Many people confuse the term software engineer with the term software developer. Most of us think that these terms can be used interchangeably; which is not valid. Both software engineers and software developers are highly skilled professionals that can build software. However, the roles they play in software development are different.
Software development is a complex process that has a lot of dynamics. Therefore, hiring the right people for the right job makes software development much easier. This blog will highlight the differences between software developer and software engineer.
Who is a Software Engineer?
In simple terms, a software engineer is a software developer capable of building a full-featured software that is easy to refactor, is self-documenting, and is easy to debug. A software engineer advises the clients and the company to help them realize their objectives. A software engineer can play the role of a consultant, a leader, and an individual contributor on various aspects of the software development project. A software engineer often collaborates with clients, the operations department, and other developers throughout the software development lifecycle.
The skillset of a top software engineer
To select the best software engineers, you need to know the skills that an experienced software engineer needs to possess. The following is the desired skill set of a best software engineer.
- Technical expertise and experience of working on a wide range of projects.
- Should be able to build robust software systems and know about pattern design.
- Should know about creating and maintaining complex IT systems like cloud systems and big data stores.
- Support CI (Continuous Integration) and CD (Continuous Delivery).
- Should be able to analyze complex systems.
- Should be able to research, develop, test, compile and distribute the software over the network.
- Should know how to modify existing software, improve the software’s performance or integrate new hardware with the software.
- Should be able to assess the users’ needs and analyze the software requirements such as feasibility of the software development project according to the cost and time constraints.
- Should be updated with the latest software engineering trends.
- Should be able to deploy and install the software.
Who is a Software Developer?
A software developer is also known as a software coder or a software programmer whose primary job is to write the code of the software. A skilled freelance software developer normally works in close coordination with other team members of a software development team, like quality analysts, software testers, and designers.
The top software developers should write error-free code, and they typically follow a project development methodology like Scrum or Kanban.
The skillset of best software developers
You will need to properly assess the skills of a software developer if you want to hire the best software developers in the industry. Here are some essential skills that an ideal software developer needs to have.
- Should have good analytical skills.
- Should possess the requisite knowledge of working with at least one computer programming language such as Java, C++, Python, the more, the better.
- Should have experience in using tools like GitHub.
- Should have an eye for detail while developing software as minor errors could extrapolate into major issues.
- Should have great feedback and communication skills.
- Should be able to manage many projects at different product development stages.
- Should be able to monitor the changes in code.
- Should ensure high quality and consistency in code.
Differences between a Software Developer and a Software Engineer
The major differences between software developer vs software engineer are the following.
Activity type
The software engineers normally work in a team as the processes span across various phases of development, while the software developers’ work is more focused only on the development phase and so they tend to work solo.
Work process
A software engineer is involved in the entire software development life cycle. On the other hand, a software developer is involved only in the coding and programming part of the software development process.
Style of work
A software engineer resolves the issues on a larger scale right from designing, development, maintenance, testing and implementation. The software developer is only responsible to resolve issues that may be in the codes or in the development phase.
Tools
A software engineer might need to create tools from scratch. On the other hand, a software developer uses available tools to finish the software project.
Software Developers or Software Engineers: which one to choose?
Businesses often face the dilemma of whether to go for a software engineer or hire a software developer. To answer this question, you should start by assessing the skill set your business requires and where the person will fit in your workflow. For example, if you want a person with leadership abilities and who can look at the big picture, hire a software engineer. On the other hand, hire a software developer if you want to build a specific portion of a software or website.
If you do not want to take the pain of searching for a software developer or a software engineer, a better way would be to hire from one of the best software development companies. This is because a software development company would have a team of experts including both software engineers as well as software developers to take care of all your software development project requirements.
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