It is a given that engineering college education will not provide everything there is to know about the field. There will always be things that engineering graduates will never know, and only learned when they get work experience.
Software engineers who are just starting their careers have their share on this.
The job is more than just being able to know how to code. There are several other things that software engineers may have not been able to figure out over the course of their college study. Here are 6 of those:
Learn about the underlying systems
It’s basic for programmers and software engineers to understand computer systems, but some just disregard them. When one works with a code and a roadblock happens, sometimes it’s just about what’s happening beneath the hood. Critical information should also be known about file systems, networking and memory storage for the program or code to work.
Know command line tools
Having to know the ins and outs of the command line will save you a lot of time if you just know how to use with them. Tools like find, comm, diff, vi/vim, sed, awk are life-savers especially when you are in a stiff deadline.
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Make good use of your debugger
If you’re not writing code, you are most likely to be tracking down bugs. The way not to waste time doing it is through debuggers. You have to learn how to configure it. When you don’t get the results, just debug it by setting breakpoints, stepping through your code and especially third-party code.
Learn to write tests
Unit testing, which is writing tests to validate that small units of code are doing what they should, is critical for every software engineer. When you write a program you should accompany it with writing tests as early as the coding process.
Be flexible with new systems
Codes and software systems are constantly developing, and it’s up for you to adapt. Technologies change quickly and projects are no longer written in just one language with one framework anymore. Especially if you take clients, you need to be well-rounded with new languages.
Play well with others
The common notion about software engineers working on their laptops and desktops alone in the limits of their headphones has to change. Software engineers need collaborative efforts in order to produce one-of-a-kind program. Coding is actually a team sport rather than an individual one.
Source: IT World
