How to Become a Software Developer

If you’ve decided to pursue a career as a software developer, you’ll generally need to start with a bachelor’s degree. You’ll also find various options, from bootcamps to certifications to online classes, to boost your credentials further.  Use the following guide to learn more about the paths that can lead you to a career in software development.

What is a software developer?

Software developers research, design, and develop software and applications using different programming languages. While creating these programs, you will also test the software to ensure it works. After the project goes live, it’s your job as a software developer to fix bugs, refactor old code, make updates, and more. 

How long does it take to become a software developer?

The time it takes to become a software developer depends on your current expertise and the requirements for the role you’re applying for. Potential employers typically prefer candidates with proven hands-on experience, professional credentials, specialised skills, or a combination. A few commonly earned credentials among software developers, along with the amount of time it takes to complete each one, include:

• Bachelor's degree: To work as a software developer, you must complete a bachelor’s degree. Typical areas of study include computer science, computer engineering, and information technology (IT). You may also choose a BTech, which takes four years to complete. 

• Diploma: An alternative to a bachelor’s degree is a diploma, for example, a diploma in software engineering. These take three years to complete. 

• Master's degree: A master’s degree can help you get ahead of other candidates. It’s not a requirement, but it can help demonstrate your skills and knowledge to employers. Depending on the programme and whether you pursue it full-time or part-time, a master’s degree can take one to two years to complete on average.

• Coding bootcamps: Coding or software engineering bootcamps are intensive programmes offered by a wide range of entities, typically online, which can help boost your credentials. The completion time for coding bootcamps usually ranges from three to six months. If you enroll in a coding boot camp, research the organisation offering the credentials to ensure you get the best outcome possible.

• Professional Certificates: Professional certificates are self-paced programmes offered by universities and tech industry leaders on platforms such as Coursera. You can complete training in less than six months while working full-time.

Degree programmes for aspiring software developers

Computer science is just one of the options available to you. The following represent a few typical degree subjects for software developers: 

Software engineering

With a degree in software engineering, you focus more on developing technical skills such as designing, building, and employing software. The content of this degree may overlap with that of a computer science degree.

Computer science

A computer science degree combines maths, science, and engineering to study and develop everything from software to networks and computers. Many choose to pursue a degree in computer science to become software engineers, but it also affords opportunities for many other careers in the field. 

Information technology (IT)

Information technology students study the development of networks, databases, computer systems, web applications, and more. In this course, you’ll also study the hardware required for all those digital processes. A background in IT can help a hopeful developer gain the skills needed to become a software engineer.

Certificates for aspiring software developers

 You may pursue many different software development certificates to gain the necessary software developer skills. Online courses often allow you the flexibility to learn at your own pace, making it easy for you if you’re looking to make a career change or further your education while working full-time. Certificates are for more than just novice software developers. They help developers of all experience levels stay up-to-date in this quickly evolving field. 

Explore a few beginner-level certificate programmes you can use to master the essentials of software development:

• Software Development Processes and Methodologies. You can complete this course from the University of Minnesota in approximately 22 hours. Earning a certificate for your resume will teach you how software teams work, what processes drive software development, and how to apply software engineering practices to solve problems.

• Meta Android Developer Professional Certificate. You can complete this Professional Certificate programme in eight months with seven hours of weekly study. You'll gain the skill set you need to become an entry-level Android developer, including coding in Kotlin, user interface (UI) design, and cross-platform mobile app development with React Native.

• Meta iOS Developer Professional Certificate. You can complete this Professional Certificate programme in eight months with seven hours of weekly study. You'll gain the skill set you need to become an entry-level iOS developer, including programming fundamentals for iOS systems and how to manage the mobile application lifecycle. During the course, you'll create a portfolio with projects demonstrating your ability to deploy and maintain apps.

Expert tip

Many developers rely on a combination of educational sources to stay up-to-date on the latest technologies. "You want solid CS fundamentals, enabling you to comprehend things deeply. On the other hand, you also want experience with the tools commonly used in the industry," says Mari Batilando, a software engineer at Meta.

Since degree programmes focus on theoretical and foundational understanding, Batilando has attended bootcamps to keep his knowledge current throughout his eight-year career. "I actually pursued an iOS bootcamp after college since I never had the opportunity to learn it while I was a student. Fast forward to now, I’ve had a fruitful career on iOS," he shares. "I still occasionally take a bootcamp whenever something interests me. This year, I took an NFT bootcamp and was part of the team to release Facebook’s first NFT feature!"

