Update on Professional Development

For many years, the only way to attain an education in software engineering has been through the school of hard knocks. A common lament among experienced software developers is that colleges don’t teach students the skills they need to perform effectively on the job. What is needed to give software developers a better start? Formal professional education has traditionally been divided into three parts. Initial education consists of attaining an undergraduate degree in a particular field from an accredited university. Skills development gives nascent professionals real-world experience in their chosen occupation. It can consist of an internship before graduation or an apprenticeship afterwards. Then, after working in the field for awhile, ongoing professional development helps professionals keep their skills up to date. Software engineering is seeing encouraging signs in each of these three areas.