6 Reasons Why Software Engineering Will Never Go Away

Software engineering is one of the most popular engineering fields among students. Software engineering is a branch of engineering that deals with the design, writing, development, and maintenance of software programs for computers and other electronic devices. A software engineer's primary responsibility is to write new programs or modify existing ones to improve them and make them more efficient. Some of the requirements for software engineering include the ability to scale up the software in response to changes. The software that has been programmed should be correct and meet the needs of the clients. The software should be dynamic enough to be rehashed and used to create a new product.

Why is Software Engineering important?

Before we go any further, let's take a quick look at who software engineers are and what they do. A software engineer is a technical professional who applies software engineering principles or concepts in all phases of system or product development, including design, development, testing, and maintenance. He is primarily responsible for the product's development and deployment, beginning with the requirements gathering phase and ending with its successful final development and deployment. Though the roles and responsibilities of a software engineer are heavily dependent on his specific domain and the needs of the company, Now, let's look at some of the major reasons why software engineers are in high demand in the tech industry:

The rapid advancement of technology is one of the primary reasons for the enormous increase in demand for software engineers. The exponential growth and evolution of technology in recent years can be seen when all recent tech trends such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence and machine learning, 5G, hyperautomation, the Internet of Behaviors (IoB), and so on are considered. We can see how software supports almost everything around us today, including smartphones, IoT devices, virtual reality, augmented reality platforms, cryptocurrencies, and many others.

As a result, there is a high demand for software engineers to oversee the design, development, and maintenance of this software. And, because technologies are expected to keep growing at such a fast rate, software engineers should have a bright future in the coming years, as many new jobs will be created in the tech world.

There is a significant gap between the current demand and supply for software engineers. The employment rate in this field remains high in comparison to the number of available talents. Even more concerning, a recent CNBC report notes that the software engineer shortage will continue to be a headache for many businesses through 2022, even though there were still 918,00 IT job openings by the end of 2021. Furthermore, the number of unfilled IT positions is expected to increase by 20% by the end of 2040.

Many people believe that once a software product is built and deployed, it is "done" and the application will run flawlessly for the rest of its life. That is not correct. Every software application results from many lines of code written by engineers. When a piece of code becomes obsolete, it may need to be improved or iterated on an as-needed basis. In some cases, rather than upgrading, businesses may discard the code entirely and create a new solution using modern technologies.

In any case, software developer employment is on the rise as a result of these changes. In terms of user experience and security vulnerabilities, the costs of using outdated code can be pretty high. Furthermore, consumers are becoming more aware of the risks associated with using outdated software products. Because of these things, no company wants to risk its reputation and would rather pay more to get software engineering talent, even though there aren't enough of them right now.

Moving forward, the massive shift of everyone, whether it is an individual, an offline business, an education domain, or any other, to digital platforms is another significant reason why the demand for software engineers is increasing. Since the global COVID-19 pandemic, it is no longer an option for people or businesses to have a digital presence; it is now a requirement for them to keep working or running their businesses.

Platforms such as Uber, Zomato, Flipkart, Paytm, Zoom, and others are well-known examples of today's digitalized world. Behind each of these digital platforms is a team of software engineers who ensure the successful development and operation of the product, whether it is an app, a website, or any other software. Because of this, tech companies need skilled software engineers who can help them create or build the best software solutions so they can do well in the industry.

Businesses and institutions no longer require just a website to run their operations. That meant they only needed to hire web developers, either locally or remotely, to maintain their online presence. However, depending on the product, you may need more than one software platform to bolster your online presence to beat or match the competition in your respective industry. With this in mind, businesses may require Android and iOS developers in addition to web designers.

Furthermore, websites are becoming less relevant than they were a decade ago. From shopping and connecting with friends on social media to controlling the cars we drive, mobile apps are increasingly becoming a part of our lives. According to Statista, there are nearly 3.04 million apps in the Google Play Store alone and over 2.09 million in the Apple App Store. These figures will skyrocket in the coming years, as will demand the brains behind their software engineers' creations.

It is no secret that software development is becoming increasingly complex as dynamic demands for software products increase, as opposed to a decade ago. In 1986, Fred Brooks wrote a paper called "No Silver Bullet," in which he said that future software development would have to deal with problems like accidental and essential complexity.

The first level of complexity occurs when developers encounter difficulties while attempting to solve an underlying complex problem like cybersecurity. On the other hand, essential complexity comes from the business side as software engineers try to meet the needs of the moment.

Some of the unintentional complexities that software engineers face daily are as follows:

Simultaneously, software engineers must deal with several critical complexities, such as:

Final Thoughts

Almost all digital products with which we interact today are created by software engineers. Businesses will no longer have to wonder about the demand for software engineers in the future. Instead, given the continued high demand for software engineers, they should shift to modern hiring solutions such as building offshore teams to avoid the same.