software engineer Career Path | See the Career Paths People Really Take

senior software engineer

user experience designer

software engineering intern

software developer

teaching assistant

software engineer

web developer

research assistant

An algorithm engineer focuses on the design, analysis, implementation, optimization, profiling and experimental evaluation of computer algorithms, bridging the gap between algorithm theory and practical applications of algorithms in software engineering. Algorithm engineers develop new algorithms or optimize existing algorithms by following various data structures. They often are focused on creating new or better ways of doing things. An algorithm engineer’s responsibilities require they create cost effective scalable systems and develop innovative algorithm solutions, research and experiment innovative ideas, design solutions for problems using algorithms, research on algorithm improvements and implement data processing.

algorithm engineer

A computational biologist is a scientist who uses mathematical and computational techniques to study biological systems. The job role typically involves developing algorithms and software tools to analyze large datasets, understanding the underlying biology of living systems, using machine learning and artificial intelligence methods, collaborating with researchers in other disciplines, presenting research findings at conferences or seminars and publishing results in scientific journals. Computational biologists may also be involved in designing experiments for laboratory studies or clinical trials.

computational biologist

The Consultant is an expert in matters concerning their field, and provides advice to improve business practices.  Their role is identifying the cause of problems, and presenting their solutions in a comprehensive and detailed manner.  Their responsibilities are to undertake short-term and long-term projects to address a variety of issues and needs, meet with management or appropriate staff to understand their requirements, conduct situational and data analysis to identify and understand a problem or issue, present and explain findings to executives, provide advice or suggestions for improvement according to objectives, and formulate plans to implement recommendations and overcome objections.

Discover the role of an independent consultant working remotely on large-scale development projects. Learn about daily responsibilities, the importance of self-motivation, and balancing challenging tasks to build work life balance.

consultant

<h2>My Role</h2><p>I am an independent consultant, and currently, I'm working as a project manager on two different types of projects. One is a big development project, 1800 units in Davis, California.&nbsp;</p><h2><br></h2><h2>Job Responsibilities</h2><p>I manage all aspects of the project, coordinating with consultants, the city, and the owners.</p><p>Typically, I'll have Zoom calls in the morning because I work remotely most of the time now. I'll have multiple Zoom calls with the city, the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) consultant, or with the builder and the clients. I make a lot of phone calls and communicate with people to make sure things are progressing, following up to ensure tasks are on track or initiating new ones as needed. I also put together documentation to support other aspects of the project.</p><p>My role involves ensuring that everything is done correctly and meets the legal requirements as well as the city's ordinances. A key part for me has always been knowing when to bring in the right people with the expertise and using their knowledge to advance the project. I enjoy collaborating with different entities and seeing everything come together, regardless of the project's size.</p><h2><br></h2><h2>Important Job Skills</h2><p>I recommend getting into this role if you're independently motivated and a self-starter. Being self-motivated allows you to create opportunities for yourself. You don't necessarily have to work independently, but even within a larger group, you need to take ownership. Don't wait for directions; be proactive and anticipate needs.</p><h2><br></h2><h2>Career Advice</h2><p>You have to love what you do. If you love your work, it doesn't feel like a grind. But sometimes, you will have to grind. You might get projects or assignments you don’t love, but completing those tasks builds experience and can lead to opportunities you do enjoy. The challenging projects come back to benefit you in the future.</p><p><br></p>

A design engineer applies the principles of engineering to the design process of a product or system.  A design engineer usually works with a team of other engineers and other types of designers (e.g. industrial designers), to develop conceptual and detailed designs that ensure a product functions, performs, and is fit for its purpose. They may also work with marketers to develop the product concept and specifications to meet customer needs, and may direct the design effort.

design engineer

A Plant Manager is responsible for the overall operations of a manufacturing plant or facility. They are in charge of ensuring that production goals are met and that all safety, quality, and efficiency standards are maintained. The Plant Manager typically oversees the day-to-day activities of their staff, which can include hiring personnel, setting up schedules, monitoring inventory levels and ordering supplies as needed. Additionally they will develop procedures to ensure efficient operation while also working with other departments such as engineering or sales to meet customer demands.

Working in an operations role requires many skills. You need to be a hands on worker who is flexible, strategic and forward thinking.  See how this Operations Manager stays firm but fluid to be a team player running the warehouse of a sustainability company.

