In today’s world, we found that software is omnipresent in whatever we use in our daily life. Software is everywhere and we can’t hide it from our daily life. Within the past few decades software engineering career have been founded as some of the most advantageous and in-demand sectors.

But expectations for software engineers have never been so positive.  Software engineering is a satisfying and conceivably worthwhile career choice. In charge of planning, developing, testing, and maintaining programming frameworks, software engineers are progressively in demand by a wide range of employers.

Software developers normally have a degree in software engineering or computer science or a similar. Despite the fact that writing code is not the main part of the job activity, it is necessary to have proven computer programming skills in at least one of the core programming languages, such as Java, C++, Python, C#, Dot Net, etc. Professions for software engineers can be in any industry, so sector-specific experience can be a plus. For example, finding work as a software engineer in the banking or finance sector is easier, if you have a comprehension of banks’ registering needs.

Software Engineering: Courses and Duration

Countless course options are available in the field of computer engineering at the diploma, bachelor, and master level. If you want to pursue engineering, then you have to consider the following options:

• Bachelor in Computer Science & Engineering – 4 years duration
• Bachelor in Computer Science – 4 years duration
• Bachelor in Computer Science with Specialization in Software Related Program – 4 years duration
• MSc in Computer Science & Engineering – 2 years duration
• MSc in Software Engineering – 2 years duration
• MSc in Computer Science – 2 years duration
• Diploma in Computer Science & Engineering – 4 years duration, and a lot more.

What Does a Software Engineer Do?

Software engineers contribute to the company or agency by developing and launching software products. As a coder, you are accountable for designing, developing, and maintaining software systems including operating systems, business applications, mobile and web applications, games, and many more. Additional duties include:

• Develop or expand existing applications or software to meet the changing needs of key demographics.
• Develop a new product from scratch, remaining consistent with the company’s core values and needs while lending your own creativity to the mix.
• Always focus on creating fault-tolerant coding.
• Create measurable, automated solutions for the company’s customer base.
• Establish multi-platform versions of the software package.
• Write test code for existing and created code to guarantee compatibility and stability.

How to Become a Software Engineer

Most professionals develop their skills through education, team-based projects, and prior work experience. To become a software engineer you have to follow these below points.

1.   Must know programming languages

To turn into a software engineer, you must have an in-depth understanding of programming languages. Technology is developing day by day, so you must also be willing to continue developing yourself with new technical skills.

2. Obtain industry experience

There are many positions in the industry for software engineers that require at least some experience in an application or software design and development role that you can gain through an internship or entry-level position.

3. Gain the necessary education

Actually, there is no national or International requirement to become a software engineer, many employers require software engineers to have an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, or certification from a relevant program, for example, coding training. Popular zones of study for software engineers include computer science, business management, computer engineering, information systems, IT-related, mathematics, or statistics.

4. Improve the proper technical skills

To get ready for a career as a software engineer, it’s a smart thought to build your skills in programming languages like Java, Python and C++, SQL, C#, DotNet, and working experience with the agile software development platform. You can develop these skills through educational programs, training, internships, and entry-level positions.

5. Build your soft skills

To become a successful software engineer, you should be prepared in cross-discipline communication, project management, problem-solving, interpersonal communication, team leadership, and time management.

When employers interviewing for a software engineer position, be sure that they focus on not only technical skills such as coding databases, programming languages, and software applications but also soft skills such as interpersonal communication, teamwork, leadership, and written and verbal communication. So be prepared to exhibit your knowledge through coding difficulties and test assignments.

Software developer career paths

The software field is on top in terms of offering jobs not only in Bangladesh but abroad also. There is a huge scope for Software Engineering students because of the rise of the IT industry. Enormous career opportunities are there for students in the field of software engineering.

Software engineers have the opportunity in both the private and public sectors. However, choosing the teaching profession can also be considered.

What exactly can software engineers do when they’re ready to move up?

They will in general incline toward one of the following upper-level technical or leadership roles:

1. Trainee: fresh out of school

The beginning point of a career for a fresh graduate is normally that of a trainee Software Engineer. A few organizations have internship programs where they take entry-level engineers who have fundamentally just theoretical knowledge and no work experience. For this situation, a beginner’s job title will be a Trainee.

2. Junior Software Engineer

After successfully completing the internship the trainee becomes a Jr. Software Engineer. This includes writing code and developing applications, normally under the supervision of a team leader.

3. Software Engineer

After acquiring sufficient experience, a Junior Software Engineer may move into the Software Engineer position. Here, they have the opportunity to create their very own code without as much supervision. They likewise have a greater contribution to the overall project, which feeds back into their programming solutions.

