Software Developer Job Description: What Do They Do? (2024)

If you’re in search of a software developer job description, it is important that you first learn all about the different types of such jobs that are out there. Have you just graduated from university? Or maybe you’re already an expert in software development and are looking for a super-fancy, high-tier job? Each job has its own, specific requirements - it’s important to get to know them before actually jumping into the market.

Take this opportunity to learn everything you need to know about the different types of software developer qualifications right in this tutorial! We’ll cover everything from the intricacies to potential future career paths.

Understanding Software Developers Responsibilities

Software development is the process of programming, designing, specifying, testing and bug fixing of certain applications, frameworks or other software components. It is the process of writing managing the source code. In a more broad term, software development is the process that begins from an idea or a conception of the desired software and follows to the final product.

Latest DataCamp Coupon Found:

While understanding software developer job description it is important to know that these developers usually work very closely with programmers, and in some cases, even write codes themselves when it is needed. If the program does not work as it should, or it fails during the testing period, it is software developers duty to fix the issues and make it better. Later on, it is important to track maintenance and provide updates.

Usually, software developers responsibilities look like this:

• Collaborating with other computer science specialists to create software;
• Analyzing the users’ needs and to then develop the software according to it;
• Planning and designing each detail of the application or a system and making it work;
• Find the right software upgrades for customers’ programs and systems;
• Analyzing the code needs and presenting it to the programmers;
• Establishing a working software even while it is under maintenance and upgrading;
• Software developers are responsible for the whole development process of the software program.

Different Types of Software Developers

Just the same as many other career paths in the world, software developer job description can be segmented into different types. These types depend on the person’s skill level and are used to determine everything from that person’s responsibilities in the workplace to their salary. For consistency’s sake, three main types will be used within this article - entry-level (beginner), junior and senior software developers.

Entry-Level Software Developers

Entry-level software developers are people who have just gotten into software development, and might still not even know what’s the difference between that and software engineering. Whether you’re a recent university graduate who just started looking for a job in software developing, or you’re a self-taught wannabe developer who has read every single article about software development online, and now lacks only the work experience - either way, you would fit and fall into the group called “beginner software developers”.

As you may or may not have noticed, the three types that we’ll use and reference in this tutorial are all mostly based on experience. When it comes to the entry-level group, that is also the main defining criterion. Or, I should rather say, the lack of it. You see, beginner software developers usually have absolutely no actual work experience, on the other hand, employers don't as much of it when it comes to software developer job description.

They know what does a software developer do, and (should) have the proper education to start working, but many workplaces may still not hire them simply because of the amount of training that will be needed to make these beginners into fully-fledged professionals. There is an alternative, however, and it’s closely related to education.

Requirements

Without a doubt, proper education is going to be one of the most important requirements when you’re trying to figure out how to get a software developer job. Indeed, more and more people are seemingly choosing to take the alternative path to their education and are turning towards online courses and private tutors.

While this is fine and cool with a lot of different professions and employers these days, software development is a bit of a different matter. Same as specialties such as software engineering or data science, software development is a complex topic - most employers still don’t trust “individual learners”, and will always choose a developer who has a university or college diploma instead of the one who gained his or her knowledge online.

While an adequate education is usually mentioned in the software developer job description, it can also (sort of) help you out when it comes to experience. You see, while “prior work” experience is the most common type of experience that software developers will be expected to have, it’s far from being the only type. Things like seminars, software development-oriented workshops,and even personal projects can add up to your having (quote on quote) “experience” in the field.

That being said, one of the best ways to gain some sort of “working experience” while you’re studying is to participate in an internship. This way, you will not only get the chance to “get a feel” of what does a software developer does in an actual workplace but will also have the ability to show your motivation and passion to a potential employer. Who knows - if you perform well, you might even get hired right after your internship?

When it comes to the more technical requirements of entry-level software developer job descriptions, you should have a whole lot of knowledge on the latest computer software and hardware, be proficient in using one of the more popular and well-known programming languages (C++, HTML, and so on) and be a real “team player” who’s able to both communicate his or her ideas to a team, and receive criticism.

Responsibilities

Most beginner software developer job descriptions won’t ask you to move mountains and do the impossible. On the contrary, whenever you start an entry-level job, your workflow will most likely be focused on learning and training to become the optimal employee for that company.

Most of the entry software developers start their jobs by joining a team of advanced developers, in many cases seniors, and learn from them how to develop, test, and maintain applications and programs. Entry-level developers start doing simple tasks such as running tests, debugging software, and documentation of codes.

Career Path Options

When you’re just starting, there probably won’t be many job options for you to choose from. You shouldn’t think about huge salaries or amazing job benefits - your main goal now should be to gain experience and grow as a professional.

Once you’ve figured out how to get a software developer job and have found your footing, more and more doors will start opening up. Even though, as a software developer, you don’t have many options for branching out available to you, the growth potential within this particular field is limitless.