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plant manager

<h2 dir="ltr">What I Do:</h2>
<p dir="ltr">I'm the general manager for a recycling company. My role is a very hands-on role. There's a lot of strategy and forward thinking involved, but there's also daily instances of having to roll up my own sleeves to help my warehouse team or my drivers.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Career Skills:</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Operations leaders need to be firm but fluid in their approach. The best laid plans will change in the blink of an eye. You have to be an effective communicator. You're an effective communicator with your team, across your organization and with your customers. You have to have a crisp and clear vision of where you want your operations to go and what will help or hinder you in getting there. You have to be a good people leader even though good is probably a very subjective term.&nbsp;</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Operations Manager Salary:</h2>
<p dir="ltr">For our company we offer a salary range of $90,000 to $150,000 annual fee and that's dependent on multiple factors.&nbsp;</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Career Path Outlook:</h2>
<p dir="ltr">I have a lot of optimism for a career in operations. I think you will become trained and skilled across many different industries and as a whole I think operations is the heartbeat of most organizations. At the heart of any operation is its workforce. So understand how different personalities and motivations fit within a company's whole. I lead with the intent on being a positive role model to my young team that will help them become strong leaders and independent makers.</p>

Principal software engineer is a professional who leads the development team and applies the principles of software engineering to the design, development, maintenance, testing, and evaluation of computer software. Responsibilities of a principal software engineer include gathering requirements, defining system functionality, supervising team, propose project architecture and technologies, designing systems software website and applications, and writing code in various computer programming languages.

Learn about being a Software Engineer from someone with 25 years of experience. He shares that not everyone needs a degree in Computer Science, but it is the most common path. If you enjoy technology and breaking down problems, this might be the path for you.

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principal software engineer

<h2 dir="ltr">Engineering Career:</h2>
<p dir="ltr">I spent 25 years being a software engineer, mostly on the server side. I was working with APIs, backend development databases, SQL.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Software Engineer Requirements:</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Most people are expected to have a computer science degree. It's not 100% true. Some of the best engineers do come in with a different type of degree. But more often than not, people are expected to have gone to college and work in computer science.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Career Skills:</h2>
<p dir="ltr">I feel like people need to have both strong communication skills and also a good amount of humility, because we all have pros and cons. We all have things that we're good at. We have things that we're not the best at, but maybe there's somebody else on the team to do a better job. So the better that you are at knowing what your strengths and limitations are, the better it's going to be for the team. The ones who really want to improve their skills will seek out people who are better than they are and learn from them.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Career Tip:</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Make sure that you enjoy breaking problems down, implementing the behavior of the system and code, talking to other people about technology, about pros and cons, all those kinds of things. It's going to help you be a much more successful software engineer.</p>

A Research and Development Engineering Intern works to gain experience in the design, development and delivery of  systems, processes and equipment.  Their role is to discover facts or perform research on the investigation, review and application of engineering theories and principles.  Their responsibilities are to understand the consumer and translate their needs into strategies and designs, use quantitative and qualitative modeling tools to define what the consumer needs, and generate technical requirements to build products.

research and development engineering intern

A research assistant assists in academic or private research and are directed by more senior researchers to provide support in furthering experiments and gathering and analyzing information. Research assistant responsibilities are to collect and log experimental data, conduct statistical analysis of data sets, prepare graphs and spreadsheets to portray results, create presentation slides and posters to help researchers present findings, review print and online resources to gather information and maintain laboratory equipment and inventory.

Curious about a career in ecology? Watch this insightful interview to learn how to get started, even without a college degree. Hear from a research assistant studying Florida scrub jays, who shares the highs and lows of the job, the importance of field experience, and tips for breaking into the field. If you love nature and science, this video is a must-watch!

<h2>How to Start in Ecology</h2><p>You don't necessarily need a college degree, it might help,but you really just have to find a job where you can get some field experience under your belt&nbsp; and then work up within the company. Probably the easiest way to do it.</p><p><br></p><h2>How I Became a Research Assistant&nbsp;</h2><p>Personally, I got a college degree at Eckerd College, which is a local school in Florida, and I gained some research experience studying black skimmers, which is a kind of bird there.</p><p>One seasonal tech job in Oregon, where I was listening for birds and doing other research, like population surveys, and then I applied for this internship and worked my way up to the research assistant level.</p><h2><br></h2><h2>Research Assistant Requirements</h2><p>This position really requires that you're detail oriented for things like data entry, but also able to be super outdoorsy or pay attention to little behavioral issues and kind of be okay with waking up at sunrise and whacking through all of that mess that’s really fun, stuff like that. So it really requires that you wear a lof of different hats. I love it.</p><p><br></p><h2>Average Day</h2><p>Currently what my average week looks like is waking up at sunrise, coming to the office, going out in our ATVs into this shrub. And then going to the three territories of different Florida scrub jays, which is the species that I study, and trying to find their nests. Continue monitoring the nests that we do find throughout the year and just generally collecting demography information on them, and it is super fun.</p><p><br></p><h2>Pros and Cons of a Field Research Assistant</h2><p>Some of the pros of this job are that I get to spend all of my mornings in nature, which is beautiful and awesome, and I get to learn so much about the ecosystem that I'm in.</p><p>And I also just love the people that I work with. I love the community here at the biological station. Some of the cons are that when you're having a rough morning in the field, you'll really just kind of wish you had an office job. So it's definitely not all peaches and roses being in nature every day.</p><p><br></p><h2>Advice From an Expert</h2><p><br></p><p>I would just recommend getting field experience early on, looking for those seasonal tech jobs and a lot of local places that&nbsp; do bird banding. You can reach out to them, and they're always accepting volunteers. That's a great experience to get.</p><p><br></p><h2>Things to Know</h2><p>Looking back, I do wish I had known how exhausting the job can be, because it's fun and the highs are so high, but the lows can be low and frustrating. But at the end of the day, I love my job and I love what I do, so it makes it all worth it.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p>

