How to Become a Software Engineer: Career Guide, Courses, After 12th, Jobs, Scope, Salary

Qualifications Required to Become a Software Engineers

The major qualifications required in order to become a Software Designer are listed below for your reference,

• Aspiring candidates must clear class 12 board exams from a recognized board with a minimum score of 55% and above along with mandatory subject combinations of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.
• The candidate must clear the entrance test for getting enrolled in the undergraduate or postgraduate courses such as JEE Mains, JEE Advanced, VITEEE, BITSAT etc.
• For pursuing a postgraduate course, the candidate must have a bachelor’s degree in software engineering, or computer science, etc,

Types of Software Designers

The different types of Software Engineer roles available in the job market are as follows:

Web Developer

Business Information Analyst

Computer System Analyst

Information Security Analyst

Steps to Become a Software Engineer

The following steps provide a complete guide of how a candidate can become a software engineer

How to become a Software Engineer in India

In order to be a Software Engineer in India, the candidate must complete class 12th with relevant subjects such as Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Computer Science. After class 12th, the candidate can get enrolled in various undergraduate or postgraduate courses from top colleges in India. The candidate can also go for advanced courses such as certification or diploma courses. This helps the candidate to develop a brief understanding of the field. 

Some of the steps that must be followed to become a software engineer are provided below for your reference,

School Level Preparation: In order to become a Software Engineer the steps that are to be followed are mentioned below,

• The candidate must opt for science stream along with computer science as the main subject.

• The candidate must qualify the entrance exams in order to get admission in top software engineering colleges.
• The candidate can start preparing for the entrance test after completing class 10th by taking admission in coaching institutes such as FIITJEE, etc.
• The candidate must solve previous year questions in order to get an understanding of the pattern of entrance exams.

How to Become a Software Engineer After 12th

Undergraduate Preparations: Some of the crucial steps that are to be followed to become a Software Engineer after completing Class 12th board exams are mentioned below for your reference,

• The candidate aspiring to become software engineers must focus on clearing the entrance exams to get enrolled in engineering colleges.
• The aspiring candidate can opt for undergraduate or postgraduate software engineering courses such as B.Tech in Computer Science, B.Sc in Computer Science, etc. . 
• The candidates can also enroll in alternative courses such as a diploma or Post graduate diploma in software engineering such as Diploma in Software Engineering, Computer Science & Engineering, Post Graduate diploma in System software development, Embedded System Design etc. 
• Candidates during their undergraduate courses should focus on developing a deep understanding by pursuing other certification courses such as Java Programming, Web Application Technologies, Personal computer Software, etc. 
• The candidate must try to maintain a minimum aggregate of 55% in order to pursue a Postgraduate program.

Post-Graduation Preparation: The key steps to be followed to become a after completing Undergraduate courses are,

• The candidates shall start preparing for entrance exams such as GATE, AP PGCET, TS PGCET, . VIITMEE, etc.
• The candidate must understand the pattern and syllabus.
• Keep proper track of college rankings 
• The candidates must choose their specialization while pursuing masters such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science, cybersecurity, Cloud Computing etc. 
• The candidate can take part in various workshops or internships to get the real world knowledge about the role as a software engineer
• After a master's degree, the candidate can opt to do a doctorate in software engineering if they want to research. 

Software Engineer Courses

Some of the top courses that can be pursued in order to become a Software Engineer are tabulated below for your reference, 

How to Become a Software Engineer Abroad

There are several colleges apart from India that offer software engineering courses. Some of the top choices among the candidates for pursuing software engineering are the UK, USA, Canada & Australia. Some of the top colleges abroad that offer software engineering courses are Stanford University, Yale University.

Some of the basic requirement to become a software engineer abroad are mentioned below for your reference,

• Candidates should clear their class 12th boards or equivalent exam 
• The candidates must have Mathematics, Physics, chemistry and computer Science in their class 12th.
• The candidates must pass either of the English proficiency tests such as IELTS or TOEFL.
• The candidate must score a minimum of 6.5 in IELTS.
• The candidate must produce a Statement of purpose (SOP) for applying to universities abroad.
• For pursuing Post graduation, the candidate must have a minimum score of 70% in their master’s.
• Apart from the English proficiency tests candidates must also take the GRE exam, SAT, GMAT (any of these) etc.