SDE Career Path - InterviewHelp

Are you ready to start developing your career in software development engineering? Making this decision is the first step in starting a new career, but you should know what to do next.

SDE is a study of engineering to the development, design, and maintenance of software. A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering. A software engineer is developing, designing, maintaining, testing, and evaluating computer software.

There are two main categories of developers: systems software developers and applications software developers.

System Software generally works continuously behind the scenes. It normally is not visible to users and may not expose a user interface at all.

Application Software normally runs on demand under the control of a user rather than running continuously in the background. It also normally exposes a user interface for interaction with a user.

Application software is designed to do a specific thing but cannot run without system software. System software is designed for a specific type of hardware, controls its basic operation, and provides a platform on which applications can execute.

If you consider SDE as your future career, keep reading. In this article, we’ve summarized all you need to know in thee start of your career.

Overview:

• What qualities should you have as a software development engineer?
• Skills of a Software development engineer.
• Ways to measure your development skills.
• What includes the job description for a software development engineer?
• Educational requirements for a software development engineer.
• Top companies for software developers.

1. What qualities should you have as a software development engineer?

It is hard to find good developers for any programming language. Shouldn’t judge software developers only based on their education and experience. There’s something like personality, patience, and raw talent. And these are important things too. We’ve listed some ‌qualities of a good software developer below:

• Flexibility:

Write code once, then replicate it.

• Consistency:

Success doesn’t come occasionally it comes from what you do consistently.

• Live with a dream:

If you can dream, then you can do it!

• Breathe with VCS:

If you are a software developer, then the Version control system is your air. Ensure that you can transform your thoughts into real-time actions which solve the users-problem!

• Productivity:

Always schedule what you’re going to do the next week in your diary and cross it when the mission gets accomplished!

Other qualities:

• A positive attitude
• Adaptability
• Communication skills
• Love of learning
• Intuition
• Discipline
• Curious
• Updated with technology

2. Skills of a software development engineer

The software development engineer must have an in-depth understanding of the technical environment. We’ve listed the 3 top categories of skills you should learn for the new age of software development engineering:

Cloud computing

• Heavily in demand
• A major gap in the number of skilled resources and requirement
• The whole IT industry is moving towards cloud in all forms and further developments are to happen for them as cloud-native apps
• Recommended skills to learn and explore: Kubernetes, Docker, OpenShift, etc.

Machine Learning

• Machine learning is the solution, with not much of the resources available. It is indeed the future.
• Tonnes of data everywhere, not just with IT companies
• Everyone wants analysis and get something (known or unknown in advance) out of it
• Recommended skills to learn and explore: Python (explore those extensive ML libraries in python available out there), R, etc.

IoT (Internet of things)

• Every smart device is meant to be connected, and that number has just begun to grow. It requires a mix of many other skills, and there is a huge gap in such resources too.
• Recommended skills to learn and explore: Primarily embedded systems (most companies use proprietary languages, but C remains the winner for embedded programming), and Networking skills. A mix of software programming (in terms of user interface and server), machine learning, and network security. Not necessary to get all of them, primary skills are much preferred.

Other skills you should have:

• Project management
• Problem-solving skills
• Analytical and strategic skills
• Teamwork and collaboration skills
• The ability to acquire and communicate the needs of all stakeholders

3. Ways to measure your development skills

There are several ways to measure your software development skills:

• Take part in a programming contest. This is the best way to show your raw problem-solving skills applied to programming, and compete with others.
• Contribute to open source: Either do small contributions to well-known big open-source software or create your projects.
• Take part in a hackathon. This is a great way to list a “cool” project in your resume.

4. What includes the job description for a software development engineer

• Researching and designing software programs
• Implementing and managing software programs
• Testing new programs and their evaluation
• Identifying areas for modification in existing programs and developing these modifications
• Writing efficient code and its implementation
• Maintaining existing systems and their upgrade
• Working closely with other developers, and UX designers
• Responsible for developing quality assurance procedures
• Determines operational practicality
• Deploys software tools, processes, and metrics

5. Educational requirements for a software development engineer

• Bachelor’s degree

A software developer job requires a bachelor’s degree in computer science or software engineering. These programs will focus you on required sequences in calculus, differential equations, and linear algebra. Also, the job requires sequence in physics and electronics.

These programs include computer programming, operating systems, and networks. Through the program’s lectures and laboratory sessions, the students will learn to construct, analyze, and maintain software.

Keep in mind that continuous learning is the life of a software engineer.

Interesting thing is that software engineers have a higher rate of learning than other professions because the change is swift in the ever-changing technology field.

• Experience

You can take part in cooperative internships as a part of an engineering program and do coursework to gain experience.

• Certifications

Although software developers and engineers do not have professional licensing requirements, sometimes the certifications may be necessary.

There is an option for certification from the Computer Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The institute offers software development credentials for software engineers at the beginner and experienced levels.

6. Top companies for software developers

• Google
• Facebook
• Apple
• Amazon
• NVIDIA
• Adobe
• Microsoft
• Salesforce

7. Are you prepared to crack your SDE interview at big tech companies?

If you need advice on how to pursue a career in software development engineering, how to crack your SDE interview, and any additional help with your career, join Interviewhelp.io. Our team of experts will continue to guide you further and will help you move on your career path with confidence.