It’s no secret that software development is a complex field. If you are planning to become a software developer, there are numerous technical skills you should have to be a good programmer. Being a software developer is much more than just writing codes and developing custom software as per your client’s requirements.
In this article, we are going to discuss a few important technical skills you must have as a software developer.
Table of Contents
Technical Skills That Every Software Developer Must Know
1. Data Structures and Algorithms
Data Structures and Algorithms is one of the top technical skills to check the problem solving and coding skills. You can be a good software developer if you know how to structure data. As a software developer, you must make good efforts to learn Data Structures and Algorithms. This technical skill is the heart of programming. A data structure enables a web developer to organize, retrieve, and store data to access it while developing software. And an algorithm helps to solve problems by implementing mathematical computation. You’ll understand the importance of organizing the data by leveraging Data Structure and Algorithms in no time. GeeksforGeeks, Codechef, InterviewBit, LeetCode, and HackerEarth are a few websites that help you learn and practice Data Structures and Algorithms.
2. Source Control (Git)
Source control stores and collects your code and aids software developers in working as a team. Every web developer uses source control management to access the history of coding. If you are planning to be a software developer, you must have a basic knowledge of version control tools such as Git, Mercurial, or SVN. As a software developer, you should adapt to Git/Github. This will help you to manage the code version in your project with ease.
3. IDE (Integrated Development Environment)
Stands for Integrated Development Environment, IDE is a software app used by web programmers to write code. It is one of the most important tools for any software developer. By using an IDE, a software developer can speed up the coding process. Remember, IDEs are language-specific. Sublime Text, Codeblocks, and Atom are a few popular IDEs.
4. Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is the present and future of software development. This technical skill is an important part of the rise of AI (Artificial Intelligence), Machine Learning (ML), and Data Science (DS). It is advisable to acquire basic knowledge of cloud platforms such as AWS (Amazon Web Services), Microsoft Azure, and GCP (Google Cloud Platform). Learning this skill will not only make you a great software developer but also gives you an opportunity for another profile in the development industry.
5. Project Management
Project management enables the team to meet the project goals within a limited time. The major role of project management is to encourage software developers to accomplish the development tasks within the given constraints. Trello, Zoho, Asana, and ProofHub are a few project management tools that every software developer should know.
6. Database and SQL
Data is the fuel on which companies run. The database is an important skill for software developers. Software developers should know how to create, insert, and delete data from tables. If you want to be a good software developer, you need to understand how to write SQL queries. SQL is the most popular database among software developers. MongoDB, Oracle, Redis, Cassandra, and PostgreSQL are the common databases to work with.
7. AWS (Amazon Web Services)
AWS, an evolving cloud computing platform, has a blend of IaaS and PaaS services. This platform provides over 200 services from several data centers. An AWS software developer has numerous responsibilities, based on the company they work with. These responsibilities include the implementation of AWS, managing its integration and continuous integration, and handling CI or CD pipelines.
8. Microsoft Excel
Excel is one of the important tools for software developers. It is much more than a spreadsheet application. Microsoft Excel offers numerous features to provide sophisticated data analysis. This tool is used by programmers and developers to track progress, data science, reconcile data, data quality checks, and a lot more. We can’t ignore the importance of Microsoft Excel. This tool helps software developers to make their operations simpler and it also helps to speed up their development work using its functions like searching, sorting, or for any mathematical operation. It is also used to enter and store bulk data in databases. The primary reason behind learning Excel is that everybody uses it from QA to Project Managers.
9. SDLC (Software development Life Cycle)
Software Development Life Cycle is a step-by-step process to create software ensuring its quality. If you want to be a software developer, you must have knowledge of the life cycle of software. The important phases in SDLC include requirement gathering, feasibility study, design, implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance. Remember, every phase of SDLC is essential while creating software.
10. Testing
There are numerous test cases an application has to pass before releasing software in the development industry. Testing is one of the most important steps to find bugs and check if the software is fine to be used by the customer. A software developer must have knowledge of the important testing methods i.e. Unit Testing, Integration Testing, and System Testing. It is important to learn how to test software for removing bugs.
Final Words
Becoming a successful software programmer is not that easy. It requires a lot of effort in learning the skills mentioned in the article. Once you learn these skills, you’ll be able to make a bright future in the programming field.
