Many successful student may be disappointed and unhappy despite good grades or good colleges that they get. Although popular these days, such a possibility may also apply to the software engineering department. Spending time on the internet, watching science fiction movies, playing computer games is fun for you, and if you want a software engineering major just for this reason, you should think about it again. Here we want to explain some issues about what challenges software engineering students should be prepared for.
Higher Mathematics: As you will see when you examine the software engineering curriculum, it is a department with higher mathematics-oriented courses. Some well-known concepts such as artificial intelligence, artificial neural networks, machine learning, deep learning, data mining, data analysis, game programming, graphics programming, cryptology, blockchain applications, etc. In the application of the subjects, there are higher mathematics methods and codes that apply these methods. For this reason, while studying in software engineering, you will have to both learn higher mathematics and apply what you have learned by coding for example, while working with artificial intelligence, you may have to calculate the lowest value point of an imaginary surface curve in a multidimensional data space with derivative-based mathematical methods and write a code to apply this calculation. This is one of the main features that distinguish software engineers from programming departments, not all programmers use higher mathematics in their work, such a generalization would be wrong. But higher mathematics is required when studying software engineering and in new generation applications of software engineering. If you don't like math, studying software engineering can make you unhappy. If you don't like math but want to do programming, you can choose 2-year programming departments.
Hardware Design: In the ERU software engineering curriculum, an introduction to computer systems, a digital logic course, and computer architecture and organization course are planned as a series of courses that complement each other. This situation is not generalizable for all universities in Turkey. These courses gradually lead to hardware design and at the end of the courses, the student is expected to design and operate a simple microcomputer system. These lessons teach how a few thousand transistors form a simple computer system, starting with a transistor that acts as an electrical on-off. For this reason, ERU candidates for software engineering need to know that a physical computer design will be formed in their brains in the first two years and this will be done with effort. Listening to the lecture is not enough, the student is expected to gradually develop the design herself/himself. Despite the difficulties, we hope that this series of lessons will give our students the pleasure of learning and exploring. We think that the student will not understand some basic software concepts without understanding the hardware. In addition, computer architecture courses are included as compulsory courses in the software engineering curriculum recommendation report of IEEE, the organization that regulates international norms. For these reasons, software engineering students should be prepared for chip design, CPU design and hardware design of a simple microcomputer system and the effort and time sacrifice required by these studies.
Lifelong Learning: Software engineering is a profession with high variability, especially in terms of tools and technology. Mathematical foundations and concepts are of course more permanent, but with the developing technology, new concepts, new methods and new technologies emerge. Software engineering requires constantly adapting to this technological change and working for it. Even if the methods and technology do not change much, the software tools used vary a lot. For example, the programming language and or software development tools that are widely used today may be replaced by completely different tools and languages after a few years. The training given to software engineers supports adaptation to these changes. For example, a software engineer knows the concepts of object-oriented programming very well, and even if a new tool comes out, it will be relatively easy to transition to new tools and technologies due to conceptual foundations. Nevertheless; software engineers should be open and prepared to learn and work for lifelong learning, not just in license.
Competition in the Industry: Software engineering students should be aware from the very beginning that there will be intense competition in the industry despite the labor demand of the market. There are approximately 200 computer engineering and approximately 150 software engineering departments in our country. There will be graduates from other departments trying to get a place in the software industry. For this reason, our student candidate should consider that passing the exams and getting a diploma may not be enough in this competition. He should evaluate his student life by producing software applications that will equip his CV. In addition, they should use abroad education, student exchange and internship programs and should be prepared to take advantage of such opportunities. Our students should take into account that not only a diploma, but also a curriculum vitae full of project applications, international education/internship studies, awards and activities is required.
International Working Environment: Software engineering students should be open to working in foreign countries and cultures. Because in our country, it may be difficult to find a job for software production in small cities. In addition, our country is not yet a country that can mainly produce high technology/software products and export them. On the other hand, software engineers who are prepared to work in an international environment can pursue job opportunities on a global scale. Therefore, software engineer candidates should be prepared to work in distant continents and distant countries when necessary.
Job Opportunities in the Public: If our prospective student plans to work in the public sector, he should consider that public institutions in Turkey generally do not produce software, but instead, public institutions carry out the procurement processes of software products and computer systems by tender. TUBITAK etc. research institutions and state universities can be seen as exceptions in this regard. However, for software engineers in other public institutions, it can be a disappointment in terms of professional and technical development and thus monthly income. For this reason, our graduates need to be open to working in the private industry, to competition and passivity in the private industry, and to prepare themselves in this direction.
Foreign Language Education: If the opportunities are under equal conditions, resources, educational materials, etc.; the most efficient education is education in the mother tongue. On the other hand, there are some positive opportunities offered by foreign language education, especially considering the diversity and richness of resources. The language of instruction of ERU software engineering is 100% English. Specifically, ERU software engineering students are expected to have advanced English listening and speaking skills. For this, unlike the preparatory classes of other departments, a special English preparatory education will be given to our students. Our future students should be prepared to listen, speak, actively participate in dialogues in a foreign language, learn by reading from books in a foreign language, and present their exam papers/project work in a foreign language.
Health and Socialization: Software engineering is a profession that is based on abstract thinking and can occupy the mind for a long time, especially during the coding/implementation phase. This occupation can be dangerous to health if the person is not social and lives in a life cycle with little physical activity. Working in front of a screen for a long time can cause back, neck hernia and circulatory system disorders. Asocial lifestyle can pave the way for psychological weaknesses. Physical activities sports, dance, etc. should be carried out regularly and consistently for a healthy and sustainable professional life. . For this reason, software engineering students should have regular activities based on active, social and physical mobility outside their professional life and they should prepare a suitable lifestyle for themselves. According to the Uni-Ar research, ERU graduates criticize their universities for the campus social life and inactive student clubs. Our warning to our student candidates on this matter is that they come prepared to establish their own sports and dance groups.
