Software engineer: who is he and what does he do?

In the modern world, the profession of a software engineer is one of the most demanded and is very popular among young people. This profession involves a combination of job responsibilities of two specialties: a programmer and an engineer. Usually a programmer is a person who creates various sites, and an engineer is the one who makes calculations and builds drawings.

Thus, the software engineer is a kind of generalist, combining the skills and abilities of these two areas. In our article we will talk about what a software engineer does, what his job responsibilities are, and what qualities a person in this profession should have.

First of all, a software engineer is a person with a higher technical education who has sufficient knowledge both in the field of engineering and in the field of programming. The task of a specialist in this profession is the creation of new information products and technologies and the implementation of their inventions. These products can be software, various mobile applications, online games, and more.

There is a separate classification of specialists in this profession, each category has its own characteristics. In general terms, the highest is category 1, an analogue of a leading specialist.

Let us consider in detail what is within the competence of a software engineer, at which enterprises he is in demand and what skills make him a highly qualified employee. Typically, the job responsibilities of such professionals differ depending on the type of company or enterprise. In some organizations, a software engineer creates special control programs for CNC (Numerical Control) machines. Their development requires special skills in software engineering. At other enterprises, his activities are related to the development and testing of software.

In general, the job description of a software engineer says that this specialist is busy not only with the creation of new programs, but also with the introduction of the necessary programming tools. The software engineer is also required to maintain all accompanying technical documentation.

In addition, this instruction provides:

• development of an algorithm and programs in accordance with the task at hand;
• writing program code using one of the programming languages ​​and its subsequent verification;
• evaluation of the work of the created software in accordance with the terms of reference;
• correction of detected errors in the work of the program code;
• creation of interfaces for programs, development of the procedure for their updating and data transformation;
• fulfillment of the assigned tasks within a certain time frame.

Of course, in this profession, as in any other, there are levels by which one can judge the qualifications of an employee of a company or enterprise.

• The most basic level - trainee, this is a beginner in this profession, who is not responsible for anything and only learns from more experienced employees.
• Junior programmer - has a level of knowledge sufficient to solve simple problems. The result of his work is also checked by senior colleagues.
• Programmer - has good development experience, is able to independently cope with almost any task. Responsible for checking the performance of junior employees, as well as for the implementation of their projects.
• Senior Programmer, Lead Programmer - the highest levels of specialists in the profession of "software engineer", both profoundly know several programming languages, make key decisions about development technologies. However, the Senior Programmer is more specialized in technical issues, for example, in code development, while the Lead Programmer, among other things, also deals with team management and communicates with customers.

There is also another category of programmer qualifications: System programmer... This is a person who develops operating systems and software complexes, writes interfaces to databases, thanks to which the computer starts to work quickly and smoothly. Systems engineers are in great demand in enterprises and companies around the world.

Special instructions for labor protection have been created, their main provisions are as follows:

• in order to get a job as a programmer, you must be at least 18 years old and have the appropriate qualifications;
• to work on a computer, a specialist must familiarize himself with the instructions for its operation, and also receive 1 group on electrical safety;
• at least once every six months, a person in this profession is re-instructed on occupational safety.

Different enterprises have different qualification requirements for those who apply for the position of a programmer. In some cases, they can hire a person with no work experience who has a sufficient set of special knowledge. However, to get a job as a software engineer, higher education is required.Also, most businesses prefer to hire people with work experience from 1 to 3 years for this position.

The professional skills and personal qualities of such applicants play an important role. Let's dwell on this point in more detail.

This includes:

• knowledge of the programming language;
• preparation of documentation for developed programs;
• competent selection of the necessary information;
• ability to work with equipment;
• application of current standards in work;
• application of Russian and foreign advanced technologies;
• knowledge of the labor code and safety regulations.

Also, individual employers may impose additional requirements on job seekers, namely:

• knowledge of certain programs;
• the ability to perform a large amount of work in a short time;
• know the specifics of this enterprise.

For successful work a software engineer needs to have such personal qualities as:

• logical thinking;
• attentiveness;
• a responsibility;
• stress tolerance;
• learnability;
• teamwork skills.

Due to the fact that programming is currently developing rapidly, new languages ​​appear and new technologies are created, an important property of a specialist in the field of informatics is the ability to easily adapt to rapidly changing conditions, constantly learn something new and apply this knowledge in practice... Otherwise, such a specialist will soon be unable to cope with the assigned tasks.

The profession of a software engineer is considered one of the highly paid and prestigious ones. Specialists who have achieved a high level of knowledge in the field of modern computing technology and software are in great demand both in our country and abroad. However, there is a huge competition in the labor market, including among people of this profession, therefore, in order to start earning decent money, it is necessary to spend a lot of time on training, and subsequently on improving the knowledge and skills acquired.

To become a computer programmer, you can complete the relevant professional training courses. but cases when an employer hires a software engineer with only courses behind him are still quite rare... Such courses take one to three months; in order to be enrolled in a group of students, you must already have one higher or secondary specialized education. There are also distance courses, after which a corresponding diploma is also issued, but the level of training of such specialists remains rather low.

Much more chance to get a good job in the specialty "software engineer" are those who graduated from college and received secondary special education... In fact, college is the starting point for mastering this profession. During his studies, a young person receives a sufficient set of knowledge in various mathematical disciplines.

And yet, in order to qualify as a software engineer, you must have a higher education, since usually very strict requirements are imposed on a specialist in this profession. This is due to the seriousness of the tasks to be solved related to IT-technologies, and the high degree of responsibility for the created information products.

In order to get a specialty of a programmer in Russia, you need to graduate from a higher educational institution with a degree in software engineering, information security, or the like. This can be done in any physics and mathematics or technical university. Here students gain knowledge in the following areas:

• mathematics and engineering;
• informatics, information technology and development tools;
• software development;
• modeling and its specifications;
• software projects;
• software certification and verification;
• and in other professional disciplines.

Thus, the more skills and knowledge a specialist in the field of IT-technologies has, the greater professional heights he can achieve.