Contrary to popular belief, software engineering is not just for computer science graduates. Irrespective of what one may have heard, a tech career is actually accessible to people of all academic backgrounds, including foreign language graduates. There are companies like Revature that provide tech training to students of varying background, and helps them to build their career in the field. Moreover, foreign language majors do have the ideal set of transferrable skills that are important for software engineers. These candidates are logical thinkers, efficient communicators, and competent problem solvers.
Revature talks about how foreign language majors can be good software engineers
In many ways, learning to code is just like learning a new language. Any foreign language major who is looking for well-paid jobs and is not afraid of venturing into new territories, should consider software engineering. This field is largely about problem solving. Programs do not always work perfectly the first time, and the problem might be anywhere inside the complex lines of code. It is the responsibility of the engineer to figure out what is going on, and what may help them to get different results. Language learners know how to do this intuitively. After all, as they learn a new language, they are invariably learning how to solve a complex problem.
Foreign language majors learn how to explore the structure of a new language, and the manner it is put together. They discover how the varying pieces of the language, including adjectives, verbs, and nouns, work together. They gradually understand how a simple change in a word impacts the rest of the sentence. Altering code works in quite a similar fashion. As a software engineer changes one line, the entire program has a different result. If that is not the result desired by the software engineer, they put it back and try changing something else. This process is repeated till the desired result is achieved, much like putting a sentence together in another language.
Similar to various jobs for foreign language majors, software engineering also draws on several other skills apart from problem solving, such as:
- Cultural adaptability: Foreign language majors do have a good understanding of the fact that varying cultural groups have their own norms, and use this knowledge to make themselves understood regardless of the setting.
- Appreciation for diversity: Foreign language majors have better perspectives, and hence their ideas are usually more diverse. These individuals actively welcome new ways of thinking.
- Critical thinking and reasoning: Grammar rules are used by foreign language majors to formulate their thoughts and explain their ideas in an appropriate manner.
- Structuring and presenting ideas. Foreign language majors have the capability to communicate their message in an effective manner on the basis of the needs of their audience.
- Advanced communication skills: Multiple frameworks and language structures are used by foreign language majors to get their message across.
All the skills mentioned above are also used by software engineers every day. Any foreign language major desiring to join the software engineering field can always opt to seek assistance from Revature. This company has helped more than eight thousand people from distinguished backgrounds to build their careers in tech. It provides candidates with the platform and training they need to become proficient in the important technologies of the current landscape.
