Routes to becoming a software engineer

Traditionally, the career path of a software engineer required an undergraduate degree. However, there are now several options for getting the training and education you need to become a software engineer. If you have a degree, you may be able to apply for a place on a graduate training scheme with a company. Training schemes are often open to all graduates, not just people with a degree in computing.  

If you don鈥檛 think university is for you, you can go through a software engineering higher apprenticeship. You鈥檒l need 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher apprenticeship.  

Undergraduate degrees鈥� 

The most common path for a software engineer is to study for a bachelor鈥檚 degree. A bachelor鈥檚 degree involves studying one, or sometimes two, subjects in detail. It鈥檚 the most common undergraduate degree in the UK and is a level 6 qualification, a bachelor's degree typically takes four years to complete. A software engineering bachelor鈥檚 degree can include courses in mathematics, software architecture, networking, and programming languages.

Typical software engineering degree entry requirements are ABB鈥揃BC Typical offers A levels 鈥� ABB鈥揃BC UCAS points 鈥� 112鈥�128 points, including an A Level in a relevant subject.

Degree apprenticeships

If you鈥檇 like to get some hands-on, practical experience while studying you could combine work and study while earning a salary, a degree apprenticeship is worth considering. Which apprenticeships are available, and how you apply, depends on where you live. Companies may offer code courses where you can learn a specific language such as Python and work on projects while studying.  

You鈥檒l still study your chosen subject, which your employer will pay for, but you鈥檒l do so part-time alongside work. These courses are employer-led and will usually take the same length of time to complete as an undergraduate degree.

The entry requirements are set by both the employer and the course provider.

You can search for apprenticeship vacancies via .

Postgraduate degrees

A bachelor's degree in software engineering or computer science is the standard minimum qualification for a career as a software engineer. However, within a competitive, growing workspace, having a master's degree is becoming more of a demand due to industry standards of higher programming knowledge. 

Postgraduate software engineering courses enabling you to add to your skills with intensive classes, practical sessions, and group work. These courses usually take a year to complete full time or two years part time. An undergraduate degree in a related subject is usually a minimum entry requirement.

Whether you have had work experience or not you need to create a portfolio of projects that you have worked on. So, if you say that you are confident using JavaScript then you have a project that you鈥檝e worked on to back up this skillset. Go over projects that you have worked on or studied thoroughly before an interview in case you are asked any in depth questions, you want to be prepared and have technical answers and knowledge about the code and projects, brush up on your data structures and different kinds of algorithms.

You should also be prepared for technical interviews with a task to complete. In such a technical role your employer will want to see your attention to detail and coding skills in a practical task.

When searching for vacancies, try to look at specific roles that require your skillset instead of looking at all the software engineering roles available. Software engineers are highly sort after by companies so if you鈥檙e able to find a job, you鈥檒l want to make sure that you鈥檒l be using what you鈥檝e studied to the best effect.

If a programme doesn't perform as expected or testers find it challenging to use, software engineers need to go back to the design process to fix the problem.

Is a role as a software engineer right for you?

Behind every computer programme or app, there鈥檚 a software engineer.  

Do you love using computer programs and apps? Can you tell the difference between good, smooth app functionality and a bad programme? If you're interested in computer science and app or web development, software engineering may be perfect path for you to take. If you love computing and have already investigated coding or like the idea of writing code, then being a software engineer could be your perfect career.