I wrote this essay piece back in Junior year of High School. It still stays true to me, as I grow slowly to an actual software engineer and be apart of startups.
Many people would speculate a Software Engineer as a lonely programmer who sits on its chair desperately trying to develop the next Flappy Bird game. This is false. Software Engineers are not labeled as programmers.
They are discrete from each other. To them, Programming is a set of tools used to construct the bigger picture. As a matter of fact, Software Engineering isn’t all about programming.
For example, Businesses can be linked with Software Engineers. Companies such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple requires their developers to have more than programming skill. The life of these developers will heavily revolve around collaboration. Bigger companies mean bigger staffs. It is expected to implement teamwork to achieve goals before deadlines. It’s vital for Software Engineers to communicate and resolve any errors together to get the task done.
Being a great communicator and collaborator is essential in software engineering.
Furthermore, jobs like Robotic Engineering, Data Scientist, and Cybersecurity Engineer apply their code to real-world applications. They’re not the typical Front End Developer that beautify their app. They work with data and research solutions occurring beyond their computer screen. They investigate problems happening in the real world, then patch it with the magic of programming.
Not all problems will be dealing with the code itself.
Creating a self-driving AI car or patching server vulnerabilities are one of those examples. Researching and implementing solutions play an integral role in Software Engineering.
While it is true, that programming is the crucial skill for all Software Engineers alike, technology companies out there do more than write code.
Developers need to be able to simplify their complex ideas for the non-technical mind, they pitch their design in a way that arouses the whole business meeting. They also travel beyond their keyboard, constructing deals and networking with other businesses out there. For this reason, coding all day is not a reliable solution. Having to build ideas, then hiding that potential greatness away defeats the purpose of software engineering.
It is crucial for Software Engineers to know how to network with companies to be well known.
There’s no doubt about it. If you’re like me, the technical minded, you’re going to have trouble socializing. It’s going to be tough. Even the most common social interactions, non related tech, will be a drag. It is a unique disease that spreads commonly for software devs. But that is what sets us apart from the rest of society. The socially, introverted, awkward geeks, who constantly dreams and dare to change the future are the one who will bring innovation in such a dark age. Just look at Elon Musk, for example.
Consequently, Software Engineers do more work than what they asked for. However, this amount of work does not scare potential developers away. Individuals who become Software Engineers are those who are brave enough to tackle such task head-on. They are the people that will one day change how we use technology.
True Software Engineers will innovate the world.