what is a working day in the life of a programmer/software engineer like? ?
Asked by asdf
Also, is a computer programmer the same thing as a software engineer? I am interested in going back to school for a second B.S. in Computer Science and would like to know more about it. How much do entry level jobs compensate in your experience with a B.S. in Comp.Sci? I know, thats a lot of questions but I really appreciate any feedback as I try to navigate my future.

Best Answer:
First of all Computer science is a very interesting domain. A Computer programmer writes programs usually relying on specifications obtained by analyst/ analyst programmers. Whatever your qualifications it is good to start as a programmer. As a degree holder you will understand more the concept of programming , as your course will include topics like Algorithm Design at a much advanced level than , a certificate level course. You will also be exposed to System analysis , Management Information Systems, some management topics like Operations research, Economics,Management techniques and Accounting . If you have mathematics included in your course you are going to acquire a general level of maths at almost degree level. With all this knowledge, you will not only design and test programs all the day, like for a programmer. But other things like Analysis of new systems from clients and doing feasibility study, costing, planning etc. This is the work of the software engineer . Also attending meetings about implementation of projects. In fact as compared to the programmer; the software engineer has a better background to deal with issues ranging from technical to management level. All these are Ok. But nowadays ERP's, CRM, HRMS are emerging Those ERP Enterprise Resource Planning , Customer Relationship Management , Human Resource Management systems are Packages that are ready made and implemented in almost all organisations that can afford it. Of course there are also other jobs generated for systems engineers on the hardware side, for instance setting up servers, networking,databases, stations and peripherals etc. On the software side ,Usually a BS. Computer science can implement such packages after some training in the appopriate field finance, manufacturing , inventory , procurement, fixed assets . Most of the time those jobs are assigned to people of the appropriate field eg accountant, business admin graduate and the software Engineer are attributed only the donkey work of technical nature like customization of forms, reporting and programming tasks in the maintenance and amendmentsof those packages. At the end there is no interesting Career path, other than solving technical issues. Today there is a decline in the programming field as more and more organisations are moving towards those ERP business suite and more and more other professions other than software engineer are joining the ERP IT world and in less than no time be at the top . So I find that today to really plan your career , instead of undertaking fields like computer science that consists of quite demanding and complex topics; but useless on the working market. Where instead business knowledge is more valued and more promising in terms of revenue and career path. IT should instead be a subsidiary qualifications to fields like Accounting , finance, human resource, commercial , marketing , manufacturing. We may be aware today there are more and more Business Parks emerging, where consultants are being outsourced. The renumeration for people from computer background is much less. hope that I my advice would be beneficial to you in the choice of your field of study and career. Alan Ip.( software engineer).
just from actual work experiences
Answered by ALAN IP

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