Software engineers are often misunderstood. These highly skilled professionals are the wizards behind the digital curtain, developing the applications and programs that drive our modern world. Unfortunately, several common misconceptions about software engineers persist in popular culture.
This article will debunk the top five common misconceptions about software engineers and shed light on their abilities and responsibilities.
Let's start.
Misconception #1: Software engineers only work on coding
Coding is the core skill you need to possess to become a software engineer. Coding is how you tell the computer how to solve a problem. However, software engineering is not all about coding. Your day will also involve:
Meeting with your colleagues, manager, and stakeholders.
Presentations.
Writing documentation.
Oncall shifts.
Misconception #2: Software engineers always work on shiny new code
A lot of software engineering work is maintenance work.
Maintenance work means that you will work on adding, removing, or updating lines of code on an existing codebase.
This existing codebase is also known as legacy code. Legacy code is code someone else has written (usually employees no longer in the company), which you must take responsibility for.
Legacy code can be rewritten using better programming paradigms, and this is where software engineers provide fantastic value.
It is not an easy task.
Misconception #3: Software engineering is easy money
Unfortunately, social media has spread the idea that software engineering is easy, allowing you to make a six-figure salary relatively quickly.
This is far from the truth because:
It isn't easy to find entry-level jobs. Most jobs available out there are for experienced engineers.
Compensation depends on location, seniority level, size of the company, etc. Big Tech companies are known for paying top-of-the-market salaries. However, they do not represent the entirety of the industry in terms of compensation.
It takes experience, a bit of sacrifice and knowing how to negotiate to reach a specific salary.
Misconception #4: Software engineering is a solo job
Software engineering is a team sport. Teamwork is a skill that all software engineers should possess and master.
Teamwork is about asking what you can do for your team, as much as it is about asking what your team can do for you, and its this harmony that forms the very foundation of teamwork as we know it today. Its about recognising how our skills and actions affect our team, as well as our own individual performance, and its also about adopting an attitude that leans on courage, self-love, appreciation, surrender and sacrifice.[The Benefits of Teamwork and Collaboration in Software Development]
Teamwork includes:
Open communication.
Having the right tools.
Misconception #5: Software engineers can work from anywhere
In theory, yes. Software engineers only need a laptop, comfortable office equipment and reliable and fast WiFi.
However, whether a software engineer can work depends on the company and the manager. It is not a decision that a software engineer can make on his own.
Unfortunately, many companies force employees back to the office 2-3 times a week. Another consideration to make is that remote working does not necessarily mean you can work from anywhere in the world because:
Time zones can pose a challenge to communication.
Taxes can limit your chances of working in any country.
Misconception #6: It's a stable job
2022 and 2023 have been filled by massive layoffs, even from companies with solid performance. This has shown that software engineering (and other positions) are unsafe. You can lose your job at any time.
Conclusion
Do you agree with the misconceptions above? Let me know in the comments.
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Top comments (4)
I agree with your list except this
The real reason it's hard to work from anywhere is because there is a huge backslash against full remote at the moment.
This backslash has little to do with the merits on whether or not it is possible to work efficiently in a full remote possible.
For me this debate is settled : it is possible.
The reality on the job market though is that if you apply for a a job offer that is publicly and explicitely offering full remote, the kind of offers you find on job boards like remoteok.io, you probably won't get hired. Because there are probably dozens of super qualified people that already applied.
To give a number, I talked with a french job board for freelancers who told me that 50% of what they offer was full remote 18 months ago... and this went back to 10% at the start of 2023.
At the same time, developers want full remote more than ever.
It's a loose-loose situation, and the reasons are complex.
Real Estate is an obscure but very important reason.
The GAFAM and big hypy startups have huge offices that can be occupied by only them. If people don't come to the office, they don't spare money, they loose lot of them on their real estate value. And the whole local ecosystem around them. That's why the Elon Musk of this world are pretending that remote work doesn't work and you need to come to the office like yersterday.
At smaller companies, the reality is that most of them want to take back control. Their hands have been more or less forced by COVID-19 and the lack of developers. They agreed to full remote work reluctantly, hoping in their mind for better time where they can come back to normal and micro-manage you. And this time is now.
TLDR: unless you have a great network, it's very hard to find a full remote position at the moment.
I think this is only a partial misconception. People mix up the act of writing code with doing 'software engineering' on a big project as part of a team (which is generally the way things work in business). So I would say this is often a misunderstanding of the term 'software engineering' rather than a misconception of what it entails. Writing code, on the other hand, is very much a solo activity and is best done that way.
I would also say that it totally depends upon the project. Many developers work on projects alone, and greatly enjoy doing so. Often great things are created which are only opened up to other developers when they are already fairly mature... but the idea and most of the work may well have come just from one person.
I think you probably should have worded this with 'may' rather than 'can' - then it would be true, as the reasons you state are about the permission to do the work from anywhere, rather than the capability to do it.
what about the develpers that go it alone and build like shopify sites t fund passion projects that they have and than eventually succeed at
Very good article that touches on real cases.