Despite the crest and ebb of the dot com boom of the last decade, software engineering remains a vibrant field offering in-demand jobs for qualified graduates of college degree and tech school certification programs. If you're considering training for a career in software engineering, it's a wise choice. Software engineers work in every sector of the world economy.
Opportunities are so promising that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts that software engineers will be among the fastest growing occupations through the year 2014. Job prospects will be best, the BLS suggests, for grads holding a bachelor's degree in computer engineering or computer science, although on-the-job experience leading to higher paying jobs will be available to people with computer software certificates and associate degrees.
Software engineering training programs focus on developing fundamental skill sets in the creation of software applications and computer systems. Applications engineers create software programs using a variety of developmental languages such as Java, C++, and C. Systems/software engineers work to apply software to new or existing systems and networks across organizations and institutions. Sometimes the roles overlap.
New positions in software engineering will be best suited for persons with analytical and trouble-shooting skills. Training schools and degree programs offer courses that often include systems analysis and design, relational databases and object-oriented software, Unified Modeling Language, network architecture, software testing and QA, business and user analysis, project management, and software estimation techniques.
The BLS reports 2004 median annual earnings of applications engineers at about $74,980, with systems/software engineers earning a median annual wage of $79,740. Top salaries for both cleared six figures.
