If you are a student in India and you want to become a software engineer you may have a lot of options. I mean that there are a number of academic programs and degrees that you can pursue. You may find it difficult to choose a program after your intermediate. There are a number of paths that leads you to your ultimate destination. In this post I shall try to discuss each and every one of it. But first there are some personal skills that must be present in you if you want to be a software engineer, programmer or a computer professional, they are as follows -
* Passion for what you do and love for technology.
Yup, this is the only thing that you must possess not only to become a software engineer but anything that you love. You may read and hear people saying that you must have an analytical mind, strong mathematics and blah blah blah to be a programmer but believe me if you are really passionate and enthusiastic about your dreams nothing could stop you from achieving your goals and rest are the skills that you can learn and polish throughout the journey if you are dedicated about it.
"You only have to know one thing: you can learn anything."
Path No. 1 : B. Tech - A national level exam is conducted every year in India known as IIT-JEE. Lacs of student appear every year but only a few gets selected. You may try your luck here but you need not to worry much if you are not selected in it. You can apply from other top universities like Birla Institute of Technology, Pilani. If you are talented, nothing can stop you from being successful.
There are three different branches related to Computer Science in B.Tech viz B.Tech (CS), B.Tech (CSE) and B.Tech (I.T.). It may sound confusing in which to choose but you may clear your doubts here.
Eligibility Criteria for B.Tech :
* Must have completed 10 + 2 from a recognized board with physics, chemistry and maths.
* Some universities may require 60% marks in 10 +2
After Successfully completing B.Tech you may start working or you can gain further knowledge by persuing M.Tech.
A national level exam is conducted for this also known as GATE. After clearing it you gets selected in IITs. So if you were not successful in IIT-JEE, you can try again here if you really want to study in IITs.
Path No. 2 : B.C.A. / M.C.A. -
B.C.A. is a three year undergraduate degree course offered by many reputed universities. Students will learn about different programming languages and methodologies, computer architecture, operating systems and databases, software development life cycle. This course only requires mathematics as a compulsory subject in 10 +2. So, if you don't have science in 10 + 2 or you want a less intense program, you may choose to pursue B.C.A. over B.Tech. But B.C.A. alone would not help you much. You should pursue M.C.A after it which is a 3 year post graduate program. Many universities offer lateral entry to B.C.A. or B.Sc. students or you may take admission in an integrated M.C.A. (B.C.A + M.C.A.) program which takes 5 years to complete.
In most cases B.Tech in CS and M.C.A. offer similar opportunities in real life.
Path No. 3 : NIELIT (formerly DOEACC) -
National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NIELIT), (
Hindi: राष्ट्रीय इलेक्ट्रॉनिकी एवं सूचना प्रौद्योगिकी संस्थान - रा.इ.सू.प्रौ.सं.), erstwhile known as the DOEACC Society, is an autonomous scientific society under the administrative control of
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of the
Government of India.
[1] The Society is registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. The NIELIT (National Institute of Electronic and Information Technology) Scheme, jointly developed by
AICTE and
MeitY, was launched in 1990 after detailed deliberations in a National Working Group. The objective of the scheme is to generate high quality man-power in the computer software and allied fields by utilising the expertise and facilities available with various institutions in the non-formal sector. NIELIT is one of the National Examination Body
[2] in India, which accredits Computer courses in 'O' , 'A' , 'B' & 'C' level approving institutes / organizations for conducting particular course, specializing in the non-formal sector of IT education and training.
Over the last two decades, NIELIT has acquired very good expertise in IT training, through its wide repertoire of causes, ranging from ‘O’ Level (Foundation), ‘A’ Level (Advance Diploma), ‘B’ Level (MCA equivalent), ‘C’ Level (M-Tech level), IT literacy courses such as CCC (Course on Computer Concept), BCC (Basic Computer Course) and other such long term and short term course in the non formal sector like courses on Information Security, ITeS-BPO(Customer Care/Banking), Computer Hardware Maintenance (CHM-O/A level), Bio-Informatics(BI-O/A/B level), ESDM etc, besides, high end courses offered by NIELIT Centres at Post-Graduate level (M.Tech) in Electronics Design & Technology, Embedded Systems etc. which are not normally offered by Universities/Institutions in the formal sector, in association with the respective state Universities.
Credit : wikipedia
If you don't have a science background but you want to become a software engineer, this might be the path for you. Almost all government jobs related to Computer Science approves NIELIT courses. Some government organisations are KVs, UP Police, BSNL etc.
Besides you are also eligible for UGC NET and GATE after B - Level.
Eligibility criteria for NIELIT courses is as follows -
1. O - Level -
10+2 or any diploma (Govt. Recognized) of a minimum of 1 Year duration after 10th class /ITI Certificate (one year) after class 10.
Or
Successful completion of the second year of a Government recognised polytechnic engineering diploma course after class 10, followed by an accredited 'O' Level course concurrently during the third year of the said polytechnic engineering diploma course. The 'O' level certificate will be awarded only after successful completion of the polytechnic engineering diploma.
2. A - Level : O - Level or graduation in any stream.
3. B - Level : Level 'A'/Government recognized PPDCA/Government recognized PGDCA/Government recognized polytechnic engineering diploma/Graduate, followed in each case, by an accredited 'B' Level course (First two semesters are exempted for those who pass 'A' Level in full.
4. C - Level : Level 'B'/B. Tech/BE/MCA/MSc/Master's Degree in Mathematics/ Statistics/ Operations Research/MBA (or equivalent) with B.Sc./B.A. (Mathematics/Statistics)/ GATE (Computer), followed in each case, by an accredited 'C' Level course.
Furthermore students with weak financial grounds or working professionals can apply as a direct candidate.
Path No. 4 : Self Learning -
In today's world with the help of technology, the whole world is at your fingertips. If you are crazy about your dream then this path is for you. You would not be called a software engineer 'officialy' , local companies will not hire you but if you have deep knowledge and dedication then you might be selected in big companies like Google by just performing a search on Google(google it). They don't want your degrees , they want talent. If you are exceptionally talented in your work, there is no surprise if you work for home as a freelancer and earn lacs per month without having a traditional degree. But don't forget it's not about earning big it's about following your passion.
This is something known as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS). Below is a list of names of some online learning platforms where you can learn from the best universities from top professors from you home at your time -
1. Edx
2. Courses
3. KhanAcademy
4. Youtube
For a complete path to a cs education online do a google search "OSS GITHUB" OR "Google guide to technical development". You will find a complete degree level material via online courses. It may prove a guide to your computer science education online.
If you are choosing this path, this online course should be your starting point - CS50 . It is Harvard university's biggest course. It is available on Edx, cs50.tv, youtube and itunes for free.
May all your dreams come true!
Thanks you and Good luck for your future!
