Programmed living

Programmed living
Sangita Sharma Phukan

Life is about reaching out and making lives comfortable. Information Technology is the modern- day vehicle to provide that cozy drive to people and making their lives simple and comfortable. Software programmers are the brains behind this great service to humanity. These programmers or engineers, as they are called, code and encode programmes on the computer to create the most enchanting solutions for our everyday needs.

With the intriguing growth of computers and information technology in everyday lives of citizens across the globe, there has been a growing need and demand to develop new and advanced software embedded with innovative, fascinating and user -friendly features.

Incorporating new features and applications involves a lot of skill, knowledge, training and research, as it influences the lives of millions of people around the world. Software professionals need to apply the principles and techniques of computer science, engineering and mathematics to design, develop, test and evaluate the software and systems that enable computers to perform many applications.

Roles and responsibilities

The job of a software professional involves a lot of challenges. Apart from being technically skilled and innovative, a software engineer needs to handle presentations, accompany sales team and also engage in client servicing.

The following is a broad outline of the role and responsibility of software professionals:

Applications :

Systems development :

Designing & developing software :

Programming/coding:

Software design engineer:

Software design engineer lead:

Programming writer:

Qualifications

Software programming is a highly specialised field and requires advanced training. The basic qualification required is a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or an advanced programme in software engineering.

Knowledge of a variety of computing technologies is necessary to succeed in this very challenging profession. A person has to be equipped with specialised skill sets to make his mark in this demanding industry that asks for innovation at every step.

Various institutions and colleges are offering courses in computer science and software engineering all over the country. However, an advanced and specialised course gives a fillip to a career in this field.

Career graph

In today’s environment, the software developer needs to emphasise on computer security and information assurance. For this, most hiring companies are providing training to their employees. This should be considered while opting for a course in software engineering.

Over and above the academic qualifications, it is imperative for aspirants to have strong problem solving and analytical skills, acumen to understand and learn new technological advancements quickly and a need to be innovative. Last but not the least, a software engineer must have very good communication skills to communicate with his team as well as well with clients and customers.

India has become the global destination for all IT needs. The high quality of human resource in India is acclaimed the world over. It has been identified as one of the fastest growing occupation since year 2004.

According to recent NASSCOM estimates, the Indian ICT industry will contribute 7 per cent of the country’s GDP by 2009, providing direct employment to more than 2.2 million people and indirect employment to nearly twice that number. The past few years have seen a gradual evolution of global perspectives about offshore outsourcing. India remains an integral part of any major global sourcing strategy.

"Software engineers are the most sought-after professionals today. Apart from software companies, a software engineer can find employment with software publishers, public sector bodies, electronics and computer manufacturing companies, banking and insurance sector, etc. They enjoy a wide plethora of avenues," informs R. Krishnan, Executive Director, Aptech Limited.

With the world caught in the web of Internet and communication becoming a soaring business, there is a massive demand and growth prospect for software professionals.

Conservative business segments like petroleum, power and heavy machinery and engineering firms are also recruiting software professionals for designing, data collection, analysis, drafting and creating customised software. It’s needless to talk about the telecommunication sector, wherein every passing day is witnessing innovation and growth. All telecom and mobile companies are hiring software professionals to create attractive and user - friendly software to get an edge over others in this very competitive market.

Money matters

Pay packages are colossal in this field. In fact, IT professionals are the highest paid employees today. At an entry level, a software professional earns nothing less than Rs, 25,000 to Rs 30,000 per month. The package goes to 10-12 lakh per annum after a few years of experience. This kind of quick growth cannot be expected elsewhere.

Another advantage for Indian software professionals is that they are in great demand abroad, especially in the Silicon Valley, US. Most professionals from India are hired at unimaginable pay packages. It is heartening to note that the Microsoft head office in the US has such a significant percentage of Indian professionals that the company has opened Indian food stalls in its canteen, has a cricket team and provides ample scope for Indians to enjoy cricket matches and also allows Indian girls to dress up in traditional attire. Home away from home indeed!

The scope of entrepreneurship is also available in this field. Software professionals can set up consultancy firms and provide necessary consultancy to meet the clients’ software and IT needs, developing and maintaining client’s web sites and intranets. These projects can earn a very good sum of money. Decent money can be earned from outsourced international projects.

Information technology is changing lives. With the right education and training, anyone can join this field and change lives. It is never late to be a software programmer. If you have the acumen to learn and innovate through technology, then join the bandwagon and write your own success code.

 The job of a programming writer is to write user-friendly conceptual, task-focused and reference content for users. This involves supervising and leading a team of software engineers assigned in designing and upgrading a software product. The design engineer is the creator of new software. He codes and designs new software for customised solutions. This is indeed a very fascinating job wherein the engineer guides and instructs the computer to perform a function. This requires developing algorithms, writing code, analysing and solving programming problems. Software engineers are involved in the designing and development of software for operating systems and network distribution.As a systems developer, the person has to co-ordinate the creation and maintenance of a company’s computer systems. This requires good coordination with various departments within the company, setting up intranets, i.e. the networks among all computers within the organisation. It’s a complete task of configuration, implementation and installation of computer systems. Here the professionals need to analyse users’ needs and then design, construct, test, and maintain computer applications and specialised utility programs. Sound knowledge of different programming languages, like C, C++, and Java, with Fortran and COBOL is required for this.