The Reality of Being a Software Engineer
As digital era encroach to every sections, the popularity of providing technology solution to every single thing is getting popular. And with that, the popularity of Software Engineer also follows.
With the huge demand of Software Engineer in the market, it also comes with several perks, most notably that it will pay quite well in almost any market you are in. It also provide you with the capability to work remotely, because the nature of the work provides a large amount of flexibility, making Software Engineer only need their computer to do all of their works, and of course their coffee (or tea).
With the popularity, people are getting in into the train too. Hopping into bootcamp or doing independent study.But I’m here to say that not everything looks that pretty. The fact is that, with good things also comes several sad truth behind it.
I’m not here to scare you, but consider it as a way to help you prepare for what is to come. Without further ado, I will present you with good and bad things about being a Software Engineer.
It Offers A Very Interesting Benefit
Unsurprisingly, many people changed direction and went to Software Engineer with this being one of their top reasons.A lot of companies are now depending with technology capability in order to compete with the market and one of their most important asset to deliver that capability is with the help of Software Engineer. As demand rises, it also comes with better buying power. With how the technology has changed our lives, becoming a software engineer has became like the modern era gold rush.
Competitive Market
With the interesting benefit provided by being a software engineer, competition also naturally came by. Sometimes even to get a fresh graduate job, you need to have a working experience, what a crazy world it is!With the amount the people that jumps toward the train in becoming a software engineer, finding a good opportunity is not always easy.
There Is Always New And Exciting Things
Working as a Software Engineer, you will never run out of challenges and new things to learn. Technology keep changing and updating itself every year. It will keep you busy and entertain you to keep you from getting bored.Even some technologies keep updating itself with new things each time, so even if you are still using the same technology, it will also keep itself updated as it needed.There is always a new challenge everyday that you can tackle and solve.
The Consistency To Keep Learning
Not running out of new things is a good thing, but also has a bad side effect in a way. Being a Software Engineer means being a student for your whole career.Having a new things to study means you need to put your mind and time towards it. As technology keep on changing, your capability to update yourself is a must in its own self.This is one of the barrier that many people face throughout their career. As being left behind in this world can means getting stuck and outdated as a Software Engineer.
The Capability To Work Everywhere
One of the perks that Software Engineer can get is the capability to work remotely, from anywhere. Unlike most conventional jobs which the employees need to go into office to finish up their work, Software Engineers only needs their computer and coffee, then they will be good for the whole day. Capability to work from anywhere means you erasing that commuting time, the ability to work from across the country and working from your favorite coffee shop.
The Responsibility To Work Anytime
Also one of the ‘perks’ is that Software Engineer is mostly capable to work anytime as usually the working hours are ‘flexible’, as long as they get their things done. But as time goes, there are moments where unforeseen incident happens and it could happen anytime. It’s very hard to predict when an incident will happen, but when it does, it’s usually Engineers responsibility to resolve it.
Capability To Adapt Is Very Important
Being a Software Engineer, even in the same company, across different team can result in a very different culture and working experience because of how versatile the work can be. This can be either a good and a bad thing, but one thing for sure it that the capability to adapt for a Software Engineer is a very important thing.It’s always an additional homework for Software Engineer to understand and learn how their team works, but doing that homework will not be fruitless.Most of the time Software Engineer will not work alone, they will be a part of a team and work will be done together in the team, so understanding the team will not be a wasteful investment.
Reaching into the end, if you really aspire to become a Software Engineer, don’t let all the things i have mentioned above become a barrier for you, but let it be something to keep in your mind so you can match your expectations once you become one.
Being a Software Engineer is not all pretty but once you get through some of the phase, you will get used to it. Treat it as a journey and don’t worry too much about what’s coming next, because being a Software Engineer it’s just a long journey ahead.
As always, thanks for reading through my article. I do hope that you find my article useful for you.
Being a Software Engineer isn’t the finish line, it’s the starting line.
