Is being a software engineer a good job for the future?

Yes, being a software engineer is really good for future. Technology is changing every minute, and most of the day to day work has become digital now.

The big threat here is automation. And some jobs are clearly at more immediate risk of being automated than others. 

So which skills should you learn?

Javascript

Javascript's market share will increase over the next half-decade. There is just so much momentum here that even if the tide changes, legacy systems mean JavaScript will still be dominant in five years.

Python

Python is also trending up. It’s a popular language for machine learning, AI, and IoT. It took over from R as the primary language for scientific research a few years ago and has been going from strength to strength. Due to its flexibility and speed, I expect it to become one of the fastest growing languages in the coming years.

I also look at upcoming industries and the languages and frameworks that will power them:

Artificial Intelligence:

AI is becoming a catch-all term (in the way ‘algorithm’ has been for the last few years) but overuse (and often inaccurate use) of the term does not mean its impact is not real! AI will continue drip feeding into everything we do. One area I am fascinated by is how it is likely to get good enough that you will be able to ‘speak’ a loosely defined design idea to a UI tool, and it will generate the mock designed screens from those requests.

Learn:

- Python

- R

- Java

Augmented Reality

This space has actually been static for a long time. Since the touchscreen revolution really. But the near future should be fascinating for user interface designers as AR is successfully navigating the move from Sci-Fi to reality. This is happening partly because the costs are dropping. Which is generally a sign that we are near wide adoption. We are likely to see mobile adopting AR more and more - the two mesh so naturally together. This is why I see AR becoming more popular ahead of VR (see next section) - end users don’t need new tech. That and both Apple and Google have released their own AR developer.

Learn:

- ARCore framework with Java

- ARKit Framework with Swift or Objective C

VR

While we are not seeing many VR projects yet, it is a fascinating area. If it catches on with the wider public, this tech could drive some wildly innovative changes to our daily life. Predicting such change is fraught with difficulty, of course. Like AR, we can’t imagine where it will take us, nor do we know if/how it will mature. What we do know is that it will start with headsets. Now lighter in weight and lower in cost (less than $200), headsets are priced to become mainstream. With the assumption that they don’t suffer from the same fate as Google Glass, we may be only a few years away from similar societal changes the iPhone/app store brought.

Learn:

- JavaScript

- Java

- C++

- C#

IoT

IoT is only just starting to come into common parlance. It aims to create a network of connected devices, from keyrings to home appliances, that collect and analyze data so they behave in a smarter manner. The rollout has been slower than expected because of issues with commercializing IoT data. But as these hurdles are cleared, I expect to see the technology used in many Jetsons-like ways. For example: Doors that recognize you and open or fridges that order your favorite food before you run out:

Learn:

- Python

- JavaScript

Blockchain

Whether or not you buy into the long-term blockchain and crypto space, there is no denying it is a huge and growing sector. You just need to look at the $100 million VC’s just pumped into CoinBase to know there are a lot more developer roles in this area. This is, without a doubt, the fastest growing space for us.

Learn:

- Python

- C++

- JavaScript

- Solidity

Big Data

Another skill shortage lies with Hadoop developers. Again this is due to the rapid increase in demand for it. Which in turn indicates it will play a big part in the next few years. It’s closely linked to the increase in big data analysis trends. Businesses will want to analyze more and analyze faster. So these trends will continue to grow as pretty much everything I am discussing in this answer is trying to collect and analyze data to better sell your goods and services.

I hope this helped you realize a move to software engineering is a safe bet!

well here i have described why you should become software developer :

Here are just a few mentions why you should consider a career in software development. The main reasons are:

1) Creative work:

If you want to know about creative jobs, they will mention about writer, musician or painter. But only a few people realize that software development is also a very creative way of life. It is by definition creative since you design new functionality which never existed. The solutions can be expressed in several ways, both in structure and in details. Often there are things to make (for instance speed versus memory usage). And the solution must be correct. And everything needs creativity.

2) Quite in demand:

None can deny that.More and more everywhere is making use of software, or as Marc Andreessen says: “Software is Eating the World“. To mention as there are more programmers, demand is yet pacing out the supply. Software companies say that one of their greatest challenges is finding good developers. Though there is enough competition between employees, there is also huge competition between the employers to get the finest programming minds.

3)Collaborative:

Another myth is that developers sit alone at their technical box and code the entire day. But software development is rather always a team effort. You have to discuss programming issues and bring out solutions with your colleagues, and discuss the needs and other issues with the product managers, testers and also the customers. It is also to be said that pair-programming is popularly done.

Click Here to Read Full Article : Career Guidance: Why To become A Software Developer

Many different activities will be available for software engineers in the future. Some are updates of existing activities and some will be brand new activities that didn't exist. I believe it will be a GREAT job of the future.

I have been a software engineer for over 40 years and I have enjoyed every minute of it.

Here are some famous people's thoughts regarding software engineering.

https://code.org/quotes

Speaking from the telecom industry, one of the buzzwords these days is SDN (Software-Defined Networking) or SON (Software-Optimized Networking). You can probably guess what that means: Software, not humans, are going to be figuring out how to configure the network for best performance. That means my industry is going to need more and more programmers, and fewer electrical engineers.

So yes, in the foreseeable future, software engineering is an excellent career choice. BUT... don't think technical skills are all you'll need. Collaboration with other humans as software requirements are defined and software is built, deployed, and maintained is also a core skill. So also spend some time learning to "play well with others".