Salary

According to Ziprecruiter.com, the average annual salary that can be found in almost every single software developer job description offer around $57,300. Keeping in mind that we’re talking about beginners here, this becomes more than a great starting salary! That said, a person has to put in a lot of time and effort to even become an entry-level software developer, so the salary does make sense.

Junior Software Developers

Remember when I emphasized experience as the main aspect that defines all of the three groups in software developing? Well, when you gain enough experience as a beginner, you then transition to the junior group of software developers.

Junior devs no longer have the question “what does a software developer do?”. This group of specialists should already be able to work on their given tasks without needing too much hand-holding from their seniors. Furthermore, as a junior software developer, your tasks are also going to differ from those of the entry-level group.

Requirements

Assuming that you already meet all of the requirements of the beginner group, one of the most important aspects to become a junior dev and be able to apply for the junior-level position is, yet again, experience. Depending on how skilled you are in the field, you should fit almost every higher-end software developer job description out there.

Experience aside, junior software developers should also possess great communication skills. In this job position, you will have to work closely with experts from different fields and professions. Communicating ideas, plans, and even technical statistics are going to be constant things that you’ll encounter - you should know how to do it well!

Furthermore, junior software devs should already have in-depth knowledge on a couple of the more commonly-used programming languages on software development, be able to create programs and maintain existing ones, perform debugging, and so on.

Responsibilities

Junior software developer jobs will require you to be able to work on different tasks that the company might have daily. More often than not, these tasks are going to revolve around maintaining the company’s platform and making sure that it performs well.

Junior-level software developers, as the software developer job description suggests, with the right amount of experience and knowledge should start working on a development team and start writing codes for the software itself. As a junior, the primary goal is to develop even more experience, therefore you start fixing small bugs and participating in paired programming with more competent developers. Troubleshooting, collaborating, and contributing are the main responsibilities to keep an eye on.

Career Path Options

As a junior software developer, you’ll have a lot of different career paths options available to you. Job-wise, you’re in luck - most software developer job descriptions are aimed at junior software developers. In other words, the job market is full of potential jobs that you could apply for - it all depends on what it is exactly what you’re looking for. That being said, do keep in mind that software development is a popular career path - you’ll encounter a lot of competition, so best come prepared!

Most junior software developers, however, have already decided that this is the career that they want to pursue, and thus aim at eventually acquiring the senior title.

Salary

Payscale.com states that junior software developer job descriptions offer around $67,500 on average per year. That’s a pretty big jump from the beginner's salary! It does, however, perfectly represent the increase in requirements and responsibilities that the junior title has when compared to the entry-level one.

Senior Software Developers

The final group of this article - senior software developers - are some of the most experienced professionals of the field (hence the name). They are veterans who know software development through and through and have spent many years perfecting their skills and knowledge to achieve the level that they are currently in.

Requirements

As you may probably guess, senior software developer job description has some of the highest requirements out there. Great knowledge of programming, the ability to work on multiple different projects at the same time and a huge pool of experience in the field are just a few of the many different requirements that you’ll have to meet to even try and get the job.

Responsibilities

Senior software developers work on many different tasks. Most of these tasks are top-tier when it comes to their difficulty. It makes sense, though - they are the leading experts in the field.

In addition to their own, personal assignments, it is commonplace that the company would ask a senior software developer to keep an eye (mentor, in a way) some of the younger members of the team. This means that the developer has to have a strict and clear timetable to follow - managing a few different tasks while also keeping an eye on the work that other people do (and being able to adjust and critique it) is not something easy to plan and keep up with. Senior software developers are the ones who prove themselves constantly in exceeding customers' expectations. They know everything there is to know when it comes to software development.

Career Path Options

As for the senior software developer job description, it offers numerous options for the future career. First of all, it is worth stating that most senior devs choose to remain in the company that they’ve worked in up until they acquired the senior title. If, however, you wish to choose an alternative route, you could always turn towards personal projects or a different sort of establishment. As a senior developer, you have all of the options available to you - it all depends on your own, personal preferences!

Salary

The senior software developer salary has a reputation for being the dream salary for many developers out there. Glassdoor.com aims to prove this notion. According to the site, senior software developers can look to earn around $95,600 per year. That truly is an amazing salary! However, don’t forget - senior developers have to earn it through a whole lot of hard work and dedication.

Conclusions

By now, you should not only know how to read the software developer job description but also understand all of the different intricacies surrounding each of the different types of software developer jobs. Software development is a broad field and it is easy to get lost while trying to get your head around it. If you want to learn more about software development, visit BitDegree courses and tutorials pages for more information about it!

And if it so happens, that you find a course, but currently cannot afford it, be sure to apply for a scholarship. Learning is for everyone, no matter their financial situation!