What Is an Entry Level Software Developer and How to Become One

By ZipRecruiter Marketplace Research Team

An entry-level software developer has simpler duties compared to more senior members of the field. At the entry level, your responsibilities are to create simple, single-thread code to achieve a specific task. These bits of code can be combined to create a larger program. You may also have to create or write a design algorithm by which you create software. However, most of the time, as an entry-level developer, you are in charge of debugging. You have to comb through the code of a piece of software to remove errors.

The minimum educational qualifications for software developers are a bachelor’s degree in computer science, software development, or a similar field. In addition to formal education, you need to demonstrate proficiency in various programming languages. C++ is still a good go-to language, but you need to pick up others like Python, Perl, and Ruby. Depending on the work environment, you may also need to learn other types of code. For example, web developers need to know HTML5 and Javascript.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, you can expect software development to see an increase of 24 percent in the number of jobs from 2016 to 2026. The advent of the Internet of Things, coupled with the general increase in information technology, makes software development a good field to pursue if you want steady work. You can find jobs in a wide range of industries because everyone needs applications coded or debugged. After several years of experience at entry-level positions, you can move up to junior-level software development.

A software developer’s duties encompass that of a software engineer’s. Developers focus on creating a viable product throughout the entire process of development. They contact the client, judge their needs and decide how best to implement those needs from a macro perspective of the process. Software engineers, on the other hand, focus directly on the programming aspect of the software. They write the code manually or use a compiler. All developers are engineers to some extent because they have to know the limits of the programming language in which they intend to develop.