From Coding Skills to Job Offers: How to Get a Job as a Software Engineer

Do you want to know how to get a job as a software engineer? If so, Coding Temple has all of the information you need.

Software engineering is a fast-growing industry that can allow one to build wealth. However, many people have a hard time determining what exactly they should do to become a software engineer.

Here at Coding Temple, we help students of all backgrounds start their careers in tech, regardless of their experience. In this guide, we will outline everything you need to know about getting a software engineering job, so you can start preparing today.

Invest in Education

Before you can become a software engineer, one of the first things you must do is invest in education.

While software engineering can seem confusing, many options exist that will help you learn everything you need to make a career out of it. The two main routes involve getting a degree and attending bootcamps or online courses.

Computer Science Degrees

Because software engineering is a branch of computer science, many people choose to seek computer science degrees in college. When pursuing a computer science degree, you will learn how various types of applications work and how to build them.

The downside to pursuing a degree is that you will also need to take a plethora of other classes unrelated to computer science. This is because universities require students to have a certain number of credit hours before they can graduate.

Bootcamps and Courses

Unlike pursuing a degree, bootcamps do not require you to learn unrelated material. Instead, they allow students to focus solely on software engineering, which makes it much easier to learn.

Although some employers want their employees to have degrees, many hire those with plenty of bootcamp and course experience. Software engineering is one of the few industries in which you can get a job without having a degree if you have a solid portfolio.

Improve Your Skills

After investing in education, the next thing you must do is start improving your software engineering skills.

There are several ways to do this, all of which will help you become a better software engineer. To get a great job, it’s best to use each of these strategies:

Learn Various Languages

Becoming a versatile software engineer is an effective way to have more opportunities in the industry, and this can be done by learning various languages.

Some of the most common languages are JavaScript, HTML, CSS, Python, and SQL. If you can learn each of these, companies will be more likely to hire you, and you will have an easier time building applications.

When pursuing a degree or attending bootcamps, you will learn a little about each of these. However, you should find courses that focus on each language to learn as much as you can.

Take on Challenges

Another thing you can do to improve your skills is take on coding challenges. You can find a variety online, or you can come up with challenges yourself. For example, after learning a language, you can try to create something with it.

Taking on challenges will help you learn how to apply various concepts of software engineering in different scenarios. When seeking a software engineer job later, companies may test you on this, so it is best to practice ahead of time.

Seek Internships

While you can learn many things on your own, finding an internship is an effective way to improve your skills alongside professionals.

Keep in mind that many internships are unpaid, but you can find some that do pay. However, it may be harder to get an offer for a paid one unless you are pursuing a degree.

Soft Skills

Aside from improving your technical skills as a software engineer, you must also improve your soft skills.

Soft skills are skills that can be applied to any profession and include communication, adaptability, critical thinking, creativity, and more. In software engineering, these are necessary because you will face a variety of issues that will require working with others. You will also need to create unique applications, which will test your creativity.

You can improve these over time by collaborating and being open to feedback, which can be done in an internship or a bootcamp setting.

Network With Others

Whether you want to work alone or for a company, networking is the key to growing as a software engineer. Doing so will make it easier to find job opportunities, and you can recruit help whenever you are having a problem with something.

Here are some of the best ways to network:

Attend Events

Computer science events are held often in various parts of the world, and they are excellent places to meet like-minded individuals. No matter where you live, you can find a nearby event that will help you learn about the latest changes in computer science.

Join Online Communities

If you do not want to wait to visit an event to network, you can find a plethora of online communities to join. These can benefit anyone who wants to actively involve themselves in software engineering daily outside of work and education.

Many online coding communities are forum-based, like Stack Exchange, but several exist on platforms like Discord. When you join one of these communities, you can share ideas with other software engineers and learn more about solving different issues.

Establish Yourself Professionally

Another thing that will help you network with others is establishing yourself professionally. To do this, consider building a website that outlines what you do. It should also include your contact information, so consider creating a separate email and investing in another phone number.

You can also make business cards to hand out to others when attending events. This is often easier than trying to exchange contact information with someone, and you can spread your information to more people.

Create a Resume

One of the last things to do is create a resume that allows employers to get a glimpse of your background.

Spending some time making a good resume is crucial because it will give employers their first impressions of you. However, it does not take long to make one, as all you must do is outline your experience and the things you have worked on.

List Your Experience

Because you will be searching for a software engineering job, your resume should reflect your background in the field, which means you should avoid inserting unrelated information.

For example, you should not list certifications for something that does not involve computer science. However, you should list all previous work experience, regardless of the industry.

Highlight Projects

In your resume, include information about past coding projects you have done so that employers can see that you have put your knowledge into practice. You can list projects that you have done in a class, bootcamp, or on your own.

Keep in mind that if you list a project, an employer may ask for more information about it. Because of this, you should store its information somewhere to demonstrate to employers. For example, if you build a program, you should keep it on your computer.

Start the Job Search

The last thing to do to become a software engineer is to start a job search.

This process can seem daunting, but it is as simple as searching for companies online and preparing for interviews. Due to your dedication to the field, you should not have an issue finding an entry-level software engineer position that you can grow in.

Look for Various Companies

To find companies that are hiring software engineers, search for “software engineer jobs” on Google. You will see a variety of companies’ websites, so visit a few to learn more about them.

Keep in mind that it will be harder to get a job at a company like Microsoft, so focus on searching for smaller companies. After getting experience in an entry-level position, you can search for a position in a larger company.

Prepare for Interviews

To ensure you leave a great first impression on an employer, you should not only create a good resume, but you should also prepare for interviews.

Review this list of common questions and think about how you will respond to them. An interviewer may ask for something that does not appear on the list, but rehearsing your other answers will make it easier to respond to anything.

Now You Know How to Get a Job as a Software Engineer

As you can see, learning how to get a job as a software engineer is simple. While entering the field requires going through various steps, Coding Temple can ensure you develop all of the skills you need to get a great job.

With our coding bootcamp, you can learn at your own pace and explore various career paths in computer science. You can also take advantage of various payment options, including the option to pay only after getting a software engineering job.

Are you ready to become a software engineer?

Apply to our coding bootcamp now to start your journey in software engineering!