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How do you know what path of Software Engineering is right for you?
I finally got into college and so excited to learn programming, but now I am stressed out on what types of things I want to make and which path is best for me
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Adit’s Answer
Kudos on your college acceptance! It's absolutely okay to feel a tad daunted by the multitude of choices in software engineering, from the thrill of web development to the intrigue of artificial intelligence. Here are a few strategies to help you navigate and discover your perfect fit:
Dabble in Different Classes and Projects: As you embark on a variety of programming courses, take note of the subjects that ignite your passion. Do you find joy in crafting web applications, designing mobile apps, scrutinizing data, or delving into low-level systems? Each field demands distinct skills and presents its own set of challenges.
Participate in Clubs or Hackathons: Many colleges host coding clubs or hackathons, providing a platform for you to experiment with new concepts in a relaxed, enjoyable setting. This is an excellent opportunity to connect with like-minded peers, experience diverse facets of programming, and identify what truly resonates with you.
Venture into Internships or Freelance Projects: Gaining firsthand experience, even on a minor scale, can offer valuable insights into what you genuinely love. Internships or freelance tasks will equip you with practical skills and help you understand what a typical day in a specific path feels like.
Engage with Professors and Mentors: Your professors and mentors are a treasure trove of experience and knowledge. They could potentially introduce you to paths you've never thought of. Don't hesitate to connect with them and inquire about their areas of expertise.
Investigate Career Outcomes: Lastly, contemplate the type of work-life balance, salary, and job availability you aspire to have. Study the job market for roles such as a front-end developer, data scientist, or cybersecurity analyst to comprehend the long-term prospects.
It's perfectly fine to start with a wide perspective and gradually narrow your focus. Software engineering is a field teeming with flexibility, so relish in the journey of discovery!
Dabble in Different Classes and Projects: As you embark on a variety of programming courses, take note of the subjects that ignite your passion. Do you find joy in crafting web applications, designing mobile apps, scrutinizing data, or delving into low-level systems? Each field demands distinct skills and presents its own set of challenges.
Participate in Clubs or Hackathons: Many colleges host coding clubs or hackathons, providing a platform for you to experiment with new concepts in a relaxed, enjoyable setting. This is an excellent opportunity to connect with like-minded peers, experience diverse facets of programming, and identify what truly resonates with you.
Venture into Internships or Freelance Projects: Gaining firsthand experience, even on a minor scale, can offer valuable insights into what you genuinely love. Internships or freelance tasks will equip you with practical skills and help you understand what a typical day in a specific path feels like.
Engage with Professors and Mentors: Your professors and mentors are a treasure trove of experience and knowledge. They could potentially introduce you to paths you've never thought of. Don't hesitate to connect with them and inquire about their areas of expertise.
Investigate Career Outcomes: Lastly, contemplate the type of work-life balance, salary, and job availability you aspire to have. Study the job market for roles such as a front-end developer, data scientist, or cybersecurity analyst to comprehend the long-term prospects.
It's perfectly fine to start with a wide perspective and gradually narrow your focus. Software engineering is a field teeming with flexibility, so relish in the journey of discovery!
Updated
Doc’s Answer
The software engineering field is vast, with different roles based on the complexity of the application. Accordingly, engineering functions have different types of software engineers in their teams. Some of the most popular types of software engineer roles are:
🪲 FRONT-END ENGINEER
A software engineer who specializes in the development of the user interface (UI) is called a front-end engineer. The user interfaces include visual elements like layouts and aesthetics. Front-end engineers deal with cross browser compatibility and fixing bugs to ensure an excellent visual presentation of the UI. Thus, they work with the code that runs on different user devices, browsers, and operating systems. Developing a responsive application also comes under this.
🌀 BACK-END ENGINEER
A software engineer who specializes in the underlying logic and performance of the application is called a back-end engineer. They often design and implement the core logic, keeping in mind scalability. They do this by integrating with data systems, caches, email systems using Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).
🔄 DEVOPS ENGINEER
Software engineers who are familiar with the technologies required for the development of systems to build, deploy, integrate and administer back-end software and distributed systems are called DevOps engineers. They mostly manage the application infrastructure, i.e., the database systems, servers, etc.
🔐 SECURITY ENGINEER
A software engineer who specializes in creating systems, methods, and procedures to test the security of a software system and exploit and fix security flaws is called a security engineer. This type of developer often works as a “white-hat” ethical hacker and attempts to penetrate systems to discover vulnerabilities.
☁️ CLOUD ARCHITECT
With the applications and platforms moving into the cloud servers, Cloud Architects play a pivotal role in managing the cloud-based infrastructure and its operations. From Cloud Management and Migration to Monitoring, Cloud Architects take care of everything.