4. Senior Software Engineer

The next step in this profession is a role with notable responsibility. A Sr. Software Engineer takes greater responsibility for the software development process and is relied upon to compose complex code and develop whole applications. The Senior Software Engineer would supervise Junior Software Engineers and give assistance and counsel to the rest of the team.

5. Lead Developer

Sometimes lead developer is referred to as a developer manager, This role is for developers with strong time management and interpersonal skills. Lead developers are a sort of bridge between nontechnical and technical team members. The representative works to direct reports while keeping communication lines open with pioneers.

Depending on the organization, this job could be only administration, or it could be a mix of management and coding. In any case, those seeking it need to understand that people management requires a particularly different ability than coding does.

6. Software Architect

This position is basically the end game for technically focused programmers. In spite of the fact that titles vary by company, it includes creating critical software architecture design for the team.

Software architects mostly mentor junior software engineers, but they don’t have direct reports. Software architects are serious thinkers and problem solvers, many with 10 years or more of specialized software expertise or summed-up involvement over a few distinct stacks.

To assist software programmers seeking this career path, encourage them to stay up-to-date with new technologies. Indeed, even experts should exhibit some understanding of the full software development stack, and even generalists ought to have in-depth knowledge of one or more trending programming languages.

7. Senior Technical Project Manager

While not as regular as the earlier two, programmers with solid resource planning and budgeting skills can rise to this position. Technical project managers work closely with stakeholders and involved teams to keep the project on track and on budget. Applicants should be efficient, design-minded, energetic, organized, and able to flourish under pressure.

With cautious oversight, let them allocate resources, plan projects, and manage timelines. Motivate interested employees to shadow a project supervisor, who’ll likely value their technical skills.

One of the hardest — yet most fulfilling — portions of management is helping direct reports discover their prospects. Educate engineers regarding their choices, observe their technical and soft skills, and suggest paths they may be appropriate for. But whatever you do, don’t push them. That’s how people end up in roles they don’t want, and, ultimately, that’s how technical teams topple over.

Software Engineering: Salary Package

In the IT field, a great deal of significance is given to the individual having experience. Once you gain expertise, a good job offer with a good pay scale can be easily snagged.

A fresher in the field of engineering can get started with a 2 lac taka annual package while there is no salary bar for the one having good experience in this field.

The salary of a software engineer may also fluctuate according to the industry/ organization he/she is working for and the University from where he/she completed engineering.

Thus, it’s always better to make a wise decision while choosing the University for pursuing engineering as well as while choosing a company/organization to work for.

In a report by GlassDoor, it is shown that the average salary of a software developer in Bangladesh is 84,711 dollars per year. The salary range of the software developer is 67,000 – 103,723 dollars per year. Probably they have mixed up the local salary structure with the foreign salary structure. According to Payscale, it is said that the average salary of a software developer is 11,070 dollar per year.

Typically, an intern software engineer can earn BDT 5000 – BDT 15000 per month from a local or Bangladeshi company. A junior software engineer earns BDT 15000 – BDT 25000 per month from a Bangladeshi company. A local or Bangladeshi company offers BDT 30000 – BDT 90000 per month to mid-level software engineers. Jobs for Part-time software developers are booming day by day. Part-time software developers earn BDT 10000 – BDT 50000 per month from local or Bangladeshi companies based on their skills and expertise.

On the other hand, web developers get slightly less salary than software developers in Bangladesh. These salaries highly vary from company to company a multinational software company offers a very high salary whereas a local or Bangladeshi company offers a little bit less salary. Usually, a local or Bangladeshi company provides BDT 12000 – BDT 75000 per month to a Web developer. While a junior web developer gets BDT 8000 – BDT 15000. Generally, part-time web developers or intern web developers get BDT 5000 – BDT 15000.

As per US news, a software engineer in the USA gets 106,710 dollars every year. And a web developer in the USA gets 67,990 dollars every year. This information reveals a deep insight into that how Bangladesh is providing IT services with a very small amount of money. So works from the outer world are coming into Bangladesh and the volume will surely increase in the years ahead.

Future Outlook

The development and growth in demand for software developers are largely down to the progress in demand for software. Mobile technology, specifically, has opened up a totally new industry that didn’t exist 10 years or so ago. All types of businesses now depend on software to complete their day-to-day activities and depend on software engineers to continue on producing innovative solutions to satisfy their vital needs.

As more and more products are developed that depend on software – from cars to kid’s toys, software engineers will appreciate new opportunities to utilize their skills. So there is a huge opportunity to create a successful career in software engineering.

Conclusion

Bangladesh has a good number of web and software professionals but it’s not enough.  The remuneration of IT professionals in Bangladesh is still very low compared to the Western world. Works identified to website and software are coming towards Bangladesh at a decent pace and the future of this sector i.e. the web developers and software engineers are very bright.  So if you want to enter into the world of IT, you can come in and something good is waiting for you.