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

Software Engineers are computer science specialists who construct software products, develop computer games, and manage network control systems using engineering ideas and programming languages. Software Engineers are trained and skilled computer science professionals, who apply the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test and evaluate computer software. As per industry estimates, more than 15 lakh engineers graduate every year in India, out of which only 2.5 Lakh students land relevant jobs. 

In order to become a Software Engineer, aspiring candidates after clearing Class 12 can pursue various Undergraduate and Postgraduate Software Engineering Courses such as B. Tech in Computer ScienceBSc in Computer Science, etc from any of the Top Software Engineering Colleges across the country. Admissions to these colleges are done both on the basis of merit as well as on the basis of Engineering Entrance Exams such as JEE Mains, JEE Advanced, BITSAT etc. Read More: Free Software Engineering Courses

Candidates must have some basic knowledge of Java ++, Computer Program Coding, Python. The average fee to pursue a Software Engineering Course ranges from INR 60,000 to 2.30 LPA. Some of the top Software Companies who hire fresh graduates as well as experienced candidates for various positions are Infosys, Capegimi, Microsoft , Amazon and many more. The average salary of a Software Engineer is INR 7.8 LPA. While the average salary of candidates with substantial years of experience can go upto as much as INR 20 LPA & aboveRead More: Salary of a Software Engineer

How to Become a Software Engineer: Quick Facts

Industry Information Technology
Eligibility Candidate must have passed 10+2 or equivalent with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics as main subjects
For Post Graduation candidates must clear their Bachelor’s degree in computer science with a minimum aggregate of 50% or above.
Certifications Mobile App Development with React
Programming for everybody
Advanced certification in Software Engineering
ACCP Pro
Top Recruiters Infosys
Capegemini
Amazon
Microsoft
Google
Wipro
Related Industries IT Companies, Non-IT Companies, Start-Ups, Insurance, Finance, Banking, MNCs
Required Skills Python, Java, database engineering, Software Development, HTML
Average Starting Salary INR 7.8 LPA
Highest Salary INR 2 Crore per annum & above

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 MainsJEE AdvancedVITEEE, 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

Definition The main role of web developers is to make use of various technologies and programming languages such as JavaScript, HTML,AJAX. They are used for writing codes for websites and developing new website features and applications
Average Annual Salary INR 3.60 LPA

Business Information Analyst

Definition They make use of their analytical skills that are set to research, plan and manage several information systems and also solve business problems.
Average Annual Salary INR 3 LPA

Computer System Analyst

Definition They possess in-depth knowledge of hardware and software systems for determining the organization and to use the resources to operate effectively. They identify technical infrastructure needs, research the design and installation of computer packages.
Average Annual Salary INR 4.55 LPA

Information Security Analyst

Definition Their job includes security audits, conduct risk assessments and to help improve the security of a company’s data systems.
Average Annual Salary INR 5.95 LPA

Steps to Become a Software Engineer

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

Complete Graduation The candidate must earn a bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering or information technology. This will allow the candidate to have advanced knowledge of the course.
Adapt technical skills There are various technical skills which can be adapted such as Python, Software development, Java, Web Development, Linux, C++ etc.
Pursue Relevant Certifications There are a number of certifications that can be pursued in order to become a Software Engineer such as Mobile App Development with React, Programming for everybody, Advanced certification in Software Engineering,ACCP Pro etc.
Get into an Internship The candidate can join internships for getting real- world experience and will help you to make connections. There are several internships that can offer full time positions in the company.
Pursue Masters Degree After the completion of bachelor’s program the candidate can enroll themselves for master’s degree. This will advance the career of the candidate by teaching additional skills.

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 ScienceB.Sc in Computer Scienceetc. . 
  • The candidates can also enroll in alternative courses such as a diploma or Post graduate diploma in software engineering such as Diploma in Software EngineeringComputer 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, 

Parameters B. Tech in Computer Science M.Tech in Software Engineering BSc in Computer Science Bachelor of technology inInformation Technology
Duration 4 years 2 years 3 years 4 years
Eligibility 10+2 Level with Physics, chemistry and Maths Minimum aggregate of 50% and above. Must clear JEE mains & JEE advanced for admissions in IITs Candidates must have cleared Undergraduate courses with at least 60% marks. Must qualify GATE or equivalent entrance exam Candidate must have completed class 12th with at least 50% marks or above Candidate must have completed class 12th with at least 50% marks or above
Top Colleges IIT Kharagpur
IIT Delhi
BITS Pilani
IIT Roorkee
IIT Madras
IIT Delhi
IIT Kharagpur
IIIT Pune
NIT Surathkal
BITS Pilani
Delhi University
Christ University
VIT University
St. Xavier’s College
Fergusson College
NIT
Anna University
Vellore Institute of Technology
Jadavpur University
Entrance Exams JEE Mains
JEE Advanced
BITSAT
GATE BHU UET
CUCET
JEE Main
JEE Advanced
VITEEE
WBJEE
Average course fees INR 60000- 2 L per year INR 60,000- INR 1.50L per year INR 2 L- 4 L per year INR 30,000 to INR 8 L per year
Average Salary INR 4 L- 13 LPA INR 7 L- 15 LPA INR 4 L - 7 LPA INR 4.50 L- 7 LPA

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.

Top Software Engineering Colleges

There are almost 190 Software engineering colleges in India. India has almost 1500 ITColleges. Some of the top colleges in India are BITS Pilani, IIT Kharagpur, VIT and many more. Similarly, there are several universities abroad such as Stanford University, Yale University, etc.

Some of the top colleges that help candidates become Software engineers are tabulated below for your reference.

