The Blazer Core Teaching workshop series brings faculty interested in advancing UAB’s new Blazer Core Curriculum together for presentations and collaborative design sessions that focus on innovative course design, assessing learning, engaged pedagogy and community-based learning, educational justice, and other high-impact practices that create transformative experiences for core students. We welcome all UAB faculty to these workshops, even those who are not currently teaching in the core, with the knowledge that the Blazer Core belongs to us all and that these high-impact practices are important to all university teaching.

For more information about this series, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , Director of the Blazer Core Curriculum.

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If no upcoming events are listed, check out more upcoming events from other CTL workshop series.

This award is to recognize distinguished performance in teaching one or a set of core curriculum courses during the academic year of the award; innovation and involvement in core development projects; thoughtful engagement with the aims of the core curriculum; and excellence in teaching as demonstrated by standard measures of performance. This award will be of similar recognition, quality, character, and process to the other university-level faculty awards which are of high distinction and peer-reviewed at UTSA, signaling the key role of instructional quality and content in shaping what all UTSA graduates should know for their future roles in society.

Nominees must demonstrate excellence in core curriculum teaching in the following areas:

• innovation and rigor in the classroom
• a strong commitment to the aims and objectives of the core curriculum through innovative course development, assignments, and assessment
• positive student response to and engagement with his/her instruction

Learn more about Core Curriculum at UTSA here.

A selection committee composed of faculty will review nomination packets. The nomination packet for this award will consist of only the following, assembled into a single PDF file in the order indicated:

1. Complete award nomination form
2. Nomination letter from peer faculty colleague, department chair, or college leader
3. Self-statement about teaching philosophy and commitment to core curriculum (2-page max)
4. Course evaluations (2 courses max)
5. Nomination letters from students (2 max)
6. Recent course syllabi (2 courses max)
7. CV of nominee

Optional:

• Peer observations of teaching (2 max)

No additional materials should be submitted. Note that the award committee will place heavy emphasis on the self-statement and the faculty member's commitment to the Core Curriculum.

Each dean’s office should upload completed nomination packets by the deadline.

Each college may submit a maximum number of three nominees (1 Tenured, 1 Tenure-Track, 1 Fixed-Term Track).

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Software engineering helps us communicate, be more productive, learn new things, pay our bills, purchase products and attend to our medical needs, among many other tasks each day. Software engineering professionals create and maintain the technologies that make our everyday lives simpler.

Many careers fall under the discipline of software engineering. On this page, we explore the field’s work environment, challenges, educational requirements and job options to help you make an informed decision about your career path.

We also list professional organizations for the software engineering field. These organizations offer support, educational information and other resources that may be helpful to you as you build and grow your career.

What Is Software Engineering?

Software engineering falls under the umbrella of computer science and refers to designing, building and maintaining software applications. This broad discipline includes the development of business applications, network control systems, operating systems, middleware, video games and other types of software.

The goal of software engineering is to create and maintain software and systems that help our world function effectively and efficiently.

Knowledge and Skills

The knowledge and skills needed for software engineering jobs vary by position, but below we list some important competencies for software engineering professionals.

• Multiple coding languages, such as Java, JavaScript, C++, CSS, Structured Query Language (SQL), R and Python
• Object-oriented programming
• Database architecture
• Knowledge of algorithms
• Operation systems
• Cloud computing
• Agile and Scrum project management
• Testing and debugging
• Engineering and design principles
• Soft skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, research, communication and collaboration

Work Environment

As a software engineering professional, you may work from an office or from home, or you might travel to multiple locations. At times, you could work alone at your computer all day writing and testing code or designing applications. On other days, you might meet with collaborators, clients or other stakeholders to identify challenges and determine solutions. Your work environment depends largely on the job you have.

Challenges for Software Engineering Jobs

Software engineering careers are excellent options for people who love thinking analytically and solving technical problems. Professionals in this field should enjoy using mathematical and engineering principles, coding and working with data.

Careers in software development and engineering involve understanding complex issues and providing even more complex solutions. Depending on the job, professionals may also spend lots of time alone at the computer; aspiring software engineers should be okay with a solitary work environment.

