Careers in Software Engineering
According to the U.S. Dept. of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Library Edition, Jan. 2008, pp.133-136
"Computer software engineers apply the principles of computer science and mathematical analysis to the design, development, testing, and evaluation of the software and systems that make computers work. The tasks performed by these workers evolve quickly, reflecting new areas of specialization or changes in technology, as well as the preferences and practices of employers."The same document indicates that
"Computer software engineers held about 857,000 jobs in 2006."The Wikipedia article on software engineering does a good job at explaining that software engineering is a profession dedicated to designing, implementing, and modifying software so that it is of higher quality, more affordable, maintainable, and faster to build. Software is now embedded in most man-made machinery and systems; a systematic approach to building software is critical for the reliable and safe operation of these systems.
"Employment of computer software engineers is projected to reach 1,181,000 by 2016, an increase of 324,000 or 38% in ten years."
"In May 2006, median annual earnings of wage-and-salary computer applications software engineers were $79,780.".
"In May 2006, median annual earnings of wage-and-salary computer systems software engineers were $83,370."
A U.K. site posts jobs in the software engineering sector. Reading the job postings gives an idea of the kinds of work software engineers do.
The Canadian company Research in Motion (RIM), maker of the Blackberry mobile computing and communication devices, has a web page devoted to the types of things they hire software engineers to do.
Google has a web site that allows anyone to search for jobs available at their locations around the world. I counted around 64 job openings for software engineers at Google's U.S. locations as of early March, 2011.
In late April, 2011, a search of the Apple Corporate jobs web site returned a list of 425 full time software engineering jobs around the world, with the majority (263, or 62%) being in the United States.
Last updated August 23, 2012. Please direct questions or comments to Brad Nickerson.