Computer software engineers are responsible for using mathematics and computer science to develop and test computer programming. They will have primary responsibility for developing a number of different programs, which may include word processing applications and computer games, as well as operating systems and network applications.
Computer engineering professionals will first analyze their clients’ needs and then create a detailed set of algorithm instructions that may include programming, although this will usually be outsourced to computer programmers. Application software engineers typically use plain code, such as Java, to create application software, while systems engineers typically help a company organize its operating systems.
Systems software will typically require extensive tweaking to ensure that corporations can use it effectively, and engineers will often need to modify operating systems and programming to meet the needs of their customers.
These people will typically work in teams that may include departments from marketing, manufacturing, engineering, designers, and artists, in order to work together to bring a software product to market.
Systems software engineers may work alone depending on the size of the company they serve, and may have assistants under them to perform the more routine tasks of installing operating systems and other system applications.
These people will often work 40 hours a week in clean and comfortable office environments, although they may experience repetitive motion strain and back discomfort. Most employers will require a bachelor’s degree and computer programming experience, and four-fifths of all software engineers had at least a bachelor’s degree.
In 2006, software engineers held about 850,000 jobs in the United States, the majority working in applications and about a third in systems software. A minority of these people are self-employed computer programmers. Overall job prospects are expected to be quite good and this field will be one of the fastest growing areas in America over the next decade.
In 2006, the median 50th percentile of these professionals earned between $63,000 and $98,000, while computer systems engineers earned between $68,000 and $105,000. In 2007, Robert Half Technology reported that software engineers earned between $66,500 and $99,750 per year.