Computer technology is constantly changing and improving, so choosing this type of career requires you to stay up-to-date on your skills. This may mean taking on additional coursework or training to learn new information. If you choose a software engineering career, prepare to keep learning.

Educational Requirements for Software Engineering Careers

Education requirements vary, but most software engineering jobs require at least a bachelor’s in software engineering, computer science or a similar discipline. Some jobs prefer or require a master’s in software engineering or a related subject.

An undergraduate software engineering degree teaches you the fundamental technical skills required for many jobs, such as coding, database management, operating system management, application development and principles of cybersecurity.

A master’s degree in software engineering further develops your knowledge and advanced skills so you can move into a higher-level leadership role. The curriculum may include cloud computing, software architecture and design, mobile applications, web frameworks, communication protocols, critical thinking and leadership.

Careers in Software Engineering

Below are a few popular careers in the software engineering field, along with their educational requirements and salaries. The salary data in this section was sourced from Payscale and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Software Developer

Median Annual Salary: $127,260
Minimum Required Education: Bachelor’s degree
Job Overview: Software developers create computer software, systems and applications. Their responsibilities involve all aspects of software design and development, including analysis, planning, developing models, identifying and addressing functionality issues, testing and maintenance.

Software developers may focus on specific types of software products, such as video games, computer applications, database development, commercial software or consumer products. Many companies use software developer and software engineer interchangeably. Learn more in our guide on how to become a software engineer.

Information Security Analyst

Median Annual Salary: $112,000
Minimum Required Education: Bachelor’s degree, work experience sometimes sufficient
Job Overview: Information security analysts monitor and protect computer networks and systems from security breaches. This typically involves installing and maintaining specialized software, such as data encryption programs and firewalls. They create documentation for attacks, breaches and other metrics, and they suggest solutions to avoid these security risks.

Video Game Designer

Average Annual Salary: Around $67,500
Minimum Required Education: Bachelor’s degree is typical, work experience sometimes sufficient
Job Overview: Video game designers create video games for gaming systems, computers and other devices. They may work with design teams to develop concepts, map out storylines and write code for video games. Video game designers sometimes work in specific areas of video game development, such as building environments or creating rules for games. They may also test, identify bugs and edit lines of code.

To learn more, check out our guide on how to become a game developer.

Computer Programmer

Median Annual Salary: $97,800
Minimum Required Education: Bachelor’s degree
Job Overview: Computer programmers write and modify code for computer applications and software. Computer programming jobs include testing, troubleshooting and adapting code to ensure the code functions appropriately. Computer programmers may use code libraries to help them create code efficiently and accurately.

Network and Computer Systems Administrator

Median Annual Salary: $90,520
Minimum Required Education: Bachelor’s degree, associate degree or certificate sometimes sufficient
Job Overview: Network and computer systems administrators support the operations of computer systems, networks, intranets, data storage systems and communication systems. This may include installing and upgrading software and hardware, improving system performance, training users, identifying and solving problems, monitoring system security and providing technical support.

Computer Network Architect

Median Annual Salary: $126,900
Minimum Required Education: Bachelor’s degree
Job Overview: Computer network architects handle the design and structural aspects of data communication networks, such as wide area networks, local area networks and intranets. They analyze an organization’s computer network needs, identify security risks, upgrade hardware and software, troubleshoot problems, analyze data traffic and make recommendations for new or updated networking technologies.

Professional Organizations for Software Engineering

Below we explore a few professional organizations for software engineers. These organizations may provide relevant information and career support as you consider your job options.

Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)

ACM unites educators and professionals in the software engineering field to build a community that promotes leadership, recognition, professional growth and career development. It provides networking opportunities, access to a career and job center, online courses, a digital library, online and print publications, opportunities for volunteering, special interest groups, discounts on conferences and other resources.

Association for Women in Computing (AWC)

AWC contributes to the advancement of women who work in computing careers. It provides networking opportunities, continuing education, career building and professional growth resources, leadership opportunities, mentoring, scholarships and volunteer opportunities.

IEEE Computer Society (IEEE CS)

IEEE CS is a technical and student chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. It provides support and resources for computer scientists, engineers, academia and other industry professionals around the world.

This organization works to impact and encourage growth and development within the computer science and technology industry. It provides networking opportunities, career development resources, conferences, scholarly journals and magazines, a digital library, education and training resources, awards and opportunities for volunteering.

Python Software Foundation (PSF)

PSF promotes the advancement of open source technology as it pertains to the Python programming language. It distributes Python free of charge and provides maintenance and support for Python resources, such as Python documentation, The Python Package Index and Python.org.

PSF provides various benefits to members, including grants, user groups, conferences and other events, community awards, user support, and developers’ guides and educational resources.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Software Engineering Careers

As a kid, Giovanna Eichner ’23 had a poster of first lines from famous novels, at the top of which was the phrase “Call me Ishmael.” Intrigued by this three-word sentence, she did a little research and found out it was from Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, which she understood to be “a very long book about a whale who attacks a ship.”

Over the years, Eichner formed a somewhat fuller impression of Moby-Dick and by the time she graduated high school she knew it was considered one of the most influential works of the mid-19th century American Renaissance. But she still hadn’t actually read the book.

Then she came to Boston College.

This fall, the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences student thoroughly immersed herself in Moby-Dick while also learning about the cultural, political, social, and economic milieu that shaped the sensibilities of Melville and his contemporaries, from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Louisa May Alcott to Abraham Lincoln. Eichner was one of 17 first-year students who enrolled in a paired sequence of classes in the University’s Core Curriculum: The Worlds of Moby-Dick, for history credit, and practicing the Fate of Man, the Face of God, and the Malevolence of the Whale in Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick for literature credit.

As far as Quigley is concerned, the benefits go both ways. “It’s energizing to me to be in the classroom, and especially in a core class,” said Quigley, who usually teaches one class during the academic year. “I’m a better provost because I take part in the core, but most of all because I get to interact with undergraduates, and freshmen in particular: I like to see the unique energy they bring to class, and their engagement with one another.”

Having worked with Martin over the years and sharing a mutual interest in Melville, Quigley felt that the two of them could devise a pair of classes suited to the core’s interdisciplinary Enduring Questions model, through which subjects crucial to the human experience—health and illness, love and marriage, and the relationship between humans and the natural world—are explored. While The Worlds of Moby-Dick was rooted in historical elements of the era, such as the whaling industry and its place in the global economy, Quigley also wanted to focus on period writing and other modes of expression.

“There’s something about this generation of Americans and their use of language that is distinctive and enduring,” he said. “It’s not just what they say but how they say it—this offers insights into the defining events of the time, and the nation the U.S. was becoming.”

On one recent raw, damp November day in a Stokes Hall classroom, Quigley and his students trained their collective lens on Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, examining words and phrases from various angles to discern their intent and meaning. Quigley—who asked how many in the class memorized the Gettysburg Address while in school (several had)—periodically nudged the students to comment (“What’s Lincoln doing here?”) and they responded thoughtfully: One said the speech’s “structured phrasing makes it easier to remember and repeat”; another saw Lincoln warning of higher stakes beyond America’s survival, that “if America fails, this whole experiment of freedom fails”; another was struck by the way “Lincoln grouped all the combatants together, not ‘Union’ and ‘Confederate.’”

At one point in the discussion, Quigley gave some advice: “Read the Gettysburg Address aloud. You really benefit from hearing how the words sound, and the rhythms they take on.”

As immense a figure Lincoln might be, Quigley invited students to see him as a man of his time, not without flaws, trying to move where events led him even as he remained tethered to less enlightened ideas and attitudes. Only months before issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, he said, Lincoln declared that he favored establishing colonies in Central or South America for American blacks, so as to separate the races (Melville dealt with colonialism in his writing, too, Quigley noted, with similarly complicated ideas on race and democracy).

“Even after all these years, I’m still grappling with this,” Quigley told the class. “What was going on with Lincoln in the late summer of 1862?”

