What Does a Software Developer Do? Roles & Responsibilities

Introduction

A quick fun fact before we start and invest the next 10 minutes understanding what a software developer does - this browser that you are reading this blog on is the creation of a software developer!

Not only this, but the WhatsApp you use, the Google sheet you use to present data, and even the game you download from your Play Store or App Store are all built by software developers.

Remember the GTA5 craze around 2014? From roaming around the streets like a vagabond to stealing cars and even eliminating the cops, there was almost no grain of a thing that was impossible in that game.

This was again developed by a software developer - a game developer, to be specific. An array of roles fall under the canopy of software development. Read more on the types of software developers.

Software developers use their programming skills and design thinking to ideate, design, and develop software and applications that meet the end consumer's needs.

Software in today’s date is not limited to apps, video games, or piles of code but is the driving force behind every computerized device on the planet.

From Netflix to watching movies, Facetime to video calling, Zomato to ordering food online, or even Google Maps to navigating our ways, we are surrounded by software, and our life would not have been this easy without one!

What do software developers do?

Software developers use their programming proficiency to create new software and applications or improve existing software. They create almost everything from web applications to games and operating systems.

They are typically involved in every stage of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), from defining user needs to ideating the application design and anticipating user behaviour to developing and testing a complete application.

As a software developer, you may work in various industries, from healthcare and manufacturing to aerospace and even defence.

Many organizations have standalone software or in-house systems to maintain the company's internal work. Building and maintaining those systems also fall under the core duties of a software developer.

For instance, private defence firms have software for tracking and managing equipment, intelligence mapping software, aerospace activity detection systems, etc.

You have medical billing, medical imaging software, and much more in healthcare. We all know the complex software that keeps functioning in sync inside the cockpit of an aircraft!

Software developers create all of the systems mentioned above. As a developer, you must work with a team comprising software engineers and programmers.

What is Software Development?

Software Development is a methodical approach wherein developers are required to ideate, create, develop, deploy, test, and maintain certain software applications or frameworks.

The entire SDLC aims to create efficient, reliable, user-friendly software solutions for a particular problem.

The entire process follows a series of stages, from brainstorming application design ideas to delivering a final product, typically following one of several methodologies like Agile, Waterfall, or DevOps.

A few of the day-to-day responsibilities of a software developer include:

1. Analyzing end-users needs and what problem statement needs to be solved.

2. Design, develop, and test software applications to meet user needs.

3. Creating models and flowcharts that outline the code needed to create software applications.

4. Testing and maintaining the software at periodic intervals to ensure optimal performance and efficiency.

5. Documenting the entire SDLC process for future upgrades and maintenance.

Phases of Software Development

Software Development follows a streamlined and methodical approach, and the series of stages involved is primarily referred to as Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).

The typical phases include:

1. Planning & Requirement: Identifying the problem statements and user requirements, defining project goals, and establishing the scope of software.

2. Application Design: Creating the design architecture of the application, including specifications, user interfaces, system interfaces, and data structures.

3. Development: Writing code to develop the software adhering to the design.

4. Testing: Identifying and resolving bugs in code to ensure the software meets all quality standards.

5. Deployment: Releasing the software to consumers, involving installation, configuration, and integration with existing systems.

6. Maintenance: Ongoing and recurring support to fix issues, update features, release security patches, and improve any other performance-based issues as per user feedback.

Software Development Methodologies

There are quite a few methodologies that guide the planning, organising, and execution of software. Choosing a software methodology depends on various factors, some of the most common being project size, complexity, flexibility, team size, and customer involvement.

Some of the most commonly used methodologies are:

1. Agile: This iterative and flexible methodology emphasizes collaboration, customer feedback and small incremental changes.

2. Scrum: This subset of Agile primarily focuses on short development cycles, popularly known as sprints, and conducts regular team meetings to assess progress.

3. Waterfall: This methodology follows a linear and sequential approach where every development phase must be completed before the next begins.

4. DevOps: DevOps combines Software Development (Dev) with Operations (Ops) to shorten the overall development lifecycle and deliver high-quality software continuously.

Software Developers vs Software Engineers

At this point, it's easy to get lost in the difference between a software developer and a software engineer.

Though software developers and engineers may perform common tasks and have the same skills, there's a slight difference - similar to a crocodile vs alligator!

Software developers are typically focused on designing the application software and identifying user needs and core problem statements that the application will solve. They work on creating the user interface, app features, and more.

They work on a much smaller scale than engineers, and their efforts go down a particular niche, such as mobile applications or game development.

On the contrary, software engineers orchestrate the entire software architecture or design large-scale software solutions. Besides being involved in programming, they may also carry out functions such as data analysis, testing, software scalability, and more.

