Career Research: Software or Web?
Objective
To research two careers you might consider. Compare employment requirements, duties on the job, and future potential.
Goals
The two careers I am most interested in are web development and software development. I plan to weigh the pro’s and con’s of each. I chose these careers because they are of great interest to me. I’m currently a Computer Science major in college and am interested in where my opportunities may take me. Currently i’m focused more on the web development trek and am interested to see how my field holds up against software development in terms of skill requirements. job responsibilities, and compensation. This will provide insight into where I need to focus my learning and personal development. allowing me to accelerate my career track.
Hypothesis
Knowing very little about software development, it is a field of interest to me, I feel as though a lot of my skills in “web dev” would be transferrable into the “soft dev” environment. I’m interested to see if that accusation is so, and if a slight career shift would be in my best interest, as I know I could deeply enjoy either field as I feel they are similar, deciding factors will be that there are potential responsibilities I am unaware of that I may find more, or less desirable, as well as the compensation. My personal estimation is that software developers will be on a higher pay-scale than web developers, but I won’t have to speculate much longer now will I?
Skill Requirements
There is a toolbox full of skills required to become a developer. Be it web or software, the requirements are the same. College is not a requirement by most companies, but the larger companies with higher compensation rigorously scan your educational history. Apple and Google are even rumored to throw out resumes that don’t include a bachelors with a GPA above 3.7. College degree or or not, big company or small, there are core skills that are required to land a job developing software and web applications.
- Read Code
A developer has to have the ability to look at existing code and be able to not only tell you the whole “story,” but make amendments and altercations to enhance or modify the application or script across various languages. - Write Code
An understanding of the fundamentals of programming and the ability to write modular code that can be easily modified. Using proper syntax and exercising good coding habits. - Design Software
A developer needs to be able to determine how to organize their code in a way that achieves the intended functionality in the most memory efficient manner. - Awareness of “Life Cycle”
An efficient developer is able to pull their head out of their code and look at the “pig picture.” The way the application runs, and how it is achieving the end goal, being the product, and possibly modifying code to better achieve that goal. - Libraries and Frameworks
The knowledge and ability to know when, and to use pre-made code can greatly increase efficiency in almost any project - Debugging
The ability to troubleshoot malfunctioning code and error messages by first finding the issue, and then resolving it. - IDE Efficiency
The understanding, selection, and proficiency of Integrated Development Environments is vital to a developer’s end product’s quality, and the amount of time it takes to produce.
Job Responsibilities
Web Developer
Web developers are responsible for maintaining websites and web-related database systems. The duties of a web developer are in direct correlation with the needs of the employer, and may vary as such. In addition to building websites, a web developer is responsible for developing web databases for the storing of information. The “web dev” for short is required to also make this information accessible to users in a conventional manner that functions seemingly without effort. Graphical design may also be a responsibility to be expected, graphics, animations, and effects are the responsibility of the web dev if there is not a graphic designer available. Listed below are a few responsibilities commonly assigned to web developers.
- Develop new customized web applications as seen fit by management
- Creating company-wide Intranets, allowing data manipulation ability to fellow employees
- Maintain and enhance existing web applications
- Maintaining the privacy of user information
- Test web applications for security issues and errors, engaging users as necessary
- Develop database-driven web interfaces for the instantaneous sharing of information
- Develop web portals allowing user input and retrieval of user data
- Managing e-commerce and financial transactions
- Administering company email accounts
- Maintenance of local and remote servers
- Keeping up with new and evolving technologies
- Categorization and organization of site files
- Developing mobile-ready intranets, extranets, and websites
- Installing and configuring web servers
- Generate traffic analysis and integrity reports
- Motoring traffic and optimizing system performance
Software Developer
Software developers have a vast range of responsibilities covering the design, development, testing, and deployment of applications. It is their job to analyze the needs of the users and fill that need by creating and maintaining applications on multiple platforms, requiring the ability to know multiple languages and being comfortable with working with different operating systems and user styles. Software developers must be accustomed to working in a group environment and possess exceptional communication skills. Design is a key concept forgotten by many aspiring developers, an eye and feel for a user interface is a key element.
- Development of new application from beginning to end
- Learning new languages when necessary
- Improving applications by tuning performance, balance, usability, and automation
- Designing, coding, and debugging applications in multiple languages
- Analysis and evaluation of code
- Object-oriented design and analysis
- Application simulation and modeling
- Assuring quality and reliability of designed applications
- Integration of new software with existing systems
- Maintaining and documenting software functionality
- Keeping up on new and evolving technologies
- Project planning
- Maintaining standard compliance
Compensation
After research, I was surprised to find that, not only when starting out, but on average, web developers make considerably more than software developers. Web developers typically make over $30,000 in salary difference on average when starting out. While judging by starting pay and average pay, web developer would be the way to go, software developers have a lot more room for tenured compensation, I found the cap in compensation for a web developer to be at $136,000, whereas the cap for a software developer is a staggering $192,000, that’s a difference of $56,000 in yearly earning potential.
Conclusion
After completing my research I was pleased to find that the skills I have acquired in my web development background are highly transferrable to software. This is great because as I advance through school, I will gain a knowledge that strongly applies to both careers. My current skills surely need a lot of building, but I am definitely on the right track for either career in regards to gaining the skills required. I plan to build on them through continuing through school, keeping my job with SUU Web Services, and doing personal projects and experiments.
Taking in the job descriptions and responsibilities into consideration, I think I’d prefer software development. I feel as though I would be able to more enjoy a career in software. I really enjoy the human interaction with an interface, and interface design, and in software you have a lot more control over those aspects. Web development seems to spend more time gathering and handling data than worrying about a user experience. I want to make technology seem human through the way users interact with it.
Compensation wise, I see it as another pro for being a software developer. I’m excited, and I like to work hard. The greater earning potential is highly appealing to me. I want there to be lots of room for my skills and compensation to grow, keeping me motivated and excited to continue my career as a developer.
