Software Developer v/s Software Engineer: What’s the Difference & Who Will Fit You Best

The average spending on enterprise software is expected to sum up to around 675 billion US dollars across the globe by 2022. That is 11% percent growth as compared to the previous year. In 2019, there were around 23.9 million software developers worldwide.

In 2021, the software engineer role was the most sought-after professional in the market. By 2030, it is estimated that 45 million people worldwide will be working as software engineers. India will be the country with the largest software developer population in 2024.

Experts tell us that these two jobs are completely different in terms of their functionalities. From having a thin line of difference to standing farthest apart from each other, both the positions have their unique role and responsibility. The blog helps you learn more about these two jobs and helps you find out which one suits the best as per your business needs.

Let us head over to the details. 

Who Is a Software Developer?

A software developer is a tech specialist who provides software development services and  who designs, develops, and builds mobile and desktop programs. They also create different kinds of web and mobile applications. They are basically driven by a creative force to design and program implementation. Recently, they are in high demand due to the infusion of technology in all kinds of businesses and the demand for process automation.

Generally, they are responsible for the complete development process. They do client collaborations to make theoretical designs. They are also responsible for documentation and testing client software and writing code for developing apps. These apps may either stand-alone or amplify access to servers and services.

Top Skills of A Software Developer

Data Structure and Algorithms

These are the most required skills in a modern software developer. They must be familiar with the basic data structures, like linked list, an array, set, and map. Consider the fundamentals that they should know for building apps.

Git and GitHub

Most companies use Git and GitHub source code management. This is a hard skill that is essential for software developers.

Cloud Computing

They are highly skilled in cloud computing. This skill is in foremost demand because of its cost-effective approach. Tech specialists having proficiency in Google Cloud Platform are in high demand this year.

IDEs (like Visual Studio Code)

It is not just about knowing the programming languages and databases. Software developers must know source code editors like Visual Studio Code to debug, code refactoring, and syntax highlighting

Learning Ability

In addition to gaining progress out of position, experience and knowledge, the developers must dedicate the time to build their skill set on a daily basis, do code analysis with a sharp eye, and keep looking for opportunities.  

Identifying Software Developer Skills

Portfolio Check

This is the first thing every recruiter will look through to understand the developer’s skills. A portfolio will be useful for showcasing the experience and source code before inviting them for an interview.

GitHub Account

This is a place where developers talk about their achievements and their readable code writing ability. In addition, the number of followers and amount of repositories also can create an impact.

Life Coding

Developers can showcase what they think, write and communicate during their coding life. It gives a better understanding to the reader of their working style and the amount of pressure they undergo.

Software Developer’s Best Practices

These are the most important best practices for software developers.

• Knowing how code will help drive business
• Effective use of code in the project
• Daily note of coding goals
• Future plans to approach coding tasks
• Begin with the hardest task first

Challenges For Software Developers

• End-user requirements misconstrued
• Unable to cope with the changing requirements
• Difficulty in maintaining and extending the software
• Last minute discovery of important project blunders
• Unsatisfactory performance of the software in case of taking up low-cost projects

Who is A Software Engineer?

A software engineer basically applies the principles of software engineering for the development, designing, testing, maintenance, and evaluation of computer software. The engineering principles are such as generality, abstraction, separation of concerns, incremental development, modularity, and consistency.

In addition, software engineers need to make sure the desired program interaction takes place with the chosen hardware. By application of mathematical analysis and computer science principles, they design and develop computer software. They operate on a larger scale as compared to software developers.

Top Skills of a Software Engineer

The most experienced software engineers know at least one or two programming languages. However, nowadays they need to be skillful in almost all kinds of languages to get lucrative job offers. The most sorted skills that anyone would look in a software engineer are

• Computer programming, coding
• Object-Oriented Design
• Software Engineering
• Problem-Solving Skills
• Strong Interpersonal and Communication Skills
• Working ability with team members

Identifying Software Engineer Skills

It stands almost similar to the points that have been discussed for the above topic on the software developers. Because, for both jobs, there is a need for a deeper understanding of codes. In addition, there are several other aspects that are tested and analyzed to identify the potential of the software engineers. They are linear data structures, algorithm analysis, and computer science fundamentals. 

Software Engineer’s Best Practices

Here are some of the best practices adopted by potential software engineers

• They act in favor of both client and employer
• Ensure to maintain the highest professional standards in their work 
• Maintain integrity and independence in their professional approach
• Ethical approach for software development services and maintenance

Challenges For Software Engineers

• For critical fields like space and nuclear power plants, the losses may incur due to software failure putting several lives at risk
• Imbalance in increasing demand versus an actual count of software engineers
• Mutual communication between software systems is not made possible.

Major Differences Between Software Developers and Software Engineers

Roles and Responsibilities of Software Engineers and Developers Combined 

• They must have hands-on experience on multi-core CPU
• They should be able to use various software development services methodologies like Agile, Kanban, Scrum
• They work across teams to provide technical training and support the entire development process of the product
• They design a training manual that can be used by the application users.
• They attend meetings with clients, programmers, and other related team members
• They enhance operations by wrapping up the entire systems analysis work
• They obtain and license the software after acquiring relevant data from vendors
• They provide relevant data through the analysis, collection, and summarizing service and development issues