The software engineering appeared in the top 10 of the “best jobs in America” in Glassdoor in 2022, but it has become more difficult to win these positions in recent years.
The job offers for software engineers on have dropped more than a third compared to 2020 – and in 2022, there were three times the number of these roles listed on the site there are today.
AI tools are also subject to many job seekers. The CEO of Salesforce, Marc Benioff, announced a job freeze for software engineers in 2025 and announced shortly after announcing 1,000 employees.
If you aspire to become a software engineer, especially in a difficult market like this, it helps to have interior advice. Five software engineers and industry experts shared their best advice, ideas and strategies for any new field in the field at Business Insider.
1. Do the right thing, the right way, at the right time
Yehudit Nathan, who heads six teams of 28 engineers as principal director of engineering at the Octane Fintech, said that it was always better to “do the right thing, in the right way, at the right time”.
Yehudit Nathan. Octane
“The industry has changed while the world has gone to a faster instant gratification type of life,” she said. “You must be able to think how you can develop something that is really necessary now and not too far in the future. If you think too far in the future, you could miss your window to succeed.”
2. Search for a business that aligns with your values
Sylvana Santos worked at Codecademy from 2020 to February 2025, when she joined Maribel Health as a complete engineer.
Sylvana Santos. With the kind permission of Sylvana Santos
She said that, as many technological companies focus on the mission and are looking for people also passionate about helping them build their products, you can use this knowledge when you apply for entry level positions.
“Dedicate some time to find closely aligned companies on your experiences, values and goals,” said Santos. “Create a cover letter model that talks about who you are and what motivates you. When you find a business that seems to be a good adjustment, you can change this cover letter for a clear story.”
3. Avoid coding in a bubble
Another Santos tip is to avoid coding in a bubble using the software development technique, where two engineers work together – practically or in person – in real time on the same code.
Related stories
Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know
Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know
“The association is the best way to learn, especially at the start of your career,” said Santos. “It’s a great way to acquire technical knowledge and optimize your workflow.”
Santos told Bi that she had learned many VSCODE shortcuts and debugging tips while associating with other engineers.
4. Look for mentorship and supervise others
She also suggested that beginners find engineers with solid mentoring skills and have set up an association time with them. “Be ready to ask questions and ask for comments,” said Santos. “I would not have discovered these shortcuts vscode if I did not ask:” Hey, how did you do this so quickly? “”
Santos stressed that sharing knowledge as you buy skills can help you advance your start to your career. “Just because you just start that you have no precious information that could be useful for others,” she said. “This can also provide a subject of discussion for self-assessment assessments and promotion packs.”
Santos recommended working with a mentor or manager to find opportunities to share your learning with or outside your team.
5. Demonstrate your adaptability
Whether you are looking for a job or you start your first engineering role, Santos thinks it is important to show that you are willing and able to get out of your comfort zone.
“This shows employers that you are adaptable and proactive – someone who embraces learning and is not afraid of the unknown,” said Santos.
6. Collaborate as much as possible
Jacqueline Garcia is a senior software engineer at Circleci, an integration and delivery platform for software innovation, where she has been working since 2018. Garcia is passionate about communication and collaboration within and beyond her team.
If you are a new engineer, she advises you to collaborate with other engineers from your team – in particular more experienced members.
Jacqueline Garcia. With the kind permission of Jacqueline Garcia
“This will help you improve your skills very quickly,” said Garcia. “It’s also a great way to get real -time advice and comments.”
7. Don’t be afraid to ask questions
Garcia also pointed out that beginners should know that it’s ok not to know something. “Focus on being curious to learn new things and agree to be in situations where you don’t know all the answers,” she said. “These are generally the best opportunities to become a better engineer.”
She recommended that fresh engineers are not afraid to ask questions – no matter how much you think that others might think. “By asking questions, you accelerate important skills to manage ambiguity all over the line,” said Garcia.
8. Identify the unsatisfied needs and meet them
Asif Savvas – A former Oracle employee who is now co -founder and product manager at Simeio – manages the whole engineering team of his company. He advises that the new arrivals of the industry focus on identifying unsatisfied needs in their organization and on the market, then exploring opportunities to remedy it.
Asif Savvas. Savvas Asif
“Instead of simply following trends, innovating and offering differentiated services to meet the needs of the company,” said Savvas. “Becoming an expert in a new language or emerging challenge can help you walk a clear role in your current organization or disembark a dream work.”
9. Adopt a holistic approach
Savvas also advised to adopt a holistic approach when identifying your specific role as a software engineer. He stressed that if you can improve your reflection to be strategic even as a new employee, you will be ahead of your peers and positioned to become a leader.
“Look at the situation as a whole when solving real world problems for customers and businesses,” said Savvas. “Understand the underlying problems stimulating demand for your team services and examine all the relevant factors, including people, processes and tools to develop effective strategies.”
10. Walk slightly with the jargon
Samuel Malachowsky, lecturer of the Department of Software Engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology, has more than 20 years of experience in industry. Before teaching, he was software engineer and technical project manager.
Samuel Malachowsky. With the kind authorization of Samuel Malachowsky
Today, he works with his team at RIT to create free software engineering laboratories and often tells his students to pay attention to how they use fashionable words or jargon of industry, as this can turn around – similar to the use of a few words from a foreign language and to immediately regret it.
He said that even if the terms are important, it is more important to understand the essence of jargon than the terms themselves, signaling “agile”, “scrum” and “devops” as examples.
“In curriculum vitae, I prefer something like” experience with iterative models, in particular the direct interaction of the customer “that” certified scrum “,” he said.
“In the interviews, the simple fact of asking a applicant what” DevOps “means can create panic and stubborn answers. But if I asked someone examples of the deployment tools with which they worked, a much more useful conversation would probably follow.”
businessinsider
