Purpose of the Report
This report seeks to impart information to the company’s CEO, Ms. Geraldine Schliermacher, and other consultants in the company regarding software engineering career, its educational requirements, relevance concerning market requirements, placement opportunities, and other aspects that might be of interest to both the aforementioned parties or any other party that might be interested in pursuing this field as their career choice (Nuseibeh & Finkelstein, 2006).
Definition of Software Engineering
Software Engineering is a field in engineering that requires the practitioner to apply the principles of engineering in the design and development of software products. Essentially, these principles are applied during various stages in the production of software products. A software engineer, therefore, is an individual who has undergone all the necessary training requirements and has been duly certified to practice their trade as a software engineer. Besides, software engineers have to be registered with the relevant bodies (Finkelstein, Kramer & Goedicke, 2010).
Education Requirements
For one to qualify as a software engineer, they must attain undergraduate certification in any of the major information technology-related courses that include computer science, information systems analysis, or information technology (Runeson, 2012). Traditionally, most of the practitioners were only certified in the three aforementioned courses. However, new developments in the education curriculum have seen an introduction of software engineering as an independent course and currently, there are quite a good number of practitioners who have been certified in their undergraduate degree programs.
Occupation information
Software engineering is one of the most marketable careers. This is attributable to the fact that the pace with which the world is embracing technology is still very high. Furthermore, most organizations have at least some form of Computer or Information Technology department in their organizational structure. This increased uptake in technology means that many organizations require efficient technological solutions in the form of software and other resources to achieve their organizational objectives. Consequently, many software companies whose business models are based on the provision of these solutions have been developed in many parts of the world (Finkelstein et.al., 2009).
Personality Types
Software engineering essentially involves problem-solving whereby the engineers find ways of solving their clients’ problems through the use of appropriate software applications. A career in such a field, therefore, requires individuals with competent inter-personal skills because the software engineers will spend most of their time interacting with the client in an attempt to enhance their understanding of the problem (Nuseibeh, Kramer & Finkelstein, 2008).
Placement Opportunities
A software engineer can get employment in any of the software development companies and be involved in the actual development of various software products. Also, they can be employed by any other organization to provide in-house troubleshooting services within their IT departments. This scenario makes software engineers some of the best-paid professionals in the market. Almost every organization, whether small, medium, or large scale, employs the use of computers in carrying out their functions and, therefore, they will require the services of a software engineer from time to time (Beck & Andres, 2004).
Learning institutions can also make arrangements with engineering industries where students can join after getting their education. Assessment is necessary during attachments and placement opportunities to ensure that students have mastered the necessary skills. Placement and attachment opportunities are vital since students learn a lot.
References
Beck, K., & Andres, C. (2004). Extreme programming explained: embrace change. New York: Addison-Wesley Professional.
Finkelstein, A. C., Gabbay, D., Hunter, A., Kramer, J., & Nuseibeh, B. (2009). Inconsistency handling in multiperspective specifications. Software Engineering, IEEE Transactions on, 20(8), 569-578.
Finkelstein, A., Kramer, J., & Goedicke, M. (2010). Viewpoint oriented software development. London: University of London, Imperial College of Science and Technology, Department of Computing.
Nuseibeh, B., & Finkelstein, A. (2006). Viewpoints: A vehicle for method and tool integration. New York: International Workshop.
Nuseibeh, B., Kramer, J., & Finkelstein, A. (2008). A framework for expressing the relationships between multiple views in requirements specification. Software Engineering, IEEE Transactions on, 20(10), 760-773.
Runeson, P., Host, M., Rainer, A., & Regnell, B. (2012). Case study research in software engineering: Guidelines and examples. New York: Wiley.
Appendix
Resources
Colleges offering software engineering course in the US
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
- Stanford University.
- Princeton University.
- Rochester Institute of Technology.
- Clarkson University.
- Milwaukee School of Engineering.
- Mississippi State University.