How to become a software developer with no experience

Developing relevant skills is essential to building a successful career. As a software developer, your role typically involves turning a client’s idea into a working application. You may also be working with a team and have bug fixes or action items assigned to you that consist of developing small pieces of code that fit into a larger application.

If you're brand new to the field of software development, start by learning some of the basic skills shared by all types of software developers:

• Communication skills: As a software developer, you'll give others instructions while working on projects. You'll also have to explain how things work and answer questions clients and supervisors may have. Clear and effective communication with stakeholders and the rest of the development team will make for a much smoother project.

"Communication is the most important skill in this role. We work with many different people to build features," says Laila Rizvi, a Meta software engineer. "And even when we build features alone, we need to build for a diverse audience."

• Adaptability: Adaptability demonstrates the ability to handle changes commonly encountered during the software development life cycle. It’s essential to be versatile and ready to shift focus as plans change and technology evolves.

• Problem-solving: Issues will arise when developing software. Much of the software development process is iterative, meaning you'll revisit steps and phases as often as necessary to improve a product. Excellent problem-solving skills can help you handle issues quickly, independently, and efficiently without significant disruptions to the project. 

• Patience: The process of developing software can be tedious and time-intensive. Developing, testing, and deploying the project can be an excellent test of patience. After completing the project, it may need updating or debugging. Patience is also useful when working under tight deadlines or with other developers and coworkers.

• Programming skills: All software developer jobs require some level of coding skills. You’ll find many different types of programming languages available, though some might be more beginner-friendly than others. In the next section,  you can explore programming languages that align with specific software development goals. Consider reading through each one and starting with the one that closely aligns with your interests.

Choose an area of focus.

Nearly every modern business employs software developers. As a result, you have a variety of industries to choose from. It can be challenging to know where to start as a beginner. However, selecting a niche area of software development can help you sharpen your focus to hone your skills. The next few sections outline a few different types of software development and how to start with each one.

How to become a financial software developer

A financial software developer creates and maintains software in the financial technology (fintech) industry. Due to the sensitive nature of financial data, developers who want to develop software applications for a financial tech company should consider studying cybersecurity. Python is a popular programming language in this industry. Users often consider it one of the easiest programming languages to learn.

You can start today by enrolling in the Python for Everybody Specialisation offered by the University of Michigan. This beginner-friendly course introduces fundamental programming concepts, with an emphasis on data structures and databases, making it an excellent starting point for future Fintech developers.

How to become a game software developer

If you're interested in developing games, you might consider learning to program in C++. C++ is one of the most popular game-developing languages. It's known for its flexibility and controllability. Game development includes everything from virtual reality (VR) development to mobile apps, console games, and software.

How to become a full-stack developer

A full-stack developer is essentially a jack of all trades. Prospective employers value full-stack developer skill sets because they indicate that you can work with an application's back end (server-side) and the front end (customer-facing side). To be a full-stack developer, you need UX/UI, databases, and sometimes graphic design knowledge. It also helps to be familiar with a few widely used languages like Python, Ruby, HTML, and JavaScript. These technical skills allow you to create and fix almost any part of an application.

If you're interested in obtaining the full-stack skill set, you can master the fundamentals with an industry leader in technology through the IBM Full Stack Software Developer Professional Certificate. While building your own GitHub portfolio, you'll learn to deploy and scale applications using tools and languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and React.

What is GitHub, and why do I need to use it as a software developer?

Git is free version-tracking software for code and is the industry standard. It allows developers to save snapshots of code (commits) as they work on a project and roll back to an earlier version of the project. This enables developers to experiment safely with new features with a reduced risk of introducing bugs. GitHub is a code-hosting platform that allows collaboration on projects from anywhere, sending code after commenting. Being familiar with both tools is essential in working as a software developer.

General-purpose programming

If you prefer not to pursue one of the above specialities, consider learning a beginner-friendly, general-purpose programming language like Python. General-purpose programming languages are highly versatile and can be used for various applications. Your chosen language may depend on what you want to build with code. Python is very popular and has a reputation for being easy to learn. Swift is great for building iPhone apps, and video games are typically built with C++, Godot, Unreal Engine, or Unity. 

Start building software developer skills and knowledge on Coursera

Software development is a technical discipline open to graduates of computer science degrees or similar. In addition to studying for a degree, you’ll find many options to increase your skills and credentials. Online courses can be an excellent starting point if you're on a job hunt or want to learn how to create software development projects independently. You can build a solid foundation of software developer skills with Google's online course, Crash Course on Python.