Career Paths

For software engineers and designers, over the period 2019-2028, new job openings (arising from expansion demand and replacement demand) are expected to total 27,500 , while 24,000 new job seekers (arising from school leavers, immigration and mobility) are expected to be available to fill them.

Software engineers and designers perform some or all of the following:

• Explore how, where and why the software will be used to meet the needs of the end user.
• Research, review and use data and technical information to design, develop and test software systems
• Test the software design to make sure it’s useful and will work.
• Develop and manage database systems.
• Put forward ideas that improve the software and put those improvements in place.
• Plant, design and co-ordinate software development, installation, integration, and operation of computer-based systems.
• Troubleshoot, test and develop ways to maintain operating systems and other software.
• May lead or co-ordinate teams to develop software.

New job openings in software engineering will correspond to more than one-half of all of the job openings in the entire job market, which is above the typical of all occupations (the typical percentage for a specific job opening "except software engineering" is about 27 percent of all openings). Most software engineering graduates work in computer systems design and related services, such as telecommunications and information services. However, software is a part of almost every industry you can think of, and software engineering graduates can solve problems through software development for virtually any industry. This includes biomedical/health care, mining, transportation, education, marketing and sales, research, and many other areas.

Rapid technology improvement will persist, stimulating Canadian companies (private and public sectors) to adjust rapidly to upgrade their IT infrastructure to continue competing in the challenging IT market. New technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, bioinformatics and biomedical technology, Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, and blockchain will persist, which will continue to sustain the demand for software engineers in the IT occupation and every sector of industry.

Software engineer graduates can apply for their Professional Engineering License (PEng.) to independently practice professional engineering in British Columbia through Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia.