Career Path Forecast
 According
to the U.S. Department of Labor,
Bureau of Labor Statistics,
employment of computer software engineers is projected to increase by 38
percent over the 2006 to 2016 period, which is much faster than the
average for all occupations. This occupation will generate about 324,000
new jobs, over the projections decade, one of the largest employment
increases of any occupation.
 Employment
growth will result as businesses and other organizations adopt and
integrate new technologies and seek to maximize the efficiency of their
computer systems. Competition among businesses will continue to create
incentive for sophisticated technological innovations, and organizations
will need more computer software engineers to implement these changes.
Demand for computer
software engineers will also increase as computer networking continues
to grow. For example, expanding Internet technologies have spurred
demand for computer software engineers who can develop Internet,
intranet, and World Wide Web applications. Likewise, electronic
data-processing systems in business, telecommunications, government, and
other settings continue to become more sophisticated and complex.
Implementing, safeguarding, and updating computer systems and resolving
problems will fuel the demand for growing numbers of systems software
engineers.
 New
growth areas will also continue to arise from rapidly evolving
technologies. The increasing uses of the Internet, the proliferation of
Web sites, and mobile technology such as wireless Internet have created
a demand for a wide variety of new products. As individuals and
businesses rely more on hand-held computers and wireless networks, it
will be necessary to integrate current computer systems with this new,
more mobile technology.
In addition,
information security concerns have given rise to new software needs.
Concerns over "cyber security" should result in businesses and
government continuing to invest heavily in software that protects their
networks and vital electronic infrastructure from attack. The expansion
of this technology in the next 10 years will lead to an increased need
for computer engineers to design and develop the software and systems to
run these new applications and integrate them into older systems.
 As
with other information technology jobs, outsourcing of software
development to other countries may temper somewhat employment growth of
computer software engineers. Firms may look to cut costs by shifting
operations to foreign countries with lower prevailing wages and highly
educated workers. Jobs in software engineering are less prone to being
offshored than are jobs in other computer specialties, however, because
software engineering requires innovation and intense research and
development.
 As
a result of rapid employment growth over the 2006 to 2016 decade, job
prospects for computer software engineers should be excellent.
Employers will continue to seek computer professionals with strong
programming, systems analysis, interpersonal, and business skills. In
addition to jobs created through employment growth, many job openings
will result from the need to replace workers who move into managerial
positions, transfer to other occupations, or leave the labor force.
Consulting opportunities for computer software engineers also should
continue to grow as businesses seek help to manage, upgrade, and
customize their increasingly complicated computer systems.
Note: Some resources in this section are provided by the US Department
of Labor,
Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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