What Are Software Engineer Qualifications? (With Skills)

Updated 26 July 2023

A software engineer designs and develops software programs and maintains and upgrades these tools to enhance their security and stability. These engineers possess proficiency in programming languages, operating systems, web technologies and data structures. Knowing about the qualifications necessary for this career can help you pursue relevant education and gain applicable skills. In this article, we define software engineer qualifications, explain 'How to become a software engineer and list some of their skills?'

Please note that none of the companies, institutions or organisations mentioned in this article are associated with Indeed.

What Are Software Engineer Qualifications?

Software engineer qualifications are credentials that you can gain to apply for rewarding roles and advance your engineering career. These credentials can include your education, work experience and skill set. When employers share qualifications in a job description for a software engineer role, they may state that they require candidates to possess a degree in computer science or a related subject. While most organisations typically require a master's degree in computer science for senior roles, they may post entry-level jobs requiring little or no experience.

Your soft and hard skills are also a major component of these qualifications. For instance, if you have pursued online courses or have secured certifications to gain new skills, you may be more qualified for an open engineer role and have a competitive advantage over other candidates. Knowledge of cloud computing technologies, algorithms and software development tools are some examples of these qualifications. Companies may prefer to hire engineers with critical thinking, time management, attention to detail and problem-solving skills.

How To Become A Software Engineer?

Consider the following steps to become a software engineer:

1. Complete your education

The first step is completing your high school education. Pursuing subjects such as mathematics, physics and chemistry may be important eligibility criteria for taking competitive examinations, so consider opting for these subjects. If your school allows you to select optional subjects, consider selecting computer science. While completing your education, you may also prepare for entrance tests.

2. Complete entrance examinations

After completing your education, consider completing competitive exams. While some universities may offer admissions based on your merit, others may give admissions based on an entrance examination score. Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) is a national entrance exam that students take to get admission to engineering colleges. The JEE-Main and JEE-Advanced are two examinations under JEE. If you wish to pursue engineering in computer science from the Indian Institute of Technology, appearing for JEE-Main is essential. Some colleges may also conduct their own entrance exams.

3. Pursue additional courses after graduating

A bachelor of technology in computer science is a four-year programme that includes subjects such as linear algebra, calculus, data structures and algorithms, digital logic design, computer networks, database and information systems, implementation of programming languages and artificial intelligence. Apart from theory, there are also many lab subjects. After graduating, consider pursuing other short- or long-term courses to strengthen your software engineering and computer programming knowledge. DevOps engineering, full stack development, back-end development, cybersecurity, cloud computing and big data are some specialisations you can explore.

4. Examine the work of other software engineers

Explore the work of other fellow engineers and study their code to understand how they develop programs. There are many repositories where you may obtain code. This exercise can help you improve your coding skills, enhance your analytical abilities and identify the best coding practices. After making observations, consider writing your own code. This can help you understand how to test, and debug code and enhance your problem-solving skills.

5. Find internships

After graduating and pursuing certifications, aim to secure an internship. This can allow you to gain industry experience, build an impressive portfolio, and gain valuable soft and technical skills. Internships can also help you meet industry experts and senior engineers from whom you can learn. This may give you the opportunity to gain contacts and earn a full-time job referral.

6. Apply for software engineer jobs

After completing your education and internship, write a resume and cover letter and apply for jobs. If you do not possess full-time work experience, focus your resume, and cover letter on your education, skills, certifications and internship experiences. To apply for jobs, visit job boards and company websites to see if there are openings. Fill out application forms and share relevant details with hiring organisations.

Key Responsibilities Of A Software Engineer

Here are some key responsibilities of a software engineer to help you understand their routine work:

Developing and maintaining software applications
Creating multi-platform versions of software packages
Preparing information security reports and sharing insights
Performing risk assessments for various information systems
Using software design principles and methods to devise software solutions
Writing and validating code and optimising software tools for speed and stability
Helping clients understand new features of software applications
Developing automated test scripts to deliver high-quality software
Following Agile practices and collaborating with the engineering manager
Working with test, and documentation teams to test a program's features and functionalities

Key Skills For A Software Engineer

Here are some skills software engineers may possess:

Knowledge of programming languages

Software engineers use different programming languages to write and execute code. Knowledge of different languages can greatly increase their chances of securing rewarding job opportunities. While these engineers often use Python and JavaScript, knowledge of HyperText Markup Language (HTML) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) can help them work with front-end developers in web development. They also use C++ when designing and analysing high-level computer programs with complex architectures. These engineers may be proficient in using Structured Query Language (SQL), Ruby and Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP).

Object-oriented design (OOD)

OOD is a software design methodology that helps engineers represent real-world entities as objects in code. Collections of these objects interact with each other in code to perform varied tasks. Strong OOD knowledge can help these engineers with concepts such as encapsulation, inheritance and polymorphism. A software engineer can develop highly flexible and maintainable programs by following the principles of OOD. This software can help them design robust system architectures, decrease development time, use fewer resources and increase code reusability.

Proficiency with databases

Database design, SQL and relational database queries are some important database concepts. Engineers often apply these concepts to retrieve and manipulate data during software development processes. These databases store different data types, such as customer information and inventory details. While these engineers typically do not create data models, they usually work with data modellers to analyse them. Proficient software developers possess in-depth knowledge of database design principles, and work adeptly with querying languages and database management systems.

Web development

Software engineers are proficient in various web development technologies, including HTML, CSS and JavaScript. These languages help them develop efficient web solutions. As web development involves front-end and back-end development, these engineers typically possess knowledge about their frameworks and libraries. For server-side development, these engineers apply their knowledge of various languages, such as PHP, Python and Java, allowing them to work with a website's infrastructure and visual elements. They also use their web development skills to design mobile applications. These skills often require an understanding of web standards, and protocols, web frameworks and full-stack development.

Cloud computing

Cloud computing allows users to access applications and services hosted in data centres. Software engineers apply cloud computing skills to develop, and deploy more efficient, secure and cost-effective software programs. These skills enable them to develop applications and databases that perform on the cloud. Using languages such as Python, Java and Ruby helps these engineers to accomplish cloud engineering tasks efficiently. Software as a service, platform as a service and infrastructure as a service are three categories of cloud computing. Using these solutions, they can develop functional cloud software tools.

Analytical thinking

Analytical thinking is evaluating information and using this assessment to devise practical solutions to problems. A software engineer who thinks analytically can help an organisation review its code, determine the causes of errors, and issues in a program and conduct research to improve a program's efficiency. An engineer with these skills realises the significance of attention to detail, develops hypotheses, evaluates solutions and makes predictions regarding the performance of a software program or code.