Software development is easily considered one of the most respectable career paths to attain, at least in my home city – Bangalore and amongst family members. It is considered this way because a) a job in the software sector pays you pretty well, and b) it is and always has been a lucrative industry to work in which has a defined career ladder that you can climb real fast, provided you show impeccable performance.

I have termed software development to be “not an easy job” simply because of the existence of a very complicated structure and process in place. Firstly, there is a strict education process that needs to be cleared that would give you a degree in software development. The education would expect you to go through years of complex process training sessions. Secondly, there is the tough task of finally getting into the actual job in an organization that is not only renowned, but also promises growth; and by growth I do not only mean professional growth but again growth in terms of learning and personal abilities.

Well, it doesn’t end there once the career growth assurance is given by a reputed firm. There is a lot of individual performance that needs to be portrayed that is worth being recognized, complimented and rewarded. It is like that old cliche – hard work always pays off.

Open Source Software Development

A very new source of software development and one that is very rapidly gaining recognition in the world of technology is – Open Source. A short quote from Wikipedia states “Open source software development is the process by which open source software (or similar software whose source code is publicly available) is developed. In simple terms it means that an existing software code is worked on and upgraded and the code derived would be of open source in nature (one that is available for free).

Now, this is another space that an aspiring software developer would want to enter. Here the developer could work as a freelancer, develop customized software using open source software codes and then sell it to a client as per his/ her requirements. The reason why there is the mention of the fact that open source software gaining rapid popularity is because FOSS (Free Open Source Software) has posed immense competition to proprietary software firms – the ones that are considered as the real destination points of software developers.

Whilst studying, undergoing training, hunting for an appropriate job in an appropriate firm and ensuring the building of a sensible and growth-oriented career, there is one and the single most essential thing that you will enjoy out of doing all this hard work. And that is – HAPPINESS. Happiness of possessing a respectable job, happiness of being in a lucrative growth-driven career, and happiness of earning good money.