Software Engineer -- The Best Job in America?

[Newby]

http://developers.slashdot.org/developers/06/04/12/1353238.shtml

The profession skews young -- the up-all-night-coding thing gets tired -- but consulting and management positions aren't hard to come by once you're experienced.

What a crock of shit. I love it -- to an extent.

What's not Jobs at the biggest companies tend to be less creative (think Neo, pre-Matrix). Outsourcing is a worry. Eyestrain and back, hand and wrist problems are common.

1. Of course the jobs are less creative, you're getting tasks to do. Do you really expect these really awesome projects all the time? Who cares, you're makin' six figures. I'll code some Linux-killing project if I'll get $100K for a final product...

2. Outsourcing isn't a worry if we just nuke India.

3. I have all of those. If it's gonna get worse...

Top-paying job Release engineers, who are responsible for the final version of any software product, earn six figures.

Education Bachelor's degree, but moving up the ladder often requires a master's.

Only a bachelor's degree? Ack. Any retard could pick up on this job. Good thing programming isn't for everybody... otherwise there'd be just as many software engineers as there are lawyers in the world.

This reminds me, I need to polish up my C#/C++ skills if I ever plan on getting a job programming.

[deadly7]

2. Outsourcing isn't a worry if we just nuke India.

Fuck you.

3. I have all of those. If it's gonna get worse...

Your hand/wrist problems aren't from that. :p

[igimo1]

HF, you're going to have to compete with millions of Indians willing to work for a fourth of your asking price.

[Sidoh]

I plan on going to school until I obtain at least one master's degree at this point.  I'm not entirely sure what my end profession will be, but I foresee some sort of software engineering.

[Newby]

I plan on going to school until I obtain at least one master's degree at this point.  I'm not entirely sure what my end profession will be, but I foresee some sort of software engineering.

I plan on majoring in business with a master's at the minimum (PhD is my goal) and a minor in computer science (programming of some sort), so I hope to be a software engineer.

HF, you're going to have to compete with millions of Indians willing to work for a fourth of your asking price.

So? It's called nuke India. When I become old enough to become President, my slogan will be "Nuke the Whales and Curry Loving Bastards"

[Sidoh]

I plan on majoring in business with a master's at the minimum (PhD is my goal) and a minor in computer science (programming of some sort), so I hope to be a software engineer.

I'm going to major in computer science and possibly minor in mathematics (which gives you more than enough tools to understand anything in business degrees anyway).  At the moment, I'm thinking about Number Theory.

[Newby]

I would go mathematics, but on a resume, stating "Master's in Business" versus "Master's in Mathematics" will look better on many more applications than it will vice versa.

[rabbit]

Unless he's applying as a math teacher.  Besides, it's always a choice to double-major.

Number Theory is fun!
This problem is retarded, but it was on my test today:

1, 5, 9, 31, 53, 75, 97, ...
Find the next 3 values in the series and the rule that creates them

Anyway, I'm majoring in some sort of engineering with a minor in mathematics.

[Eric]

Software engineers aren't responsible for coding...

[iago]

Education Bachelor's degree, but moving up the ladder often requires a master's.

Only a bachelor's degree? Ack. Any retard could pick up on this job. Good thing programming isn't for everybody... otherwise there'd be just as many software engineers as there are lawyers in the world.

A bachelor's degree is the most useful thing you can have in Computer Science.  With a Master's or especially with a PhD in Comp Sci, you become over-educated and less useful. 

Software engineers aren't responsible for coding...

Sure they are.  Software engineers are responsible for all parts of the software development lifecycle.  That is, unless you use the word differently in the US.  But I assure you that in my Software Engineering classes, we planned, implemented, and tested programs. 

[Eric]

Software engineers handle the designing and the programmer handles the coding.

[Newby]

Definitions of software engineer on the Web:
responsible for designing and programming large-scale computer systems and applications. Similar to a systems analyst, software engineers primarily design and build complex system software, such as operating systems, protocol architectures, or databases upon which application software programs will run. ...
www.course.com/careers/glossary/itjobs.cfm

programmer: a person who designs and writes and tests computer programs
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Software engineering is the profession concerned with creating and maintaining software applications by applying technologies and practices from computer science, project management, engineering, application domains, and other fields.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_engineer

Eh?

[Sidoh]

Software engineers handle the designing and the programmer handles the coding.

You're thinking of Software Architect.

A bachelor's degree is the most useful thing you can have in Computer Science.  With a Master's or especially with a PhD in Comp Sci, you become over-educated and less useful. 

Over educated?  Less useful?  How does being more educated every make you less useful?  Also, it completely depends on what sort of Computer Science you're going into.  I really doubt that HP frowns upon extra education when they're reviewing engineers.

[MyndFyre]

Over educated?  Less useful?  How does being more educated every make you less useful?  Also, it completely depends on what sort of Computer Science you're going into.  I really doubt that HP frowns upon extra education when they're reviewing engineers.

Because when you're over-educated they have to pay you more for little or no benefit, or sometimes to detriment.  I wouldn't want to work with someone on a project, especially just a typical commercial job, who had a doctorate in engineering.  If you haven't been at the university yet, or for very long, you just don't realize how arrogant those people are.

The profession skews young -- the up-all-night-coding thing gets tired -- but consulting and management positions aren't hard to come by once you're experienced.

What a crock of shit. I love it -- to an extent.

I love it too, until someone besides me is demanding that I do it.  I hate doing that kind of thing for a job or for school.

Oh and if you want to brush up on C#, give me a hollar.  I could use someone for a certain WoW project.... 

[Sidoh]

Because when you're over-educated they have to pay you more for little or no benefit, or sometimes to detriment.  I wouldn't want to work with someone on a project, especially just a typical commercial job, who had a doctorate in engineering.  If you haven't been at the university yet, or for very long, you just don't realize how arrogant those people are.

Who says we would be working on standard commercial projects?  It seems to me you're thinking too narrowly.  If you think the extra education is useless in every case, I think you're beeng foolish.