Software Engineer
The role of the software engineer, also sometimes referred to by such job titles as lead software developer, application developer, senior systems analyst or software architect, is an IT professional whose role is to oversee the creation of software products for the organization. The software engineer is responsible for every step of the process, from the gathering of the initial specifications for the project, through and including the final rollout of the software solution and the ongoing maintenance required. The products developed and maintained by the software engineer may include sophisticated systems running on the Internet, on standard equipment, on proprietary hardware or across a combination of different systems.
Some of the many duties of the software engineer include managing the software development cycle, producing resilient and cost effective software solutions to address business problems, specifying, designing, coding, testing and maintaining the code along the way.
In addition to the strong technical skills required by the position, software engineers need to possess strong interpersonal skills, as the job often requires them to work closely with ordinary users, other technical personnel, managers and upper management personnel, as well as various vendors and suppliers.
Many software engineers will aspire to higher paying positions such as project manager or application developer, and the ranks of these positions are often filled with former software engineers. As for the position itself, the salary will be determined by a number of internal and external factors, including time in the position, experience level, skill set, certification and training, but a well qualified and reasonably experienced software engineer may be able to attain salary levels of $80,000 or more per year.
Microsoft Certifications:
- MCTS .NET 2.0 Web
- MCTS .NET 2.0 Windows
- MCAD .NET
- MCSD .NET
CIW Certifications:
- CIW Associate
- CIW Web Developer
- CIW Professional
- CIW Security Analyst
- Master CIW Enterprise Developer
CompTIA Certification:
- Project+