Steps to become a Software Engineer

Introduction

Okay, before you know the ways to improve your skills to become a software developer. I want to ask you a question.

Do you know what exactly you wanna become?

Now, don't tell me you want to get a job on the IT side, the software side, etc. Be specific. Do you wanna deal with creating applications, the look and feel of the applications, or do you wanna deal with writing hard code to solve problems, or be in charge of operating databases?

Don't worry if you don't know the answer to this question, yet. Let's find out the answer together.

1. Be clear about your goal

Remember, someone who's going slowly step by step to reach their goal, even if they fail in between, is better than someone who doesn't have a vision about their career at all.

So, have a goal, and be damn clear about it.

If you are interested in HTML and CSS, and JavaScript, you can set your goal to be a front-end developer.

And, If you are into solving hard problems using c, java, and python, you can work as a software engineer (backend).

You can work on cybersecurity, data analysis, data sciences, and machine learning engineering. There are still more roles and new technologies coming these days, and one of them might be your thing.?

2. Focus on gaining skills

Now that you've decided to become something doesn't mean you can directly apply to companies without proper skills. If you do that, your application is not even considered, and you feel depressed.

If you don't want to drain down the above path, you better start working on one language or technology that is related to your interests. You start from beginner-level courses online and go on practicing until you reach the advanced levels in that domain.

Okay, here's the thing. Most of you might wonder what kind of money do I have to enroll in courses online. There are many free resources online if you could only think of spending the time to search for them instead of watching new movies or shows on Netflix or TV.

?Well, you can use LinkedIn learning also, for learning various courses across all the topics you could ever know about. Don't worry if you can't access LinkedIn Learning, as it's only for premium users. You don't need to have money for this. Grab your bank VISA card, enter your details and get a free month of LinkedIn premium.

You can do so so much in a month, learn so many courses, and improve many skills in your favorite domain. And after a month, you can continue using the premium if you want or you can cancel your premium and have learned some skills for free by then.

Woo-hoo, free marketing for LinkedIn, and free learning for you guys! Thanks to me.

3. Stay consistent

Most of us suck at this. You know, you will most likely succeed at doing things if you are consistent enough to see the results from it. But you quit, some of us are lazy, and some of us come up with excuses like no proper resources, and no proper guides to direct you, and the list of excuses never ends.

If you don't have a goddamn laptop and you want to learn to code, you needn't stop trying to learn it. You can simply go to your nearest internet center and work on it. Or, if you cannot really afford to stay at internet centers, you can simply devote your free time to your college library. I know almost any dumb old college, at least has computers with a keyboard and a monitor and you can leverage them for your coding practice.

If you don't know how to solve a coding question, look it up, you will find tons of approaches for solving the questions from sites like Stack Overflow, GitHub, etc.

So, quit giving lame excuses if you really wanna reach your goal. You better stay consistent if you want to enjoy the results of your practice.?

By being consistent, I won't suggest that you limit your time to 1 hour a day as most others do. Instead, if you really have an interest in what you are pursuing, you automatically tend to work more than just an hour a day to improve your skills. Just keep doing that.

Another important thing to keep in mind is that, avoid burnout. I would suggest you not entirely revolve around this one thing and take frequent breaks so that you enjoy the process and avoid hating this work in the long run.

4. Search for Internships, and Jobs

The best way to build your skills is to work on different kinds of projects and learn from them. Instead of simply showing the recruiters that you know certain languages and technologies, you can put yourself out of the crowd by showcasing the projects that you have already worked on.

For finding jobs or internships in your domain, you can use LinkedIn, again! Go to your search bar and hit the keyword that best describes the role you are searching for. You will have a number of companies popped up on the screen and all you have to do is start applying to the ones that?are relevant to your skill set.

And one more thing, Don't limit your job search to LinkedIn only. If you look high of a company, or dream of working at some companies, you can always go to their site's homepage, hit the careers section, and check if they have any openings related to the job role you are looking for. You can also send a mail with your resume to the hr team of the company instead.

Conclusion

So, this is all about the endless opportunities to learn new skills and endless ways to get your dream jobs in the software field. You can get back to me if you have any doubts regarding this process and I can give you my honest advice. All the best to you, and me!

Thank You.

Sai Rajeswari.