Computer Software Engineer

Computer Software Engineer

Computer software engineers are projected to be one of the fastest growing occupations over the next 10 years. The impact of computers and information technology on our everyday lives has generated a need to design and develop new computer software systems and to incorporate new technologies in a rapidly growing range of applications. Computer software engineers apply the principles and techniques of computer science, engineering, and mathematical analysis to the design, development, testing, and evaluation of the software and systems that enable computers to perform their many applications. Software engineers can be involved in the design and development of many types of software, including software for operating systems and network distribution, and compilers. They also solve technical problems that arise. Software engineers must possess strong programming skills, but are more concerned with developing algorithms, analyzing and solving programming problems than with actually writing code. Within this field, there are Computer systems software engineers. They coordinate the construction and maintenance of a company's computer systems and plan their future growth. They work with companies to coordinate each department's computer needs for examples ordering, inventory, billing, and payroll recordkeeping and make suggestions about its technical direction. They also might set up the company's intranets, a network that link computers within the organization and ease communication among the various departments.

Computer software engineers usually work in well-lighted and comfortable offices or computer labs. They also work 40 hours a week but due to the project-oriented nature of the work, they also may have to work evenings or weekends to meet deadlines or to solve unexpected technical problems. As networks expand, software engineers may be able to use modems, laptops, e-mail, and the Internet to provide more technical support and other services from their main office, connecting to a customer's computer remotely to identify and correct developing problems.

Computer software engineers held about 675,000 jobs in 2002. About 394,000 were computer applications software engineers, and about 281,000 were computer systems software engineers. Although they are employed in most industries, the largest concentration of computer software engineers,