Learn these 6 technical skills for a career in software development — and its more than just programming languages

• Globally, software development is one of the highest paying tech jobs.
  
• In the US, 19% of the job applications were of software engineers — making it the most sought after tech job role, according to a Glassdoor report.
  
• The most popular job roles include Blockchain engineer, Security engineer, Embedded engineer, Data engineer, and Back end engineer among others.

Companies are trying to stay competitive in the job market, investing in future technologies. This has lifted the demand for software engineers.

Globally, software development is one of the highest paying tech jobs. With more and more Indians planning career overseas, the demand has surged over the past few years. In the US, 19% of the job applications were software engineers — making it the most sought after tech job role, according to a Glassdoor report.

Within the tech space, the demand for blockchain technologies, data science and network security has been at an all-time high. Coding bootcamps also help software engineers prepare for the job market.

The most popular job roles include blockchain engineer, security engineer, embedded engineer, data engineer, back-end engineer, machine learning engineer, mobile engineer, full stack engineer, and front-end engineer.

Here are the six technical skills that can help software engineers to land a job.

• Programming languages

Programming skills is the key focus area in software development. Programming languages such as JavaScript, HTML/CSS, SQL, PYthon, JAVA and C# are the most in-demand languages, according to a survey by coding platform Stack overflow.

This also includes languages specific to app development — Android, iOS and Windows.

• Data Structures & Algorithms

Working knowledge of data structures and algorithms is used to assess problem solving capabilities of software developers. It focuses on structuring data and solving a complex problem in real time.

Online learning platforms such as Codechef, GeeksforGeeks and HackerEarth are a beneficial way to optimise on algorithms and coding skills.

• Operating Systems

Operating system forms the basis of software development. The codes developed by a programmer must efficient. This means the programme code should take up less space and time for execution. An operating system helps communicate with other machines and tools, thereby eliminating memory issues.

Linux, Windows and Mac are the common operating systems used by developers.

• Databases

Understanding databases is yet another important element of efficient software development. This includes knowledge of database management — creating and updating records.

SQL (Structured Query Language) database is the most common among developers. Others include Oracle, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB.

• Networking and Security

It is important to understand networking to create applications. Client server architecture is most commonly used in web programming and cloud computing.

This calls for the need to add a layer of security to the information and applications developed by the programmers. Cryptography is used to encrypt sensitive information. Developers should know the data encryption algorithms so as to make the systems secure.

• Testing and Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

After an application or a software is created, it has to be tested to spot and eliminate bugs. The common testing techniques include unit testing, integration testing and system testing.

Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is used to measure the precision of the software — from analysis to maintenance. The SDLC phases include Requirement analysis, feasibility study, design, implementation and coding, testing, deployment and maintenance.

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