How To Build Your Career As An Application Software Developer

With every passing day, the dependence of human beings on computers is increasing. Software applications are being developed for things that were earlier considered to be impossible. The combined effect of all of this is the fact that human life has come to become easier and more simplified as compared to what it was. At the heart of such unprecedented growth and development lies the role of application software developers.

What sets these people apart from that of other coders is the fact that they come up with applications that allow people to do specific tasks on a computer or that of any other electronic device. Some of these people are specifically trained to develop the entire network of underlying systems that control the network and run the devices that are on them.

The potential for this field of work is all the way more prominent in the Indian context as a great majority of the application development and IT functionalities of the west are being outsourced to the country in the recent years. This brings in a new surge of job opportunities for qualified people in this field. Read on to know how you can make a successful career here.

• Types Of Jobs

These days, for any company to survive, it needs to establish its digital presence. This holds true irrespective of the field they are working in. As a consequence, there is a need for application software developers in sectors like that of finance, insurance, manufacturing and the management of companies and enterprises as well.

Other than the aforementioned fields, there are the conventional fields of software publishers, computer systems design and other related services. It is due to the vast spectrum of software applications that are on offer today that there is no dearth of job opportunities for qualified application software developers.

• Educational Qualifications

One needs to have a bachelor's degree in engineering in order to be eligible for this career path. Those with a background in computer science, electronics or related fields are given preference over that of others. For people without an engineering degree, a relevant MSc degree should also suffice.

A strong background in computer programming (preferably with decent knowledge of two or more computer languages) and an affinity towards mathematical science is an absolute must for those who want to pursue a career here.

One can also choose to pursue courses to learn relevant programming languages while they are pursuing their bachelor's degree or after that. This will give them an academic edge when they finally come to pursue a career in this field.

• Skill Set

These people will be provided with a situation wherein they need to analyse the needs of the client and design applications that cater to the same. To make such a thing happen, a certain amount of creativity coupled with the due analytical skills are an absolute must.

You must also have good problem-solving skills in order to be able to express the real-life problems in terms of mathematical variables and flow charts and code appropriate solutions for each of them.

Since this type of job role often involves direct interaction with the clients, to understand their needs, as well as with other team members, in order to make the application work, good interpersonal and communication skills are an absolute must for people who want to grow in this career.

• Choose The Right Organisation

Having established that there are a lot of career growth opportunities in this field, the next major thing is to chalk out which field of career you want to choose for yourself as an application software developer professional. There are hundreds of MNCs that employ such developers for a wide array of roles and you are free to make your pick.

In fact, many government agencies outsource their work to these MNCs and developers are seen to work as the third-party workforce for such organisations. These days, there are a number of start-ups across the countries that hire application developers for their businesses.

In addition to all of it, many application software developers choose to be self-employed and freelance with organisations as and when they would choose to.

• Salary

For freshers, this is one of the most highly paid fields in which they can begin their careers. The average salary for an average application developer in India is Rs 4,86,187 per year. At the fresher level, the college from where you have graduated has a major say in the amount of money you will make.

Naturally, people with more than 10 years of experience in this field tend to earn much higher than the average value. Moreover, it has been seen that people with a sound knowledge of Java/J2EE, Hibernate and PL or SQL are the ones who make the most amount of money in this field.

• Career Growth

By starting off as application software developers, one opens the doors to a world of career opportunities. With due experience in the world of computer and information systems, they move on to the roles of team lead and project manager.

As they gain more insight into the field, they climb up the corporate ladder and take to more architecture-based roles wherein they oversee the process of software development. It is in these roles that they control and collaborate the work of different application software developers and thereby facilitate the creation of a whole new software or application.

Some people also choose to shift to non-technical, managerial roles after spending due time as application software developers.

Thus, in today's times, opting for a career as an application software developer is one of the smartest things that any person can go for. Not only does it give you the required monetary compensation, but the intellectual satisfaction and the creative challenge associated with the same are also gratifying.

In the coming years, the career opportunities in this field are only expected to grow.