Being able to code doesn’t make you a software engineer, although coding is a fundamental skill and a prerequisite for becoming one.
Anyone can write code that compiles and runs thanks to a wide range of IDEs (integrated development environments).
Here are three important skills that transform you into a software engineer:
Skill #1: Robustness
Writing code that works in ideal conditions is one thing, but ensuring that it operates under various edge cases, unexpected inputs, and adverse conditions is another.
A software engineer needs to anticipate potential failures, implement error-handling mechanisms, and design systems that can gracefully recover from errors without compromising the stability of the entire system.
Skill #2: Maintainability
Writing maintainable code involves more than just ensuring it functions correctly.
It entails organizing code in a way that is easy to understand, modify, and extend over time by other members of the team. This includes adhering to coding standards, writing clear and concise comments and documentation, and following design principles and patterns that facilitate future updates and enhancements.
Skill #3: Scale
One of the most important aspects of a software engineer is designing systems that can handle high workloads and various levels of data.
Anyone can write code that returns a list of items from a database. But what happens if 500 requests are made to the database at the same time? What about 5 million requests? Are the requests coming from a single region or globally?
Scale is a critical element of any system design. Being able to ask scalability questions during technical design discussions and define it is crucial.
What do you think are the key skills in becoming a software engineer beyond coding?