Wonderful World of Software Engineering

by SHWETA KAMAT
Posted on 2008-10-11
The world has felt the explosive impact of computers and the IT industry in its very core and the increasing need for computers in the daily life of people has made it imperative that new designs and new computer software systems be developed, so that advancing technology can be applied in a growing range of applications. Such work is assigned to people known as computer software engineers.
“Software engineering is projected to be one of the fastest growing occupations,” stated an associated software engineer from Symantec Computer Services, Pune.
Software engineers have worked on and created every program that you are use on your computers. They are in charge of software development processes and computer applications that we use in our everyday life.
Software engineering, for instance, entails the designing, creating, and maintaining of software programs and systems.
“There are a broad range of activities associated to software engineering like computer programming and systems analysis,” said the associated software engineer.
Talking further the engineer said that if you choose the computer systems software engineer track, you would coordinate the construction and maintenance of a company’s computer systems and plan their future growth.
“If you opt for computer applications software engineering, you will analyse users’ needs and then design, create, and modify general computer applications software or specialised utility programs,” the engineer added.
A software engineer is a person who applies engineering principles in the co-operative development of software. “A good software engineer should not only generate computer programs but also learn the skills to produce good documentation, database and operational procedures for the computer system and they should be well defined about the components or modules of software engineering,” the associated software engineer stated.
Rapid employment growth in the computer systems design and related services industry, which employs the greatest number of computer software engineers, should result in highly favorable opportunities for those college graduates with at least a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering or computer science and practical experience working with computers.
“To break into software engineering, you will need at least a bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering, computer information systems or computer application” explained Ms Anuradha Pavaskar, a senior software engineer, Satyam Computer Service, Pune.
“Many positions require an advanced degree, like a master’s degree or even a doctorate,” she adds.
She even added saying that expertise and training in other subject areas can make one’s work more effective and one’s resume more marketable.
When asked about institutions Ms Pavaskar said, “I don’t think that there is any institution which offers a degree in software engineering. Most schools offer a degree in computer science or electrical engineering.”
According to her there is no much scope for software engineers in Goa as compared to other states where the IT industry is growing at a very fast pace.
“The demand for computer software engineers will increase in India as well as in the world as computer networking continues to grow,” says the senior software engineer.
Advising the youth of Goa Ms Pavaskar says that now is the perfect time to get started on your career, since software engineering employment is expected to increase much faster than the average for all occupations.
In support of Ms Pavaskar’s view, Ms Priya Kudchadeker, working in corporate training says that since the IT industry is not very well developed in Goa most software engineers seek employment outside the state either in Pune, Mumbai or Bangalore.
“A software engineer can work as an employee, contractor, lecturer etc in engineering colleges, non-profit organisation, government bodies or in corporate training,” she explained.
Talking about the salary both Ms Pavaskar and Ms Kudchadeker said that the salary basicaly depends upon the company one is working with.
All that said, a career in software engineering is a wise choice to make, as engineering is a huge industry with lucrative returns. Regardless of what discipline you decide, the field ­– in all its many facets – only has good things in store for you.