Not too long ago it used to that if you wanted a career in software development you would have had to have some kind of passion for solving problems along with harbouring the kind of patience required to learn complex programming concepts. Nowadays we’re headed to a time when basic coding skills will be as essential as basic language communication skills, so it’s no longer just about pursuing a passion in a field that excites you.
While the basic coding skills which will be essential to the skills repertoire of the modern day person who seeks to remain competitive in the economy are nowhere near as complex and refined as those of someone who has made an entire career out of software development, it’s worth looking at the typical lifecycle of a software developer’s career. It will help you make the best decisions at key moments in the trajectory of the development of your relationship with the unavoidable world of coding.
Basic skills-acquisition
Whether they go through the formal academic qualification route or if they choose to learn how to code themselves via something like online courses or free tutorials, software developers start off with basic skills acquisition. This is where you gain the basic knowledge of Computer Science, learning the principles of Computer Science with a chosen programming or scripting language you ideally identified as the best one to build whatever solution you have in mind. The important part is learning the core concepts of Computer Science, because ultimately different programming languages are all modelled on these basic principles of Computer Science.
They differ syntactically and in many other respects, yes, but a solid Computer Science grounding makes it easy to grasp any language and gives you the edge in determining which application is best for which language.
Specialisation
After perhaps sharpening their teeth in a junior or entry-level role and then going on to serve some good time in an intermediate role, the typical software developer becomes somewhat of a specialist in the field. It becomes about more than just typing code though, with some dynamics coming into play like time-management, basic decision-making responsibilities which have a big impact on the final outcome of a project, and many more dynamics. You might even have the official title of Software Developer whereas your role at your place of employment has you doing nothing close to what looks like any coding at all, like working on the customer-facing side to help design and improve user interaction and customer experience, for instance.
Assuming senior roles
When you reach a senior role within the field of Software Development you might be seen as someone who does very little work, but earns quite lot of money. This is because backed by years of experience, it becomes all about decision-making and planning for maximum output efficiency. It might make better sense to outsource an entire development module to experts such as https://freeportmetrics.com for example, as a decision that ultimately saves your own solutions development company time and money, as opposed to assigning your own team of programmers to build that specific module. This kind of knowledge comes with years of experience in the field, having done a lot of the technical work, and it’s a rather enviable position to be in as a Software Developer.