Software Development - Career Outlook in India

According to an article by the Economic Times, India has around 5.2 million active software engineers, and the demand for skilled professionals remains robust.

The rising demand is primarily due to digital adoption across industries, and the advancements that AI and emerging technologies are leaving behind.

As per the data from Teamlease Digital, an estimated 9-10 lakh jobs will be created for skilled engineers in the next 18 months in this ever-evolving landscape of digitization across both tech and non-tech sectors.

From a 17% rise in 2023, the demand for software engineers is projected to rise to 22% by 2025 across sectors such as banking, financial, telecom, automotive, EVs, healthcare, and more.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates that the demand for software developers will grow by 25% from 2022 to 2032, much higher than other occupations.

India is the largest offshore destination for IT companies globally, and the IT-BPM sector in India accounts for almost 30% of the global outsourced BPM market.

With all these statistics in place, the future of software development in India looks promising for an individual with the right skills and expertise.

As a fresher with up to 3 years of experience, you can expect a median salary of 3-8 lakhs annually. The same salary can rise to 15 lakhs if you have 4-7 years of experience.

Lastly, if you are a software developer with over 8 years of experience, you can expect an annual salary of 25 lakhs and upwards.

How to become a software developer without a degree?

To be honest, you need a bachelor's degree to become a software developer in most MNCs, as a college education is necessary to get you acquainted with the basic knowledge and skills you will need at a job.

However, you can still become a software developer without a degree, provided you build the knowledge and skills by other means, such as enrolling in an online course or doing certain specialization or certificate programs.

For example, Masai School provides a Full Stack Software Development Pay After Placement Course to enroll in and learn from basics to advanced software development at zero upfront cost.

Learn from subject matter experts and industry mentors, upskill yourself, and pay the fees only after you land a software developer job above a certain salary!

The best part is that you only need the 12th pass to enroll in the course, and you will be taught industry-specific curriculum so you become job-ready from Day 1, focusing on building core practical skills that employers seek and value.

Having a kickass resume and building a personal and GitHub portfolio are crucial steps to cracking your first software dev job!

How to be a software developer?

Getting into software development is the best career choice in 2024, especially when the demand for skilled software professionals is geared for a steady rise.

In a nutshell, the 3 most important skills you need to master to be a software developer are programming languages, analytical and problem-solving skills, and getting your hands dirty at learning the overall software development process.

1. Choose your career path

There are as many as 20 software developer roles in the market as of 2024, ranging from mobile app developer, full stack developer, game developer, and many more.

Defining your niche and determining which role you want to pursue is the first step towards finding a job in this broad industry.

If you are passionate about app design, you can become a mobile developer and hone your skills by building applications. If you love working on the infrastructure of computers and servers, you might want to specialize as a DevOps Engineer.

Some popular career options that you might consider after our Full Stack Software Development course are:

• Full-Stack Developer
• Software Application Developer
• Software Programmer & Analyst
• Mobile App Developer

2. Learn a programming language

Mastering programming languages is the base upon which you can begin your software development career. A few languages that I will personally recommend are Python, JavaScript, C++, Scala, Java, SQL, and PHP.

To begin with, Python is a great start. The language is easy to learn and has one of the widest use cases in programming.

Last but not least, the object-oriented language is popularly recognized for its versatility, with extensive use cases in scripting and data analysis.

3. Earn Professional Certifications

Though a bachelor's degree is recommended before you hop into the multiverse of software development, you can still become one if pursuing a full-time degree is not in your immediate plan.

You need to gain industry-recognized certifications that help you acquire practical skills. From basic and intermediate to advanced professional certificates, they help you get a competitive advantage over your peers or advance in your current role.

If you are a complete beginner in the software domain, starting with our Full Stack Software Development course can help you strengthen your foundations and land you a job.

However, if you are looking to sharpen your skills to move forward in your career trajectory in software development, I will advise you on the following courses.

• AWS Certified Developer - Associate
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate
• CompTIA ITF+
• Cisco Certified Network Associate
• HDP Certified Developer
• Certified OpenStack Administrator
• Oracle Platform as a service (PaaS) Certification

4. Build a GitHub or Professional Portfolio

Demonstrating your skills and solving real-world problems will help you get ahead of the competition and build authority and credibility in the eyes of potential employers.

Contribute to open source projects and have an active presence on GitHub. Additionally, build projects relevant to the niche in which you want to pursue a career.

If you want a job as a mobile developer, build an impressive portfolio of various mobile applications for both iOS and Android platforms.

If you are passionate about software development in general, build projects related to e-commerce, recommendation systems, etc.

This will showcase that you are practically skilled and help you land your first job as a software developer.

Technical Skills for Software Developers

A software developer's toolkit needs to hold a wide canopy of technical skills, from programming languages to database systems to DSA and version control, etc.

