Debugging the Software Engineering Major

So what exactly is software engineering and what is all the fuss about? Software engineers are the people that bring your favorite games, apps, and software to life. Moreover, software engineering is a broad term that involves a variety of different skill sets. Let's dive a little bit more into it.

What is Software Engineering?

Software engineering is the application of engineering principles to the design, development, and support of software. Moreover, it was established to solve the difficulties of low-quality software projects. When a software project's timeframes, finances, and quality levels are all exceeded, problems develop.

The sub-disciplines of software engineering include but are not limited to:

• Computing Essentials 
• Mathematical and Engineering Fundamentals
• Software Modeling and Analysis 
• Requirements Analysis and Specification 
• Software Design 
• Software Verification & Validation
• Professional Practice
• Software Process 
• Software Quality

A Study in Software Engineering 

Software engineering refers to the study of how software systems are produced, including project management, quality assurance, and software testing. On the other hand, if you prefer a more hands-on approach and want to learn about the whole life cycle of software development and maintenance, this is the major for you.

Your study will be divided by the fundamentals and the specialized software engineering curriculum. This happens throughout your 4 years of studies. Because the first two years are focused on basics, your curriculum overlaps with computer science and computer engineering. Furthermore, you will learn all about Algorithms, data structures, computer architecture, programming languages (creating your own programming language), discrete math, and statistics.

Beginning in the third year, the curriculum begins to diverge. You'll learn about design patterns, gathering and formalizing software requirements. Also, you will discover more about software development processes and techniques (waterfall, agile, scrum, XP, kanban), and software quality assurance using various metrics (lines of code, cyclomatic complexity).

You will learn a lot of skills when you are studying this major. Furthermore, some of the transferable skills gained in a software engineering course include:

• Computer Programming and Coding
• Software Development
• Object-Oriented Design (OOD)
• Software Testing and Debugging
• Problem Solving and Logical Thinking

Best universities for this major

So, you want to study software engineering? Then, you should study in the best place possible. This is because the best university will give you the best quality of education. Therefore, this will lead you to the best possible career.

There are a lot of universities that offer this degrees, but only a few are actually good. Therefore, you need to do thorough research before deciding on your target university. According to QS World Ranking 2021, the best universities for this major are:

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
2. Stanford University, USA
3. Carnegie Mellon University, USA
4. National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore
5. The University of California, Berkeley (UCB), USA

What can I do with a Software Engineering degree?

There are a lot of paths for you to choose from after you finish your degree. As mentioned before, the software engineering field will always be available because of the importance of digital platforms to human societies.

Outstanding opportunities for software engineering are out there. Those opportunities come with great challenges and benefits. Therefore, you should choose your path wisely. Also, here are some of the job opportunities you can get with a this degree:

• Front-End Engineers
• Back-End Engineers
• Full-Stack Engineer
• Mobile App Developer
• Graphics Engineer

Software Engineer Job Outlook

There has been an upsurge in demand for software engineers and programmers worldwide in recent years. Furthermore, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in software development is expected to grow by 22% between 2020 and 2030.

This is a booming industry that is not slowing down any time soon. If you are looking for a bright future in a fast-paced company and face challenges that can be difficult to solve, then this major might just be right for you. 

Software engineers are shaping the world as we know it and they get paid very well to do it. Becoming a software engineer is an amazing major choice because your work will have a lot of impact on other people.

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