Students offered their takes: “Maybe he was trying to prevent a war he thought would come after the Civil War,” said one; “It was a cop-out,” said another, to which Quigley replied, “Yeah, but it wasn’t just a Lincoln cop-out, it was part of what many in his generation believed.”

With class time running down, Quigley quickly set the stage for an assessment of the Emancipation Proclamation and how Lincoln used it “as the basis for turning the overall war, and the Union, into a liberating force.” Students closed their notebooks, picked up backpacks and water bottles, and headed into the hallway.

Afternoons like this helped make freshman Michael O’Shea’s first semester at BC an enjoyable one.

“College is all about learning new and different things, so I wanted to push myself in a field I really knew nothing about,” said O’Shea, a Morrissey College student mulling an economics major. “I felt that practicing this book would be a great entry into my college experience, where I could learn a lot from two very knowledgeable people in Professors Quigley and Martin. So far the class has been just that.”

Learn more at BC's Core Curriculum website.

Sean Smith | University Communications | December 2019

After 12 years working as a manufacturing engineer, I wanted a new role that would allow me to continue to use my engineering expertise and passion for the sector, while gaining more flexibility and balancing work with looking after my children. Teaching in further education seemed like the perfect fit, so I decided to complete my Postgraduate in Education and started teaching engineering at my local college. Teaching in FE is easy to transition into as an industry professional as you don’t always need to have a teaching qualification to get started. You can complete teacher training on the job, meaning you can begin earning straight away.

Further education (FE) is any formal learning for those aged 16 and over that is not a degree. Learners range from those who have just finished their GCSEs to adults of all ages looking to change career or learn a new trade.

I really enjoy being able to share my existing skills in this way and it’s exciting to be inspiring the next generation of engineers.  I know it can be challenging being a woman in a male dominated sector, with less role models and female leaders to guide you in your career. Recent research shows only 16.5 per cent of all engineers in the UK are women. While this has increased over the last decade, (there were only 10.5 per cent were female engineers in 2010) there’s clearly still more work to do to ensure we are creating a diverse and inclusive workforce in the sector.

I believe teaching in FE can play an important role in helping to achieve this balance. Industry professionals have a wealth of experience, skills and real-life anecdotes to share that are invaluable within FE settings. You don’t have to give up your career in industry to start teaching, FE is flexible with opportunities to teach part time alongside your existing role. I think there’s an opportunity for those currently working in the sector to help ensure we are supporting a pipeline of diverse, well-trained individuals, passionate about the work we do.  

The power of a positive role model

Having female engineering role models in our education settings sends an important to message to women and girls that this is an industry for you. It comes down to that great quote: ‘If you can’t see it, you can’t be it’. 

I always consider this when I teach my FE classes. Regardless of age or gender – it’s important for all learners to see and be inspired by women working in the sector.

Learning by example

It is crucial that engineering professionals capture the imagination of our learners with new ideas. Bringing our real-life experience to practical elements of the course is engaging for students and makes the course more memorable and exciting.

For example, when I teach Lean Manufacturing, which was my main job role as an engineer, I am able to share my industry experience of embedding lean manufacturing techniques into a manufacturing process with learners.  I explain the process, but can also then outline the real life impact it had on the efficiencies and quality improvement to the product.

We also do an activity where learners divide into two teams to complete a task using batch production of parts and one-piece flow using letters, envelopes and stamps. The aim is to complete the task in the fastest time, with learners discovering that the one-piece flow is more efficient than batch production.

Simple and fun activities like this help embed lean principles and prove a theory, while engaging the students.  This helps all my learners, but especially the women and girls – to imagine themselves working in the sector and consider if it is something they want to do.

Increasing the diversity and gender balance within the engineering workforce isn’t just better for society, it’s better for business. With more women in our industry, we can achieve better diversity of ideas that push forwards innovation in the sector.

For the next pipeline of engineers to be diverse and inclusive as a workforce – they need the knowledge and skills to succeed - but also inspiration from professionals currently working in the sector.  I believe industry professionals have a unique role to play in working closely with FE providers to help address the gender gap in our workforce and support learners of any age or gender to kick start their engineering career.

Jenna Saberton, engineering study programme manager and lecturer at The Cornwall College Group

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