How To Become A Software Engineer

Software Engineering

Before you decide to become a software engineer you need to find out if this is the type of work that you can do. Like professionals programmers and software designers started learning when they were children. It would be nearly impossible to find someone who has not written several computer programs well before they left High School and probably well before even going to High School. Creating a decent webpage or Java applet however is not on the same level as the code challenges faced by students at the University level. Computer software engineering is one of the most wide open fields in the world job market today and having as broad a base of  knowledge as possible will lead to a much more lucrative future.

Before starting a University program in software engineering, whether online or at one of the accredited online universities, take the time to do some free classes. For instance, one of the main paradigms now is Object Oriented Programming (OO) and Visual Basic is one of the simplest OO languages to learn. There are many free tutorials on the internet in Visual Basic and Visual Basic.Net and if you can work thorough one of these with no problem you will be ready for the next step.

Visual Basic, while a great program for beginners is more drag and drop than actual coding. If you breeze through it take another class, this time in C++, one of the first fully structured OO languages. C++ has a much stronger Class structure and teaches students how to design classes, arrays, build complex loop structures and link them together in objects and classes. Completing these tutorials with a 4.0 GPA means you are probably ready for a much more extensive reach and can step into a computer science department and at least understand the language.

The next step to take is to decide whether you want to be a business application programmer or game programmer. This decision will allow you to select the languages you will need to learn initially. Most game programmers will also have classes in other programming fields, learned from years in the business and independent study and business programmers will understand the theory of game programming, but initially new students need to learn the basics of one or the other.

Game programming and Business application programming have roughly the same salary and benefits in the working world, the differences varying from company to company. A software engineer working for Sony or Nintendo for instance will initially have a higher salary than a programmer for a small independent and a programmer for Microsoft or Apple will be higher still. So before starting take some free tutorials and see how well you do and what areas you want to start in. Once you learn the fundamentals you can move on to other languages and increase the amount you offer each company you work for. A career as a software engineer is much like that of a doctor or lawyer; there is a great deal of necessary continuing education in this ever changing, ever growing field.