Computer Software Engineer

[adventk]

Hi everyone im new to techist.com !

Well I just finished highschool, barely. woo go class of 09! I was wondering if I was interested in being a computer software engineer what kind of schooling do i need and how many years? Right now I'm going to be attending community college and i was wonder do I need good mathematical skills to be succesful? What major would be the best choice if I wanted to be working in a field where I develop or program software for companies and stuff. Also hows the pay for those that are already working in this field? Thanks again for the help guys this will greatly help my future in choosing a career that best suits me.

 

[wafflehammer]

Software engineering, computer engineering, and computer science are the top majors (in order) for this career path.

I would say having a bachelors (4 years) is a minimum. And with anything in the tech field ongoing education is a must. Don't forget certifications either.

Do you need good math? For college a strong yes...for the job, I'm not to sure. I'm going to be majoring in computer science and I'll end up with 21 credit hours of math classes. 9 hours of it will be calculus, so that kind of sets the bar of what level of math you'll need.

Pay...after all the research I've done expect around $60,000 a year starting with a 4 year degree. It's a "salaried' job..so you get paid that set amount(meaning you aren't paid by the hour..but some do this).

Job environment (from what I've collected in my research): Expect to work on a team with people...no sitting in a cubicle by yourself, lots of meetings, and lots of unpaid overtime hours.

I hope I helped :] This is my chosen career path..so I've already tried soaking up a lot about it. But might I ask why you chose this? Especially at such a late time?

 

[adventk]

wow waffle i really do apreciate the reply it answered alot of my questions. I'm interested in software engineering because i would a career where i program and design things for a company. Is there really a difference between a computer programmer and a software engineer? Also I plan on getting my masters so what kind of majors should i take that will lead up to being a software engineer?

 

[wafflehammer]

Masters in any of the majors I listed would be the best route to take.

The only difference between the two (from my understanding) is that a "computer programmer" was an old term for the job that required actual programming of computers...not really software development. Not 100% sure on that though.

 

[adventk]

ahh great, thanks alot waffle . looks like il be staying in school for a while hehe

 

[jaeusm]

I was wondering if I was interested in being a computer software engineer what kind of schooling do i need and how many years?

Aim for a bachelors degree, preferably in software engineering. If your school doesn't offer that major, look for computer science or computer engineering.

do I need good mathematical skills to be successful?

In college, yes. In industry, not typically. However, that depends on what you are programming.

Also hows the pay for those that are already working in this field?

It's good, especially after you gain experience.

Pay...after all the research I've done expect around $60,000 a year starting with a 4 year degree.

It will vary depending on what part of the country you live. A $90,000 salary in California is roughly equivalent to $65,000 - $70,000 here in Columbus, Ohio.

Expect to work on a team with people...no sitting in a cubicle by yourself, lots of meetings, and lots of unpaid overtime hours.

For most software development departments, you actually will be sitting in a cube by yourself designing, writing code, testing, or gather requirements. However, this is a bit dependent on the software development methodology employed. The amount of meetings vary from company to company. Where I work, we rarely have any formal meetings. Maybe once a month on average.

Is there really a difference between a computer programmer and a software engineer?

Technically, yes. However, many companies use the terms interchangably. Software engineering implies that software is being designed using the engineering design process, which rarely is the case in my experience, even if they call it "engineering". This is the source of a continuing debate in industry.

 

[Ranga]

if you dont mind me butting in, you did mention computer engineering further up and from my understanding is that you dont just do the 4 year course on computers the first course is straight engineering then you move into the software, hardware and the networking side of it. cant be 100% sure though but thats my understanding.