The Research Intern assists in academic or private research and are directed by more senior researchers to provide support in furthering experiments and gathering and analyzing information.  Their role is to gain practical experience in an organization by completing a variety of research duties.  Their responsibilities are preparing information and research materials, performing data collection, conducting analysis and taking ownership of the assigned tasks delegate to them, and performing clerical duties.

research intern

The Scientific Advisor performs an intensive appraisal of product data and provides their skilled opinion on the project. Their role is to be liable for providing the leadership of their organization with data on technical and scientific problems. Their responsibilities are to mentor and guide others on selected tasks, be liable for key scientific initiatives,  endeavor and be dedicated to the resolution of science and technology problems, gather data by conducting analysis and observation within the field, and prepare in-depth reports concerning the procedural recommendations.

scientific advisor

Senior software engineer is a professional who applies the principles of engineering to the design, development, maintenance, testing, and evaluation of computer software. Responsibilities of a software engineer include gathering requirements, defining system functionality, designing systems software website and applications, and writing code in various computer programming languages.  A senior software engineer may have additional responsibilities compared to software engineer, such as people management or varying project oversight.

A software developer, sometimes called a computer programmer, a programmer, is a person who creates computer software by using programming languages (e.g., Assembly, COBOL, C, C++, C#, JavaScript, Lisp, Python), to write the code of the software. A software developer can be a specialist in one area of computers, or be a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software.

Are you interested in AI, web development or other tech related things? Being a Software Developer may be for you. It requires problem solving, adaptability and having a continuous learning mindset. Learn some insider insights from this Software Developer, to see if this role is the one for you.

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<h2 dir="ltr">Career Skills:</h2>
<p dir="ltr">I am a software developer. I wanted to share a few insights from a career that I believe might be valuable to those of you who are starting the journey in the tech world. In software development, a few essential skills are problem solving, adaptability and a continuous learning mindset. Technology evolves rapidly, so being open to change and staying curious is a must.&nbsp;</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Career Advice:</h2>
<p dir="ltr">One piece of advice I'd give to someone starting their career in software development is to build a strong foundation in the basics and don't be afraid to ask questions. It's a field where you learn by doing and seeking help when needed.&nbsp;</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Career Impacts:&nbsp;</h2>
<p dir="ltr">So early in my career, I decided to specialize in web development, mobile apps and AI. That choice had a significant impact and I wouldn't change a thing. My career as a software developer has allowed me to dive into the world of evolving technology. It's a field that constantly challenges me to learn and adapt and problem solve, which is something I find incredibly rewarding.</p>

A software engineer is a professional who applies the principles of engineering to the design, development, maintenance, testing, and evaluation of computer software. Responsibilities of a software engineer include gathering requirements, defining system functionality, designing systems software, websites, and applications, and writing code in various computer programming languages.

A software engineering intern (also called a software developer intern, computer programmer intern, a programmer intern) is a person who works in a temporary position with an emphasis on on-the-job training, and depending on the level of responsibility given by the internship, creates or helps create computer software by using programming languages (e.g., Assembly, COBOL, C, C++, C#, JavaScript, Lisp, Python), to write the code of the software. A software engineering intern can be a specialist in one area of computers, or be a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software.

A teaching assistant (TA), or teachers aide, helps a teacher or professor with instructional responsibilities. Teaching assistants are present in all levels of schooling, and teaching assistants who are graduate students often teach classes on their own.  In some cases, teaching assistants may help a teacher during class by supporting students with learning disabilities, such as ADHD, Autism, or even physical disabilities, such as blindness or deafness. They also help teachers prepare lesson plans, track student attendance, and set up necessary material for classes.

