Want to become software Engineer? Are you thinking about developing software. Then there are some things that must be kept in mind before doing so. Let’s see who are software engineers, how are they different then computer engineers and how can we be software engineers.
Software Engineers are those people who develop software for computers. That is what most people think. Software engineers are those people who not only just develop software but follows designs, develops, maintain, test and evaluate software under certain principles. Computer engineers on the other hand not only deals with software. They also have eot deal with hardware and and provide software for those hardware. When you see it that way there is not so much difference. But trust me there are a lot of difference in programming software for computer and developing software for hardware.
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It may seem very difficult to develop software at first glance but it is just like riding a bike it takes some time to understand. But it gets easy as you start to learn about the works of all the attributes of programming language that involve in software development. There are some step that are recommended if you ever want to be a software engineer in the future. Lets see some of those steps:
1. Chooses a path as software engineer
Many people who are new to software development may think that they are able to learn more programming languages easily. But doing so can only harm their future. Don’t try to be best on all but only on one There are over 100 different programming languages that exist today. Mastering all of them is just not possible. If you can decide what path you can chooses to be on when you start to develop software than it can help you make the right decision.
Choosing programming language is not the end but now you must choose what you want to be a front end developer or a back end developer. Do you want to work for a huge company or just want to be a freelancer or just start your very own company from scratch. These are some questions you need to ask yourself before you start your career as software engineer.
2. Practice and patience is the key
If you are committed to become software engineer then you must have enough practice and must be able to master whatever you want to do. Some people learn within few weeks but it may take some more time for others. No one can become perfect overnight.
If you are thinking about being software engineer overnight or by just practicing for few hours will give you all the knowledge then i am sorry to say that you are wrong. It is not important if you can’t memorize each and every codes of the entire software dont matter as long as you know what those codes do you are clear to go. You can just find answers online when you start to code but if you don’t even know what are you coding then it just typing text from your book.
3. Learn from professional software engineer
Professionals or developer only use those software that can make the work more easy and efficient. If you use the same app that the developers use to code then it will help you in the future. In real world you won’t work on those developing apps that you might have used to learn from.
The apps that developer use are more interactive and have more function. This allows you to have an example of how work of software engineer happens. If you want to learn from professional but dont know anyone internet has you covered.
As you can find more than enough contents in the internet and some sites even have the ability for you to contact with the professionals directly. Some of the major topics that need to be covered are the use Git and Github, different terminals that you can work on, collaboration of group projects and so on.
4. Attend Seminars and free code camp
Attending various seminars and going to free code camps will help you more than you think. When you attend various seminars you learn about all the new things going in the market. There might be some languages that may interest you or may be it will give you more clear idea about how the work can be done.
Just by learning all programming code doesn’t mean you can make a living out of it. Attending seminars will help you know about all the new updates that might have take into place. When you attend seminars you can then get to know the changes by going to free code camps.
There you will learn how these changes occurs and how can it make work more simple. They are mostly free so it is not a bad thing. When you get knowledge from those free code camp you can now move towards your next goal.
5. Search software engineer for Support
When you are new to software engineer field there are lot of things you may not understand or can go wrong. Some of those things can not even be found on the internet and can make the process much more difficult. But when you have someone who knows that they are doing they can now support you more than you know. Having highly supportive group can help you also for future reference as they will help you code and also help you find jobs one day.
When you are surrounded by some professional you can know about all the technical terms and where they are being used. When you start to code ad have some problem or want to make you work more radiant then you can simply ask your support about those things.
Having good support is the only thing that can make you better coder in the future. If you are thinking about taking a class then you must be able to just learn but build up a community because they don’t just teach you but also help for future reference.
6. Make your own project
When you know about the codes and you have excellent support then you can take on project of your own. It can be of anything which you may feel like. When you start on your own project you will be able to know what real life developer have to deal with everyday.
When the day comes for you to get a job you can just show your very own project that you have done by yourself. This can maintain pressure on the hiring group during your interview. as they will see how much capable you are of doing your work. This can also help you in your professional work as you wont be needing any help from others. Remember that your work have to be more attractive than others. If it is just simple fill work that can be done by school students then there is no chance anyone will hire you.
When you start to develop own project you must have one thing in mind that is do as the professional would do. You can learn more about tools that are required for the development of the projects for example git and github.
7. Start Investing on your professional software engineer contacts
Once you have all the knowledge about your programming language and know all the codes then you can now making links between various sources. When you have contacts but dont invest on them you are not doing any work at all. When it comes to joining ideal jobs you must be able to make find those ideal jobs. For that you may need some professional help.
Investing on you professional contacts can help you build more job opportunities as they might consider you to have job interviews at their workplace. According to study done by Jobvite almost 40% of new employees come form employee reference. This make one of the most common way to enter into a new job.
Remember how i said you should go to various seminars and free code camps at that movement when you meet some professional who can help you find jobs as they might know how capable you are. This sets up contact links and will help in job references.
8. Work on your upcoming interview
When you are done making contacts and links with various other professional and they have set up an interview now it’s all about you. You must know what may be asked for you to do on this job interview. At the beginning you must be more flexible with work and working hours.
Before sending application you must have strong resume and you must be able to convince the company that you can do the job right. Not only your resume but you must be present online most of the working hours. In this modern world no will contact you through regular mail but they will try to contact you through email or even social websites such as linkedin.
As digital footprint is easy to track for the company and make background checks on you. You must be certain that they get just the right amount of you information and nothing more. You must be extra careful not to lie on your resume as they will not consider to call you for an interview if they find something fishy.
9. Make best impression on the interview
When the day comes for an interview and you have everything ready from your resume to your very own project dont be nervous. When you face the interview they will not be interested in your personal life or how many degrees you have all they will ask for is the skills. They will just ask you some simple questions about some codes related topics and then comes the mind games.
They will first ask you about yourself in which all you need tell them is your name. As everything is already included in your resume you dont need to tell them everything about yourself. If you can may be start with a small joke. Show them how flexible you can be with the team and with working hours. In interview you may be asked whether if you have any experience or not. Then you can describe how you have made your own project.
At the end of every interview they will ask you one simple but hard to answer question and that is “why us?”. Remember why you wanted to get into software field in the first place. They dont want to hear answers like “This company is the Best” just tell them what is the reason you wanted to become software engineer. They have already listened to all the cheesy answers and they expect them to hear something new. Atlast all you need to know is try to be as honest as possible in the interview and agree on all their demands.
10. Okay to Job Offer
When you get the job offer from the interview you faced earlier then congratulation you have finally made it. At the beginning you will not get huge salary offer as you will have to start form entry level. Don’t worry you show the company how good you are with the job they will give you a promotion and also increase in salary.
As you start to work in the development environment you will find it easy . It gets comfortable because it is the path you have chosen for yourself. This will make you feel like working in such a place where it feels like home. When you gain more experience you will not have to go look for any job the jobs will find you. Because when you are capable you dont follow the world world follows you.
Conclusion
All the work that you have done to reach a certain goal was not easy. There were lots of laugh and cries. All those late night will finally pay off once you have the first salary in your hand. When you look back all you will see are the footsteps that you took towards success. Those days will be a great source of inspiration as you progress in your life. Trust me no one can take that away from you. It may have taken a long time to get here but it is always worth every second of your time.