By Leslie Doyle | 03/19/2025
The ubiquity of technology in all aspects of our lives has made software development a burgeoning field. Software developers are responsible for innovations that improve how we work and live.
If you're eager for in-demand apps or are curious about what went into creating the latest tech, you may be interested in learning more about how software is developed. Nearly every part of the public and private sector relies on software developers to design applications and other tools.
What Is Software Development?
Software development involves learning about end user needs and translating those needs into a fully designed application or other piece of tech. Software developers are responsible for creating websites, mobile apps, and other products. Working in this field typically involves designing, coding, testing, and maintaining software applications and systems.
What Do Software Developers Do?
Most software developers are the brains behind today's technology. They conceptualize and create new software programs.
A software developer's job duties typically involve:
- Analyzing user needs
- Ideating to come up with inventive ways to deliver product functionality
- Building logic workflows
- Creating models and diagrams to outline the code needed to create software
- Writing code using computer languages
- Refining software as needed
- Configuring software for specific computer systems
- Writing technical documents
Collaboration is a large part of software developers’ work. They communicate regularly with:
- User interface colleagues and user experience designers to ensure that new software is easy to use
- Systems analysts to ensure the app meets user needs
- Project managers to identify and overcome any obstacles and meet key project milestones
- Quality assurance analysts to test newly created software
- Systems administrators to deploy software
What Technical Skills Do Software Developers Need?
Software development requires a solid understanding of software design principles. These principles serve as an underpinning to guide software developers in creating code that is scalable, reliable, and reusable. In addition, software developers must understand:
- Programming languages like Java®, C+, and Python®
- Data structures and algorithms for organizing data
- Version control systems to enable teams to get their jobs done without overwriting each other's work
- Integrated development environments, which help make developing software more efficient
Depending on their role, software developers may also need additional skills. For example, they might need to know:
- Database management
- Machine learning
- Mobile development
- Cloud computing
What Soft Skills Do Software Developers Need?
You may think that being a developer involves sitting at a keyboard writing code, but it’s so much more than that. A great deal of a software developer’s job involves soft skills such as creativity and communication.
“I see a lot of developers talk electrons, lines of code, dissections of packets, and deep analyses of logs and traffic, but they never tie it to the big ‘so what?’ The question that many technical people miss is the relevance to the non-technical audience. I suggest that software developers should work on their technical skills, but not forget about presentation and soft skills,” says Dr. Andre Slonopas, Department Chair in American Military University’s Department of Cybersecurity.
Successful software developers excel at various skills, including:
- Interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence – Software developers need to be good, active listeners to understand what users want and deliver on those requirements.
- Project management – Staying on course with software development projects means navigating shifting goals, listening to client demands, and adhering to tight timeframes.
- Creativity – One of the best parts of being a software developer is finding innovative ways to bring user needs to life.
- Analytical skills – Application software developers need analysis and critical thinking skills to solve user pain points and address issues that arise in the software development process.
- Problem solving abilities – A large part of the role of software development is uncovering and resolving bugs.
“I think people forget how much soft skills matter, even in hard sciences and concrete disciplines like software development,” says Dr. Slonopas. “You never work alone, and so you need to be able to work well with others. You may be a brilliant engineer, but you can’t work in a vacuum. Otherwise, a project will never scale.”
What Formal Education Do Software Developers Need?
Becoming a software developer typically requires some formal education. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a bachelor's degree is usually needed to seek entry-level careers in software development. A Statistica survey found that:
- 41% of software developers have a bachelor's degree
- 25% have a master's degree
- 4.9% have another type of professional degree
Most people qualify to become a software developer by taking courses in:
- Computer science
- Coding
- Information technology
- Programming languages
- Software design
- Computer systems design
- Web development
- Software development or a related field
Many aspiring software developers also earn professional certificates, such as:
- Amazon Web Services (AWS®) Certified Developer Associate
- Computer Technology Industry Association Information Technology Fundamentals Plus (CompTIA ITF+®)
- Cisco® Certified Network Associate
- Certified OpenStack Administrator
- Hortonworks Data Platform (HDP) Certified Developer
“I’ve seen developers try to jump into frameworks and processes without truly understanding the software development itself,” observes Dr. Slonopas. “Following a process will not produce results if the developer does not have an understanding of the programming languages.
“Many developers focus on the code and forget that code does not live in ether. There are a lot of tools out there that help with the coding, but I would highly recommend thinking about where the code will be deployed, such as Docker or Kubernetes.
“I would also say not to be ashamed to ask faculty members and others for help. No one is perfect, and asking for assistance is a sign of humility and willingness to collaborate."
The Difference Between a Software Developer and a Software Engineer
Software developers usually design applications while software engineers design larger software solutions. Software engineers build, integrate, and design complex systems.
While software developers focus on building a specific application, software engineers work to ensure the proper operation of the larger systems infrastructure. Software engineering skills may include monitoring networks, installing new software, and troubleshooting technical issues.
The Difference Between an Application Developer and a Systems Software Developer
Application developers typically focus on one area, such as web applications. In contrast, systems software developers build larger organizational computer systems.
Instead of designing a single application, systems software developers take a higher-level view. They're responsible for ensuring that all technical components work together as a whole to keep an organization's computer systems running smoothly. Systems software developers create operating systems as well as device drivers.
The Daily Job Duties of Software Developers
Development professionals follow a traditional software development life cycle when they create new custom software. Their day-to-day activities may include meeting with stakeholders to determine the scope and requirements for the application. From there, software developers document the computer software requirements and start to map out the resources needed to deliver on these needs.
