Darius
Do computer software engineers improve applications for phones or strictly computers?
I only have a vague knowledge at the moment of what a computer software engineer typically works on and I'm curious as to if their limited to innovating on laptop and desktop computers or if they can also extend their reach to devices like cell phones and game systems as well. #computer-software #engineering #computer
4 answers
Eric Willisson
Eric’s Answer
Hi!
Computer software engineers frequently work on cell phones, game systems, and even other systems you may not have thought of such as cars or the embedded systems in many tools and appliances!
The world today runs on software, and some person or groups of people made all of the software. Due to this, "software engineer" is actually a very vague term, and there are a lot of specific things it can mean. I have experience in servers (the programs that run on computers which other computers talk to over the Internet to get things done), Web development, Android apps, games across all of the previous three, microprocessors for little handheld devices that just do one function, and various other specialties. Getting a degree in Computer Science usually involves trying several specialties out, figuring out which one or ones interest you, and then later finding jobs for software engineers in those particular fields.
The basics of Computer Science apply across all of these devices. The same basic algorithms work, you need to learn good habits around writing code and documenting it for others, and so on. If I needed to write a program for a game console, it would take me a little while to learn the specifics, but I'm sure that before too long I would be able to pick it up.
This is also why, if you look for advice on what programming language to learn, some of the answers you get will be along the lines of "It doesn't matter, just learn more than one." Once you have learned a few languages, especially a few languages with different approaches (the equivalent of learning French and Chinese versus learning French and Spanish. French and Spanish are much more similar and you won't learn as much about the fundamentals of how language works by learning them as you would with French and Chinese), it will be easy to pick up new languages and get started in new specific areas.
If you look at job postings for software engineers you will usually see things which tell you about what kind of specialties they are looking for. "Embedded developer" means programming microchips directly, "Full-stack developer" usually means servers and mobile or Web apps, "Android developer" and "iOS developer" mean programming for either of those two mobile phone types respectively, and there are many others.
Joe LaFerriere
Joe’s Answer
Software is he magic that makes hardware function. From your cell phone to the space shuttle it is the software that makes these things more than just a lump of metal.
Go visit the Apple download site...everything there is an application either developed or enhanced for small computing (phone) use.
Joanne Mammarelli
Joanne’s Answer
The "Internet of Things' is going to be HOT
Think of smart homes and smart cities where devices are connected to wireless hubs.
Trust me .. you'll be working beyond computers.
Check out the wikipedeia link, but then follow some of the links on the bottom of that page for more details:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_of_things
Davor Gornik
Davor’s Answer
Just to add using a simple statement from a talk today: Most problems today are solved by software.
It does not matter where this software runs. While just few years ago there was really a market for something we call embedded software, it is amazing what complexity software achieves even in simplest IoT (Internet of Things) devices. Software engineers are needed for everything from a small sensor, to large radio telescope. While we are trying to make software development itself simpler, the complexity of problems is growing on all devices.