Global Engineering

Why Software Engineering Is An Up-And-Coming Career

There’s no better time to become a software engineer. There are 4.66 billion people from all across the world who use the Internet and this number is growing exponentially every single year. In 2019 there were more than 5 billion people (again, these are global statistics) who had mobile phones.

All of these Internet of Things (IoT)-connected devices need software to make them run. If they don’t have the right software, they won’t function.

There is a growing need for software as people come up with new ideas for computer programs that will help people to solve challenges that they face in their everyday lives. Although everyone can come up with great ideas for software, they won’t necessarily be able to see these into a finished product. This means that software engineers – the people who can translate ideas into computer programs – will constantly be in hot demand.

What Is Software Engineering?

Software engineering entails the analysis of user requirements. After these requirements have been thoroughly analysed, the software engineer goes bout designing, building and testing a software application which will fulfil that need.

To illustrate, say that a client has an idea for a learner management system (LMS) and goes to a software engineer for assistance with building this. The engineer will then thoroughly analyse what the client needs from that LMS – for example, what features the system needs to have – and once the software engineer has a thorough understanding of what the client needs will they then embark on building the software.

The Push To Automation And AI

The Fourth Industrial Revolution, which began in 2012, focuses on integrating computers into everyday life. While this does not mean that our entire workforce is going to be replaced with robots, it does mean that repetitive tasks will be (and are currently being) done by machines.

While this does mean that the people currently performing those tasks will no longer be required in this aspect, this does not mean that they will no longer be able to find employment.  New jobs are coming to the fore that did not exist 20 years ago.

One example that springs to mind is a data analytics expert. With the proliferation of the Internet, we can access more data than we ever thought possible. While it’s all very well and good having access to this information, we need to be able to interpret it so that we can draw insights from it which can be actioned.

These days, there are many accounting packages on the market which are extremely affordable and easy-to-use for small business owners. Using this software, people can do their own bookkeeping which means that there is less of a demand for people to take up the bookkeeping role. However, as a bookkeeper needs to display incredible attention to detail, they could be re-deployed into the arena of data analysis as people in this area require the same sort of skill set as bookkeepers do.

Software engineering is a way to have fun online and is indeed a career on the rise as there is a huge demand for software. If people find their jobs being made redundant, they should look at what skills they possess and see how they can reinvent themselves to serve the needs of the market better.