The next step is to create software mockups. Using prototyping tools, they develop interactive mockups to visualize the functions and flow of the app they plan to create.
From there, software developers sit down to write the code to create the actual software. Essentially, coding means using a programming language like Java, Python, C, C++, or C# to create the software and ensure that end users can use the software in the correct manner.
Once software developers finish writing code, they work with quality assurance analysts on alpha testing to see how the software performs. This iterative process tests the code in a controlled environment. Software testing ensures that the new code aligns with pre-defined requirements and that it can scale to meet the needs of end users.
Software quality assurance analysts work to uncover and document software bugs. The application developers then refine the code to resolve bugs. There may be several cycles of testing and updating the software before the application is launched.
In the next phase, called beta testing, developers release the software to a limited number of real users to test it before they release it as a commercial software product. They gather user feedback to make further refinements before releasing the application.
Documentation is another component of software developer jobs. When creating new technologies, developers need to document how they developed the code and what revisions they made.
This documentation makes software maintenance easier to perform and manage because it allows everyone involved to understand the work. Developers or other members of the team may also write user manuals or other technical documentation.
What Role Does Project Management Play in Developing Computer Programs?
Part of software developers’ jobs is to ensure that they deliver new applications within the timeline and budget set by their organization. Consequently, application software developers regularly meet with project managers to keep development projects moving forward smoothly.
Project managers play a key role in computer systems design. They may follow a waterfall approach, where each task is completed in sequence. They can also use an Agile® approach, which relies on iterative development.
What Are Common Software Development Career Paths?
Software developers typically choose a career path where they can specialize in a particular area. For example:
- Web developers focus on website layout and functionality.
- Front-end developers build the user-facing part of an application.
- Back-end developers focus on the server side of an application.
- Full-stack developers work on the front and back end of applications.
- Game developers create mobile device games or games intended for specific operating systems or consoles.
- Mobile developers design applications that are optimized for mobile devices.
Why Become a Software Developer?
Software developers create everything from consumer electronics to mobile apps. In virtually every industry, there is a need to not only keep computers functioning smoothly but to build applications to address specific pain points. Our society's increasing reliance on technology means it's likely there will remain a high demand for professionals who can create custom software.
Additionally, the discipline of developing software is intellectually stimulating. Software developers can flex their creative muscles, because innovation is at the heart of their work.
The world of technology is constantly changing. As a result, professionals in the software development field are continually learning new information.
From a practical standpoint, learning software development may offer additional opportunities with time and experience. Many software developers are hired as individual performers and move on to managing software development teams. Another advantage of working in this field is that many software developer jobs can be performed remotely.
Software developers have a good mix of time working alone and working with a team. If you enjoy collaboration as well as being an individual performer, becoming a software developer may be right for you.
How to Become a Software Developer
If you're looking to become a software developer, you can start by earning a bachelor's degree in computer science, information technology, or a similar field. A bachelor's degree program will provide you with hands-on experience in software development, where you'll get to practice using programing languages. Most bachelor's degree programs in IT fields teach you the fundamentals of software and systems, database systems, information security, and related topics.
Since working in software development requires a commitment to ongoing learning, you'll also want to attend software design conferences and find opportunities to network with other software developers. They may help you identify software development career opportunities or could potentially serve as mentors.
Being Competitive in the Software Development Field
“To really stand out as a software developer, try to contribute to open source and post your work on sites like GitHub,” says Dr. Slonopas. “Get your name out there, showcase your work, and let people know who you are. I would recommend attending hackathons, perhaps watching some videos on the subject, practicing a bit, and then heading to some conferences to showcase your work.”
Dr. Slonopas notes that highlighting projects and showcasing what your projects do is also a great way to promote yourself. “Don’t just talk about projects from slides. Showcase them, show the code, host projects online, and showcase your GitHub and other repositories,” he advises.
“As someone who hired software developers and computer scientists in the past, I've seen that sometimes people look good on paper, but you need to know that they can deliver. You can really stand out when you showcase your work.”
Dr. Slonopas also highly recommends that candidates build a personal website. He says, “Don’t just have GoDaddy AI build it for you; take it a step further. Explore building a site with some of the novel HTML or some other markup languages; showcase your skills with embedded videos of you doing something interesting and exciting with Metasploit or Kali Linux. Excite people about your work and tell a story about why you and your skills are amazing.”
Computer-Related Degrees at American Military University
For interested adult learners, American Military University offers a range of degrees designed to enable computer professionals to learn hard and soft skills. These programs include:
- An online Associate of Science in Computer Technology
- An online Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science
- An online Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
- An online Master of Science in Information Technology
Courses in these programs, taught by experienced faculty members, include web development fundamentals, IT project management, design for the Web, and algorithms and data structures. Other courses include user interface and experience design, operating systems, program design and development, and information technology project management.
For more information on these degrees, visit AMU’s information technology program page.
Note: Completion of the associate program does not award any professional certifications but may be helpful in preparing to earn such certifications. The Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science and the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science programs have specific admissions requirements.
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Python is a registered trademark of the Python Software Foundation.
Amazon Web Services is a registered trademark of Amazon.com, Inc.
CompTIA ITF+ is a registered trademark of the Computer Technology Industry Association.
Cisco is a registered trademark of Cisco Systems, Inc.
Agile is a registered trademark of Oracle, Inc.