How to become a software engineer

If you have a love for computing and appreciate well-made software; maybe software engineering is the right path for you. You can learn to design and create computer systems to solve real-world problems.

CAREER PROSPECTS CAREERS CHOOSING A COURSE UNDERGRADUATE

Philip Circuit 11 Jan 2024

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Routes to becoming a software engineer
Skills you’ll need
Finding work experience
How to get a job as a software engineer
What it's like to be a software engineer

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Routes to becoming a software engineer

Traditionally, the career path of a software engineer required an undergraduate degree. However, there are now several options for getting the training and education you need to become a software engineer. If you have a degree, you may be able to apply for a place on a graduate training scheme with a company. Training schemes are often open to all graduates, not just people with a degree in computing.

If you don’t think university is for you, you can go through a software engineering higher apprenticeship. You’ll need 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher apprenticeship.

Undergraduate degrees 

The most common path for a software engineer is to study for a bachelor’s degree. A bachelor’s degree involves studying one, or sometimes two, subjects in detail. It’s the most common undergraduate degree in the UK and is a level 6 qualification, a bachelor's degree typically takes four years to complete. A software engineering bachelor’s degree can include courses in mathematics, software architecture, networking, and programming languages.

Typical software engineering degree entry requirements are ABB–BBC Typical offers A levels – ABB–BBC UCAS points – 112–128 points, including an A Level in a relevant subject.

Degree apprenticeships

If you’d like to get some hands-on, practical experience while studying you could combine work and study while earning a salary, a degree apprenticeship is worth considering. Which apprenticeships are available, and how you apply, depends on where you live. Companies may offer code courses where you can learn a specific language such as Python and work on projects while studying.

You’ll still study your chosen subject, which your employer will pay for, but you’ll do so part-time alongside work. These courses are employer-led and will usually take the same length of time to complete as an undergraduate degree.

The entry requirements are set by both the employer and the course provider.

You can search for apprenticeship vacancies via Find an apprenticeship.

Postgraduate degrees

A bachelor's degree in software engineering or computer science is the standard minimum qualification for a career as a software engineer. However, within a competitive, growing workspace, having a master's degree is becoming more of a demand due to industry standards of higher programming knowledge.

Postgraduate software engineering courses enabling you to add to your skills with intensive classes, practical sessions, and group work. These courses usually take a year to complete full time or two years part time. An undergraduate degree in a related subject is usually a minimum entry requirement.

Skills you’ll need

There’s more to the role than just knowing how to code, you’ll also need:  

Attention to detail

Creativity and imagination
Organisational skills  
Self-motivation 
Great communication  
Negotiation skills

Adaptability
Ability to analyse complex technical information
Good research skills
Excellent problem-solving skills
Experience building software applications

Familiarity with UI Toolkits and frameworks
The ability to manage multiple projects while meeting deadlines
Passion for developing engaging consumer experiences
Provide other engineers with development and testing support
Solid knowledge of Java

An understanding of software engineering best practices

Finding work experience

Whether you chose to do an apprenticeship or a bachelor’s degree, having some work experience can not only help your application onto a software engineering degree, but also make you stand out at job interviews after graduation. 

Try looking for software work experience by

shadowing someone to see what their job is like, either via parent or family friend or by contacting different companies to see if can work a few days a week.

doing a 1- or 2-week work placement in a company
getting an internship

How to get a job as a software engineer

Whether you have had work experience or not you need to create a portfolio of projects that you have worked on. So, if you say that you are confident using JavaScript then you have a project that you’ve worked on to back up this skillset. Go over projects that you have worked on or studied thoroughly before an interview in case you are asked any in depth questions, you want to be prepared and have technical answers and knowledge about the code and projects, brush up on your data structures and different kinds of algorithms.

You should also be prepared for technical interviews with a task to complete. In such a technical role your employer will want to see your attention to detail and coding skills in a practical task.

When searching for vacancies, try to look at specific roles that require your skillset instead of looking at all the software engineering roles available. Software engineers are highly sort after by companies so if you’re able to find a job, you’ll want to make sure that you’ll be using what you’ve studied to the best effect.

What it's like to be a software engineer

You’ll work on one or two week “sprints” where certain tasks must be completed in that time frame.

Create and monitor code
Make sure that the code you’ve created is functioning correctly
You’ll attend team meetings around new project development or new features for existing projects.
You’ll work with other programmers to plan implementation and solve problems

If a programme doesn't perform as expected or testers find it challenging to use, software engineers need to go back to the design process to fix the problem.

Is a role as a software engineer right for you?

Behind every computer programme or app, there’s a software engineer.

Do you love using computer programs and apps? Can you tell the difference between good, smooth app functionality and a bad programme? If you're interested in computer science and app or web development, software engineering may be perfect path for you to take. If you love computing and have already investigated coding or like the idea of writing code, then being a software engineer could be your perfect career.