What's involved in a software engineering career?

I love coding and thinking about becoming a software engineer. What exactly does the job entail, and what should I aim to study in college to be successful? Any insight on what companies look for would be great!

Software engineering involves quite a broad spectrum of tasks, but primarily, it's centered around developing and maintaining software systems that meet user needs efficiently and effectively. This involves design, coding, testing, and maintenance of software applications.

One key distinction between a coder and a software engineer is the scope of their work. Coders often write lines of code for a specific function or feature. Software engineers, on the other hand, take part in a larger process, including conceptualizing an application, creating an architecture, then developing, testing, and launching it. So in essence, software engineers are often looking at the larger picture.

The basics of any software engineering education would include Computer Science, which provides a foundation in core programming languages and understanding of algorithms, data structures, and computer systems. As a Software Engineering major, you'll delve deeper into software-oriented subjects like software design and architecture, testing and QA (Quality Assurance), and database management.

In the current market, companies are typically looking for software engineers who have strong problem-solving skills, good understanding of algorithms and data structures, and are well versed in one or more programming languages like Java, Python, or C++. Knowledge of software development methodologies like Agile or DevOps is also very valuable.

In addition to technical skills, soft skills like communication and teamwork are incredibly important. Software development is typically a team effort, and being able to work well in a team, understand project requirements and problems, and communicate effectively can make a big difference in your success in the field.

Finally, hands-on experience is also very critical. This can be through internships, coding challenges, hackathons, or contributing to open-source projects. The latter can display your coding skills, problem solving, ability to contribute to a large project, and ability to work with existing codebases.

This is by no means an exhaustive description of the field or the path into it, but it should give you a good idea of where to start. It's a fascinating, challenging path with plenty of opportunities, both in terms of job prospects and lifelong learning!