Software Engineering is a popular field in 2022 and it doesn’t look like that will change very soon. With such a growing number of people looking into getting into Software Development, a common question usually comes up: how do you become a Software Engineer?
The answer is fairly basic for most people, but for someone like me who had absolutely no exposure to programming beforehand when I first started, the answer isn’t as simple as some might think. There isn’t a lot of information regarding this question as most blogs assume you already know how to become a software developer.
I’ll dive into 3 ways on how to become a software developer, and the answer isn’t as simple as you think!!
Method 1: College
This is by far the most common method that most people think of when becoming a software developer. It’s the most common method to becoming anything really. You, of course, prepare yourself during high school and then select Computer Science as your major. There’s a reason getting a college education is the most common path to becoming a software developer: it works. Most graduates dream of landing a job at a big tech company, but any junior software engineering position at any size company should set you up for a well-paying career.
The downside is getting a college degree takes a very long time. 4 years is typical but I’ve seen people take up to 6 or 7 years, depending on how ambitious they are. And it gets expensive, costing around tens of thousands of dollars during that time.
What you learn in college is theory-based and doesn’t reflect on what actually happens in the real world. The gap between your courses and you becoming a software developer is very large. You’ll follow the path that all students go through and simply taking the courses isn’t enough. You’ll have to have much more enthusiasm and willing to go beyond what your courses offer.
What I high recommend is applying for internships ASAP whenever they are available. You will find much more value at these internships because while you maybe fluent in a programming language, some company has to take a chance on you to put those skills into real-world applications.
One more recommendation I’ll add is to join a software development organization on your campus. People say college is for creating relationships and that’s no different for software developers! Being around with ambitious people with the same goal as you will motivate you as well. I’ve known coworkers who landed their first software development job simply because they knew someone from college.
Method 2: Coding Bootcamp
If you pick a reputable coding bootcamp and are willing to do the work, this option might be the best one for you (and my favorite one). Most coding bootcamps are rigorous and require 8 hours of work per day for a few months. My recommendation for this path is if you put the time to completely immerse yourself into the course, you can reap the benefits that the course has to offer within a very short amount of time.
Coding bootcamps streamline the process and does a good job of teaching the skills you’ll need in the real world. Unlike traditional education, coding bootcamps will teach you how to build software applications, not software engineering.
Will you be a really good programmer with a few months of coding bootcamp? Probably not, but coding bootcamps provides a streamline way of teaching you how to build software applications and gain experience quickly. Unlike college, you need to be self-motivated in a coding bootcamp since the timeline is very compressed.
Don’t be mistaken, coding bootcamps are very hard because you’ll spend 8-10 hours a day completing projects. However if you dedicate yourself and remain focus for a few months, you’ll be on a path to a career in software development very quickly.
Method 3: Teach Yourself
This is the path that I took and honestly, this might not be the path for everyone. I used to recommend this option to everyone. I realized that not everyone has the time to focus on learning to program. You are constantly stuck on multiple bugs and can get lost very easily. You lose your learning momentum and end up going nowhere as months have already passed.
With that being said, teaching yourself is still very doable. Luckily there are free online resources to help you get started. Personally, I would start with YouTube where you can find tons content for learning how to program. For me, I picked the Microsoft Tech stack and picked C# as my first programming language. Just pick a language and stick with it!
Once you familiarize yourself with your chosen language, I highly recommend paying for premium content such as Udemy. You’ll be taught be professionals who have experience in the industry. And it’s much cheaper than a coding bootcamp!
Most importantly, learning how to teach yourself becomes a valuable skill because tech is always changing. Great programmers realize that they are learners for life and embrace change in their field. I was self-taught and spent countless hours tinkering around web applications. I didn’t have a structure approach and it took me a long time to program. However I did learn how to teach my self how to program and that is a valuable skill to have.
Final Thoughts
Whatever path you decide to take, your software development career will go as far as you want it to. You have plenty of free/low cost resources online such as video tutorials. My recommendation is to start out with a small project you are interested like a simple web application or a mobile application. Start off small like rendering a static page and slowly build up and add small features. The more you tinker around with your app, the more questions you have. And the more questions you have, the more you learn.
-Bao