Is Software Development Hard? What You Need to Know

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Software developer coding an application

The global demand for software developers is currently at an all-time high. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates job demand for software developers will continue to grow by 22% between 2020 and 2030. Becoming a software developer seems like a smart career path, but is it hard to become one?

Like learning any language, software development can be easy and hard. Easy to follow the path for learning the necessary skills, but challenging to become a skilled software developer. But once you have the skills, you can progress toward that dream career in software development.

We’ll explain how you can become a software developer and the various career paths it can open. While becoming a software developer may seem challenging, anyone with the right motivation can do it.

Becoming a Software Developer isn’t Hard

Like any career, you’ll need to follow career steps to become a software developer. Some of these steps take planning, time, and dedication, but you can do it. We recommend:

1. Pick a Career Path for Software Developers

The skills you need to acquire will be heavily influenced by the software development career path you choose to take. Each of these career paths requires specialized skills and certifications:

  • Front-End Developer: Specialize in user-facing applications, software, and products. It requires more skills in user interface and visual design.
  • Back-End Developer: Specialize in the structure and logic of software applications. It requires additional skills for building APIs, server scripts, code libraries, data storage, and server optimization.
  • Full-Stack Software Engineer: Can do both front-end and back-end software development.
  • DevOps Engineer: Unifies software development with information systems by developing tools, processes, and practices that can integrate the different systems.
  • Data Engineer: Analyzes datasets and creates algorithms for processing data. It requires additional database design and technical skills for processing raw data.
  • Mobile Developer: Specialize in mobile software for smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. You’ll need additional iOS and Android operating system certifications.
  • Game Developer: Specialize in video game design and development. It requires additional skills for creating games on different consoles, mobile devices, or computers.

At Tech I.S., we can help you certify as a web developer or data scientist. Sign up today to get started on your new career.

Related Link: Frequently Asked Questions

2. Acquire the Necessary Hard Skills Through College or Certification

Software developers must learn and become certified in various coding languages. Learning these languages can be hard but once you learn one, learning other languages becomes easier because of their similar structures.

What Hard Skills Do Software Developers Need

The most in-demand software programming languages are:

  • Python
  • JavaScript
  • Java
  • C#/ .NET
  • Mean
  • Ruby
  • SQL
  • HTML/CSS
  • Golang
  • PHP
  • Kotlin
  • Matlab
  • TypeScript
  • Scala
  • Swift

Python and JavaScript will remain the most in-demand languages for 2023. The average software developer knows 3-5 coding languages. The most used programming languages in 2022 are:

  1. JavaScript
  2. HTML/CSS
  3. SQL
  4. Python
  5. TypeScript

In addition to these programming languages, software developers need to learn the following:

  • Object-Oriented Design (OOD)
  • Software Testing and Debugging
  • Problem Solving and Logical Thinking
  • Communication Skills
  • Teamwork

College Degree or Certifications Needed for Software Development

While becoming a software developer doesn’t require a bachelor’s degree, most developers have a college degree in:

  • Computer science
  • Computer engineering
  • Software engineering
  • Other computer systems degree

By pursuing a degree in one of these fields, you’ll acquire the necessary hard skills to begin a career after school. The college route will teach you everything you need, but it will take four to six years to achieve it.

For professionals who want to expand their skill sets or change careers, you may prefer to certify in specific programming languages without a college degree. About 20% of software developers don’t have an undergraduate degree. But be mindful that it can be challenging to secure a job without a degree if you don’t have a portfolio or industry network.

At Tech I.S., we offer coding boot camps to help motivated professionals certify in:

  • Web Programming: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, Python, Django, MySQL, Git
  • Data Science: Python, NumPy, Pandas, Matplotlib, Seaborn, SQL, and Git

We have over twenty corporate partners to help their graduates find careers after certification. Using a project-focused curriculum, we help you build your professional software development portfolio while you certify.

Ready to certify for a career in software development? Sign up for one of our successful six-month certification programs.

Related Link: Course Certifications

3. Gain Experience and Build a Strong Portfolio as a Software Developer

software developer working on a project

Once you have the hard skills and certifications as a software developer, you’ve got to cut your teeth by gaining experience and building a strong portfolio of high-quality software applications.

To gain experience, you’ll need to land that first job or project, which may be difficult. Building a network is essential for finding jobs. By certifying with us, you can leverage our professional network of over twenty employers who are always looking for top talent.

What is the Average Salary for a Software Developer?

The average salary range of a software developer is $62,470 to $168,570, with a median salary of $120,730. While software developers can find employment in a U.S. state, these states have the highest employment rates:

  • California
  • Texas
  • Washington
  • New York
  • Virginia

Most software developers find jobs in software publishing or computer systems design and related services. At Tech I.S., we help connect you with industry leaders like:

  • Amazon
  • Cisco
  • Facebook
  • Uber
  • Starbucks
  • IBM
  • Microsoft
  • Linkedin

You Can Certify as a Software Developer

If you’re ready for a career change or want to pursue an in-demand career as a software developer, you can do it. It will take hard work and discipline, but with certification and experience, you can become a software developer.

For a fast track to programming certification in web development or data science, sign up for our six-month international certification boot camps. At TECH I.S., we help you gain the certification, experience, and industry network to land that dream job in software development.

Related Link: About TECH I.S.