India

Name of the Colleges Location Average Course Fees (INR)
Jadavpur University Kolkata 24000
IIT Mumbai Mumbai 74000
BITS Pilani Pilani 5.12 L
Delhi Institute of Technology Delhi 2.19 L
IIT Madras Chennai 17,670
IIT Guwahati Guwahati, Assam 23,750
IIT Indore Indore 48,300
Vellore Institute of Technology Vellore 77,000
Manipal Institute of Technology Manipal, Karnataka 3.35 L
National Institute of Technology Durgapur 1.49 L

Abroad

Name of the Colleges Location Average Annual Fees (INR)
Stanford University USA 13.56 L
Yale University USA 12.49 L
Harvard University, Massachusetts USA 16.78 L
University of Oxford UK 16.89 L
The University of Sussex UK 18 L
University of British Columbia Canada 16.76 L
McGill University Canada 23.97 L
Dalhousie University Canada 16 L
University of New South Wales Australia 17.71 L
University of Sydney Australia 20.12 L

Software Engineer Industry

The engineering sector has made smart and reliable operations a top priority. There is an increase in 300% of hiring for engineering job roles in 2022. The World Economic Forum concluded that the top 5 emerging jobs in India include Software Engineers, Data analyst, marketing specialist, data scientist and machine learning. In India, the IT sector is very sound and with upcoming technical updates and development, the requirement for software engineers are increasing alarmingly, 

According to Tech World Times reports with a global community of more than 26.4 million software developers, software development has become a mainstream career option in India. Currently the US has the highest number of software engineers, while India is in 2nd place with 5.8% Software engineers employed here. Findly.in reported that India will have the largest population of Software developers by 2024.

The sectors in which software engineers work are provided below for your reference,

  • IT Companies- A Software Engineer is an IT professional who designs, develops and maintains computer software at a company. They use their creativity and skills and apply several principles of software engineering to solve the problem of organization,
  • Finance- They can help with problems in the token number system, currency conversion display board, CCTV cameras, access control systems, burglar alarm system, scanners, printers and other hardware.

Pros and Cons of Software Engineers

Pros of being a Software Engineers

  • Heavy Demand: Software Engineering is a growing field and the companies are looking for qualified engineers. There is heavy demand in the IT field.
  • High Pay: Software engineers are the highest paid Engineers in today’s time. Candidates who are freshers get a starting salary of INR 5 LPA and the highest salary of a software engineer can go up to INR 2.20 crores Per annum. Recently, Google hired a candidate with an annual package of INR 1.12 Crore per annum.
  • International opportunities: Software Engineers get a lot of opportunities to work abroad and travel around the world.

Cons of being a software engineer

  • High Competition – The Software industry is highly competitive. You need to work hard and be determined to stay focused on your work all the time. 
  • No Social Activity – High pressure at work will take away your family, friends and social connections from you. They won’t get enough time to spend with their friends and family.

Skills Required to be a Software Engineer

Some of the most crucial skills that are required in order to become a Software Engineer are tabulated below for your reference

Leadership Communication Interpersonal skills
Java ++ Python Object Designing
Technical Knowledge Computer Programming Coding Coding

Top recruiters for Software Engineers

Some of the top recruiters of Software Engineers are provided below for your reference,

Infosys Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Cisco
Intel Microsoft MindTree
HCL technologies HTL Adobe

Salary of a Software Engineer in India

Job opportunities are very good for fresh graduates. They are offered a very good salary package. The starting salary of Software Engineers is around INR 5-6 LPA. while the highest can be INR 2.10 Crores per annum. 

Specialization Average Annual Salary(INR)
Front end engineer 4.86L
Back End Engineer 5.65 L
Full stack engineer 6.85 L
Software Testing Engineer 6.20 L
Security Engineer 7.90 L
DevOps Engineer 10.50 L

How to become a Software Engineer: FAQs

Ques. Who are software engineers?

Ans. Software engineers are those engineers who develop and create new programs for the system including computer, mobile and many more. They work on the updates and release new updates. Software engineers create computer programs and solve real world problems. They are also known as Software Developers.

Ques. What are the options after completing Software Engineering?

Ans.  The career options after completing Software engineering are:

  • Software Engineers
  • Software Testers
  • Game Developers
  • Mobile Developers
  • Java Developers

Ques. What is the salary of a Software Engineer after completing Master’s?

Ans. The average salary of a Software Engineer after they have completed M.Tech in Computer Engineering is around INR 9-14 LPA, but the same is also dependent on the years of experience, company in which he is working, etc.

Ques. What are the Skills required to be a software engineer?

Ans. The main skills required to be a successful software engineer are:

  • Coding-decoding 
  • Python
  • Java++
  • Javascript
  • Object design 
  • Project management

Ques. What are the certificate courses required to be a software engineer?

Ans. The certificate courses required to be a software engineer are:

  • Mobile App Development
  • Advanced certification in software engineering by IIT Madras
  • Certificate course in programming by CDAC Pune

Ques. What is the highest salary of a Software Engineer?

Ans. The software engineers can earn as much as INR 2 Crore per annum.

Ques. How many semesters are there in Software Engineering inB.Tech in Computer Engineering?

Ans. There are a total of 8 semesters in the undergraduate course. The duration of the course is 4 years. 

Ques. What entrance should a software engineer take?

Ans.  The most common entrance exams for admission to B.Tech Software Engineering include JEE Main & Advanced, WBJEE, SRMJEEE, and CUCET.

Ques. Is software engineering a good job? 

Ans. Yes, the scope of software engineering is very vast and popular among the aspirants. The candidates can have jobs in various sectors including IT Companies, Financial Institutions, Government Organizations, etc. 

Ques. Do Software Engineers have a scope in the Government sector?

Ans. Yes, Software Engineers do have a lot of scope in the Government Sector. They are offered a great salary package by the Governmental organizations. 

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