This teacher, is creating a fun teaching environment that he didn't get in his early education. It was the inspiration of one of his own teachers who shaped him in to who he is today. This teacher has the profound opportunity to inspire, empower, and shape the future leaders of tomorrow. 

<h2><strong>Why I Choose Teaching</strong></h2><p>I hated school with a passion. Teachers were mean to me. Then junior year of high school, I was in a class, an American history class, and the teacher of that class was also a track coach and ended up loving running and ended up starting to like school because this teacher just brought it alive and was really passionate about it. And I could tell and made me want to learn more and more. So after my junior year, instead of Ds, Cs, Ds and Fs, I was getting As and As, which was wonderful. And I never thought I'd go to college, but I ended up going to junior college to complete, continue running. And then after that, I had all these units and got transfer agreements to a university. And in that university, I ended up finding out that I loved kids and I loved teaching kids and being with kids and watching them learn and grow and just having a good laugh every day. And I just reflected back, said, you know, I'm going to make school fun and exciting for kids in a way that was not for me.</p><p><br></p><h2><strong>Early Career Tips</strong></h2><p>Make sure that you set aside money for retirement every month starting from the beginning, even if it's just a little. I know you don't make as much in the beginning as a veteran long term teacher, but it's really important to be prepared for the end of your career, even though you're just starting. Don't date anyone at work. It's the worst thing. It bites in the butt every time and from personal experience. Ask for help whenever you need it. Make sure that you get in good with your team, your grade level team, and always be nice. The custodian and the staff that work in the office, they work really hard and they pretty much run the school.</p><p><br></p><h2><strong>Teaching Requirements</strong></h2><p>You have to obviously have a bachelor's, some sorts of people now have a master's education and then you have to have a teaching credential program. Most universities have them. You have to get fingerprinted, you have to have TB tests. You have to have to have kind of a general like of children, you know, and kind of just asking for education and wanting to pass on your filters of life and how you see the world onto your own mind and what you need to be seeing.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p>

A Team Member assists customers in different divisions of the finance, healthcare, retail, marketing or recreational sectors.  Their role is executing tasks assigned by their manager diligently, on schedule, and to the highest standard, working with other team members to achieve daily targets, and answering or escalating concerns and queries.  Their responsibilities are completing a range of administrative tasks, participating in meetings and voicing concerns and suggestions for improvement, and prioritizing urgent tasks.

team member

The UX Designer creates websites that address user needs, solve problems, and are easy to interact with.  Their role is to understand product terms and user psychology, conduct thought and usability testing in order to gather feedback, and work with user interface designers to implement attractive designs.  Their responsibilities are to create personas through user research and data, define the right interaction model and estimate its progress, develop wireframes and prototypes around client needs, find inventive ways to solve UX problems, communicate design ideas and prototypes to developers, and keep informed of competitor results and industry trends.

Discover what it's like to be a user experience designer! Learn the 3 essential stills UX designers need, and explore a day in the life of a UX professional. Get insights on career paths, skills needed, and how to break into the industry

user experience (ux) designer

<h2>Why I Got Into User Experience (UX)</h2><p>I chose to become a user experience designer because it combines three things that I really love: design and problem-solving, tech, and human psychology. It's really the fusion of all three of those things. You need to know a little bit about each one of them to be a good user experience designer.</p><h2><br></h2><h2>What User Experience (UX) IS Like</h2><p>An average day in the life of a user experience designer is really varied. There's a lot of different things that this role does. It can be anything from gathering requirements for a new piece of software or feature to testing design that you've already produced through prototyping and usability testing with actual users. You get to interview them and watch what they do when they're going through the software to look for any moments of friction or confusion that might be found in the experience.</p><p>It also involves sitting down and doing design work either by yourself or in groups. Both are really great ways to actually do the work of designing new software experiences, maybe an app, maybe on the web, and it could be all different kinds of things. It's very, very varied, which I love.</p><h2><br></h2><h2>User Experience (UX) Requirements</h2><p>To become a user experience designer, ideally, you would go to school for design and learn the ins and outs of the process of design and understand technology. </p><h2><br></h2><h2>How I Got Into (User Experience) UX</h2><p>Personally, what I did was a 10-week boot camp for UX design that helped me accelerate my career and actually shift my career from one industry to the software industry. It gives you all the basics that you need to know. It's sort of a wide variety of all the skills, and then you can learn more and dig in. But that was a great jumping-off point for me to get into the industry.</p><p><br></p>

A web developer is a programmer who specializes in, or is specifically engaged in, the development of World Wide Web applications using a client server model. The applications typically use HTML, CSS and JavaScript in the client, PHP, ASP.NET (C#), Python or Java in the server, and http for communications between client and server. A web content management system is often used to develop and maintain web applications.

Software Engineer Career Path