Is studying Software Engineering worth it?

The Pay scale, the Demand, the Testimony, and for the very passionate; the Impact. These are the major factors that determines the choice of study for almost every academic applicant. Taking a look at software engineering in terms of these factors, will determine if it is a yes or no for anyone that looks that way.

Let’s start with the concerns of the very passionate applicants.

The Impact of Software Engineering

In the world of information technology; software is the most populous entity which has evolved spontaneously, based on needs and technological upgrades. However, not all software made it to their target audience; some were incomplete, unpleasant, outdated, poorly maintained, etc. Fortunately, some others pulled a large portion of wealth to their vendors (ask Bill Gates). If every software is assigned a good software engineer, then the cases of failures will rock the bottom of the chart, as the engineers will ensure the following;

1. Objectivity: Only a good software engineer can clear any ambiguity in software requirements as presented by the client and come up with a delivery that is valid and verified.
2. Dependability: Software engineers are best at mission-critical systems where no failure is to be entertained during operation. Hence, they ensure that the system they build are robust, reliable, safe and smart. Space technology and financial management systems are few beneficiaries of good Software engineering.
3. Efficiency: They ensure that software are economic and need friendly. Thereby providing the best system with the least possible resources. It takes sound analysis to achieve this… Thanks to software engineers.
4. Usability: This also involves ensuring that the software is user-friendly and valid to the target audience. Being able to meet the project objectives promptly can change the status of a software from useless to useful.
5. Maintainability: We hear of reusable codes and models which improves relevance and helps to speed up development, ease integration and support maintenance/upgrade. A lot of software have stood the test of time because their software engineers made provisions for easy updates/upgrades as well as maintenance.

The Pay Scale

The average pay for a Software Engineer is $83,044(USD) per year as reported by PayScale, Inc. However, there are slight disparities based on regions or countries.

The statistics above is for the United States which was updated on 22 October, 2018 with 47,128 individuals reporting.