1. Programming Languages

It is very important to be proficient with one or more programming languages, viz. Python, Java, C++, SQL, HTML, etc. If you are a complete beginner coding, start with Python, as it's easy to learn and has an extensive array of use cases.

This involves writing clean, efficient, and functional code to create software applications. What sort of programming languages you need to master depends highly on the industry you will be working in and the software you will be developing.

The programming stack and languages that you need to master depend on the niche of software development that you choose. For instance, if you choose to be a game developer or a mobile application developer, you must learn the different languages accordingly.

2. Data Structures & Algorithms (DSA)

Having an in-depth understanding of data structures and algorithms is essential for solving complex software problems.

As a software developer, you need to thoroughly understand how and when to implement the appropriate data structures and algorithms to ensure optimal efficiency and performance of the application.

3. Web Development

You need to be skilled in languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript while also being proficient in web development frameworks such as React or Angular.

This will help you in creating intuitive and user-friendly web applications. Though your major role will surround around creating softwares and mobile applications, you need to be acquianted with creating web apps.

4. Linux

Linux is widely used as the base for creating a wide variety of software applications, as it is open source and highly customizable per specific software requirements. Additionally, the OS contains several tools that are of prime use to programmers, such as sed, awk piping, and grep.

Also, Linux is compatible with a vast canopy of programming languages, including C, C++, Python, Ruby, Perl, and PHP. Its secure, versatile, and scalable architecture makes it a favourite among software developers.

Last but not least, Linux encourages collaboration and sharing, which leads to faster development of secure software.

5. Version Control

Going around version control systems like Git is a prime stepping stone towards landing a lucrative career in software development.

Git helps developers track code changes, collaborate with other team members on a single or multiple projects, and even manage different versions of the same project.

Being proficient in version control systems makes you good at code management.

6. System Design

One of the most critical aspects of SDLC. System Design refers to the architecture of software systems. Writing and testing clean code is not the sole requirement when building software.

You must remember that the software architecture must be scalable, reliable, and efficient when designing systems to meet project or client requirements.

7. DevOps

DevOps blends the practices of Software Development (Dev) and IT Operations (Ops). DevOps stands for the careful management and allocation of resources to deliver fully functional software quickly, efficiently, and affordably.

Soft Skills for Software Developers

Though having good taste in technical skills is an absolute no-brainer in securing a software job, soft skills are equally important if you want to thrive in the industry.

1. Communication Skills

Being a developer is not a standalone job; you may need to work with a close team of programmers and engineers. Under that circumstance, you will need to walk them through various problem statements and communicate your expectations in terms of potential solutions.

You need to express your technical concepts, brainstorm with your team, and update the progress of your project to relevant stakeholders.

Additionally, you might have to prepare detailed reports on the development process and break them down to executives who do not have tech expertise or even participate in daily scrums.

2. Problem-Solving Ability

Softwares are built with the sole purpose of solving a real-world issue. Developers must analyze the problem statement, identify user needs and then use that base to build software to resolve that specific issue.

They are also responsible for identifying and eliminating errors during the development process or resolving code bugs to ensure smooth operational efficiency.

3. Analytical Thinking

When building software from scratch, it's easy to deviate from the path and provide a bunch of features that does not serve the core purpose for which the software is being built.

As the project progresses, you need to constantly monitor and analyze the state of the software and its code. You need to determine how likely is the software to achieve its goal.

Analysis is also required during discussing the design architecture of the software, and whether or not any new concept needs to be introduced in the software, keeping in mind the needs of the end consumer.

4. Teamwork

As a developer, you will be expected to be a team contribitor and not an idealist. You need to work in close teams and achieve a common goal by leveraging other's inputs and expertise.

You need to brainstorm ideas and potential solutions, put in collaborative team efforts, be able to take feedback, etc.

5. Emotional Intelligence

One of the most underrated skills that you need to master in the realm of software develeopment is emotional intelligence. Building a software is a complex task, and losing track or deviating from achieving your primary goals are common.

When such unforeseen circumstances occur, you need to hold your conscience and emotional intelligence helps you remain calm and focused.

Companies actively seek out employees with emotional intelligence as they show high levels of empathy and emotional control, and can hold a team together in times of difficulty, and is more likely to hold loyalty and trust.

Conclusion

So, that was it! I hope you found the information you were looking for. In a nutshell, software developers form the backbone of our digital era.

From articulating design principles in an application to developing the game that was a core part of our childhood memory, developers bring convenience and entertainment at our fingertips.

Software Developers are typically involved at every part of the SDLC, from design thinking, coding, deployment, testing, debugging, and even documentation.

This blog also covered job and salary insights on software development in India. Leverage the software revolution and be a part of the rising global economy.