🪲 FRONT-END ENGINEER
A software engineer who specializes in the development of the user interface (UI) is called a front-end engineer. The user interfaces include visual elements like layouts and aesthetics. Front-end engineers deal with cross browser compatibility and fixing bugs to ensure an excellent visual presentation of the UI. Thus, they work with the code that runs on different user devices, browsers, and operating systems. Developing a responsive application also comes under this.
🌀 BACK-END ENGINEER
A software engineer who specializes in the underlying logic and performance of the application is called a back-end engineer. They often design and implement the core logic, keeping in mind scalability. They do this by integrating with data systems, caches, email systems using Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).
🔄 DEVOPS ENGINEER
Software engineers who are familiar with the technologies required for the development of systems to build, deploy, integrate and administer back-end software and distributed systems are called DevOps engineers. They mostly manage the application infrastructure, i.e., the database systems, servers, etc.
🔐 SECURITY ENGINEER
A software engineer who specializes in creating systems, methods, and procedures to test the security of a software system and exploit and fix security flaws is called a security engineer. This type of developer often works as a “white-hat” ethical hacker and attempts to penetrate systems to discover vulnerabilities.
☁️ CLOUD ARCHITECT
With the applications and platforms moving into the cloud servers, Cloud Architects play a pivotal role in managing the cloud-based infrastructure and its operations. From Cloud Management and Migration to Monitoring, Cloud Architects take care of everything.
Updated
Steve’s Answer
Congratulations on your journey to college! College is an exciting time and in this age of rapidly evolving technology can be both exhilarating and scary at the same time. Doc's answer as to the various tracks is much better than I would provide so I will leave you with his definitions and instead focus on something I tell students or early career technologists: change is inevitable!
This sounds simplistic and it is but the technology world changes every day and what you do today may not be what you do tomorrow. When I started in my technology journey none of the roles in Doc's eloquent list existed (at least not in the state they are now). If you have the opportunity to speak with people in the industry for more than 20 years ask them to describe their role, then ask them to describe their first IT role I venture to say most if not all will have a very different role, then where they were when they started.
What does this have to do with your question: Do not stress on the decision as it will likely change as you go through school and into the work world and as you progress in your career. My first role was doing Database programming, moved to process improvement to Compute Operations to Agile Methodologies to Middleware and Database enablement and now I run our Application Assurance discipline and I am not sure what is next but I am sure there will be a next :)
I know your probably thinking well based on that you must be old (I am :) ) but to make it a bit more relevant to you 2 of my 3 children went to school for STEM fields one Mathematics and one Computer Science. My Math major started with Theoretical mathematics went to Actuarial Sciences to Data Analytics through 3 schools in 2 countries and has her Master's and a successful career as a Data Analyst with Bloomberg. My other went into Computer Science specializing in Security and Forensics graduated in the same major from the same college and is now working as a QA lead for a development team at ADP. Both are successful, both are happy, and both are engaged in their work each day.
In short (I know, too late!) take your time and your care in seeing what you want to do in school, what you can explore, how you can grow. It is always good to know what you think you may want to do and learn and explore but don't get tied so tight in those plans that you miss out on the chance to learn who you are and what you can become.
Good Luck to you I believe you will kill it in whichever route you choose.
This sounds simplistic and it is but the technology world changes every day and what you do today may not be what you do tomorrow. When I started in my technology journey none of the roles in Doc's eloquent list existed (at least not in the state they are now). If you have the opportunity to speak with people in the industry for more than 20 years ask them to describe their role, then ask them to describe their first IT role I venture to say most if not all will have a very different role, then where they were when they started.
What does this have to do with your question: Do not stress on the decision as it will likely change as you go through school and into the work world and as you progress in your career. My first role was doing Database programming, moved to process improvement to Compute Operations to Agile Methodologies to Middleware and Database enablement and now I run our Application Assurance discipline and I am not sure what is next but I am sure there will be a next :)
I know your probably thinking well based on that you must be old (I am :) ) but to make it a bit more relevant to you 2 of my 3 children went to school for STEM fields one Mathematics and one Computer Science. My Math major started with Theoretical mathematics went to Actuarial Sciences to Data Analytics through 3 schools in 2 countries and has her Master's and a successful career as a Data Analyst with Bloomberg. My other went into Computer Science specializing in Security and Forensics graduated in the same major from the same college and is now working as a QA lead for a development team at ADP. Both are successful, both are happy, and both are engaged in their work each day.
In short (I know, too late!) take your time and your care in seeing what you want to do in school, what you can explore, how you can grow. It is always good to know what you think you may want to do and learn and explore but don't get tied so tight in those plans that you miss out on the chance to learn who you are and what you can become.
Good Luck to you I believe you will kill it in whichever route you choose.