, new topics through self-education is extremely beneficial to software engineers who are often expected to become familiar with unseen technologies on a daily basis.
Experience in software engineering entails being involved in the design and implementation of various software systems. These systems may range from small side projects to large open-source software projects. In addition to pure technical experience, this category may include obtaining certifications in very specific technological aspects (such as specialising in a specific Cloud platform). This kind of learning path tends to produce software engineers with very practical knowledge of what works and what doesn’t.
So what path should you take? As is often the case, the middle ground may be your best bet. I truly believe that studying a degree in one of the STEM fields provides a set of skills and knowledge that is difficult to obtain elsewhere. That being said, there is no substitute for experience. Start playing around with technology and code as early as possible to get a head start. This could be something like taking an Information Technology subject at school, doing some online courses (through initiatives such as Codecademy or freeCodeCamp) or even reading posts like this one. Every small thing you learn will grow you and ease your journey to becoming a software engineer.
The good news is that I know great software engineers who have focused almost exclusively on either one aspect, or the other. It’s never too late or too early to start and the learning journey never ends. Throughout your career as a software engineer, be prepared to show off your adaptability by pursuing various certifications in emerging fields. To summarise, it’s good to start off with a degree, if possible, and it makes sense for it to be in something relating to the kind of work you’ll be doing as a software engineer. After (and during) that, be prepared to roll up your sleeves and get some invaluable hands-on experience. I hope you enjoyed this post and that you have a better idea of software engineering qualifications. In the next one, we’ll start examining some of the more technical skills that software engineers possess by discussing various aspects of programming languages.
UPDATE: The next post in the series is now live where I talk about the programming languages software engineers use.
