Advice for a career in software development

Before applying for any job you need to have a clear understanding on what you want to do and why. This is especially important for software development due to the broad range of skills and roles available.

Do your research and think about the exact role you want, whether this is in product development, product testing, or automation. Going blindly into a position isn’t the best approach here, what you should do is focus on something you are interested in and have a passion for, and search around for work experience or internships to get a general feel of the industry.

The common software myths

The biggest misconception that surrounds the world of software is that every developer is a ‘geek’ and antisocial – I’m pleased to say this is far from the truth! Gone are the days where we hide away in small ‘cupboard’ rooms, glued to the screen, completely unaware of how to interact with anything that’s not digital. In fact, I have found that the best software engineers are the ones who know the tech inside out and can engage easily with customers. This lets them see the product from every angle.

Developers and engineers are engaging and involved because they have to be. You need to be connected with everyone in the business, and all its customers, so you can improve the product to meet their demands, or those of the wider industry.

Having a compatible personality

To be a successful software developer or engineer, you need to broaden your knowledge further than just the technology. Getting an understanding of the development life cycle and the business context is critical. A lot of engineers focus purely on technology per se and ignore the rest of the business. This can lead to stunted products that are simply unfit for purpose.

A degree of curiosity and diligence is also required. You should be constantly asking questions, such as:

• Why is this needed?
• Why does it matter?
• Does it improve people’s lives / save people money?
• Why are we doing this?

Asking questions will help you assess and improve not only the product, but also the business and the role – but only if you’re persistent and work hard on making these improvements.

A digital degree

Generally, for a career in software development, you will need a degree in a relevant subject. This could be in software development or software engineering, but it can also expand to other subjects such as mathematics, computer science or information technology.

However, if you haven’t studied at a degree level, or if you have studied a subject that you believe isn’t relevant, then you should consider taking a course that will give you the basics in programming and programming language.

A typical working day

A software developer’s day-to-day will usually be full of planned actions that act as part of the product roadmap, but it may also include the occasional unplanned work such as responding to customer support or fixing a bug in a product.

Typically, you will be part of a small team, working to analyse a problem, and will be working in SCRUMs (a list of projects with set actions, meetings and ‘sprints’ with timed deadlines). Alongside this, you will also have to keep an open communication with the support team to ensure all issues are fixed as soon as possible, and manage product release and data migration as well.

Keeping on top of it

The best piece of advice I can give for anyone going into the industry is that the world is constantly changing. That rate of change is also increasing, so you need to stay on top of it. You should never stop learning because there is always going to be something new just around the corner – that goes for any industry. You should be prepared to be open about new business models and new types of jobs that could drastically change your day-to-day work life.

Overall, a software developer needs to be ready to embrace the changes, be engaging with the product and every aspect of the business, and have a desire to learn more than just what they have to work with.

Good luck.

Access Health and Social Care supply specialist health and social care technology to community care providers, care homes and numerous other organisations across the sector.