Nguyen 1

Huy Nguyen

CST 300

February 2, 2016

Analysis: Software Development

The field of computer programming is a rapidly growing industry that will continue to

expand in the future to come. Virtually every tech company today requires their own division of

software engineers. This is a vital role that I am looking forward to take part of. However, the

journey there will require extensive practice and knowledge on computer science and it will

incline me to explore further into the already broad topic that is computer programming.

According to Glassdoor, some of the highest paying software engineering positions today

are needed in numerous companies. Some of these major corporations include Google, Yahoo!,

Apple, and Facebook. However, these companies are not interchangeable. As with every

industry, the work, pay and culture are different between the companies and within the

companies. There is also a lot more to software engineering than mere consumer-facing

software. But for the sake of familiarity, Google will be used as the primary corporation for

computer programming industry analysis.

Google was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin and it was first created as a

search engine. It became exceedingly well-known for its powerful searching capabilities and was

eventually made into the default search tool that Internet-users around the world would recognize

and utilize. Today, Google is a multinational technology company that specializes in Internet-

related tools and products. These products include online advertising technologies, search, cloud

computing, and software. Google profits primarily through an advertising service called

AdWords, which places relevant ads near the list of every search results.
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In addition, Google is making considerable progress towards their foray of self-driving

cars. In 2015, the Google self-driving car team announced that their self-driven vehicles have

reached 1,000,000 miles. According to Google, it is equivalent to 75 years of typical US adult

driving. As far as safety issues are concerned, these self-driving vehicles have been involved in

14 minor traffic accidents (Urmson 2015). However, the vehicles were not at fault themselves

because official reports claim the driver of the other car was at fault. Googles self-driving

vehicles are one of their most ambitious projects that will undoubtedly revolutionize the way

commuters will travel. Such an enormous project will in turn require a tremendous effort toward

the software that is placed in these self-driving vehicles.

Googles primary headquarters is located in Mountain View, CA. They have branch

offices scattered throughout the United States as well as in countries like China, Australia, and

Japan. As of 2013, Google had approximately 48,000 employees. Among those are more than

10,000 software developers.

One of Googles key figure would be Sundar Pichai, who is currently the CEO of

Google. Formerly the Product Chief of Google, Pichai was announced as the next CEO on

August 10th 2015. This was in due part of a restructuring process making Alphabet Inc. as

Googles parent company. His educational background includes a Masters degree in Material

Science and Engineering at Stanford University as well as a Masters of Business Administration

at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He began his career at Google in 2004

where he led the product management and innovation efforts for a suite of Google's client

software products. These products include Google Chrome, Chrome OS, as well as being largely

responsible for Google Drive. Overall, Sundar Pichai has been an essential part for the growth of

Google for his management and innovation skills.

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Another prominent figure in Google who has been a tremendous asset would be Sridhar

Ramaswamy. Ramaswamy, who previously worked at E.piphany and Lucent Technologies, Bell

Communications Research, and Bell Labs, joined Google in 2003 and is now operating as Senior

Vice President of Ads and Commerce. In 2015, Googles ad products generated over $60 billion

dollars in revenue and that was all made possible by the man in charge of the Google ad products

team, Sridhar Ramaswamy (Carlson 2015). Ramaswamy researched and developed numerous

algorithms to make sure the company would always order the ads on its search results page in a

way that would maximize profits earned.

Google has always maintained a close relationship with their customers and advertisers

by creating a sort of community where users are able to interact and exchange given information

and services. For example, an individual with a Google account gives them access to a plethora

of benefits such as an Email account, a planner for organizing important dates on a calendar, a

social platform, productivity tools like Google docs, and much more. Google has always

believed that having a strong sales and support infrastructure is crucial to their success. Their

relationships are built by the advertising world in a variety of different ways whether its direct,

remote, or through online sales channels. A lot of software technologies and automation are used

when possible to optimize the overall customer experience and ease of use.

As an employer, Google is known to provide a tremendous amount of benefits to their

employees. Google was judged to be the World's Most Attractive Employer in 2015 by global

research and advisory firm Universum, and employee ratings on Glassdoor earned the company

the No. 1 spot on Glassdoor's Employees' Choice Awards, Best Places to Work 2015 (Smith

2015). Google employees are given a plethora of perks and benefits including free gourmet

meals, in-house massages, and dry cleaning on campus (Gillett 2015). The founders, Larry Page
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and Sergey Brin, once mentioned the myriad of benefits in a letter written to their shareholders to

assure that their employees are always taken care of and that their health and productivity are

always improving. Googles main focus is to achieve efficiency, promote community, and spur

innovation. To do this, they do what is necessary to provide for their employees.

Practically, all employers will require prospective software engineers to have at the very

least a Bachelors degree in computer science or math as well as an extensive knowledge and

background on computer systems and applications. However, there are some bigger companies

with unique development platforms that provide training for new employees as well. In order to

be an effective software engineer, strong analytical skills and the ability to pay close attention to

detail are crucial aspects. Being able to work well in groups and the willingness to acknowledge

the roles and abilities of other team members can also be very useful when entering the software

development industry.

The field of computer science is the only industry that appeals to me. I have an incredible

passion for designing, creating, and controlling things from scratch and I feel that there is so

much potential for software development. Given the complex nature of software development,

the possibilities for useful technologies are endless. Upon graduating and obtaining my

Bachelors degree in computer science, I plan to join and work for a company as a software

engineer.

Before any of my plans can be made possible, I must first obtain a proper education and

hands-on experience about the field of software development. As of current, I am attending

California State University Monterey Bay and am partaking in their Online Computer Science

program. This will give me tremendous flexibility on my time management while still be able to

take on part-time jobs. Upon my completion of the CSUMB CS program, I should have a broad
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understanding of the computer science industry. There are a total of 12 courses that I must take

throughout the program excluding graduation requirement courses. Just like any other majors,

computer science is a major that requires a strong foundation on the fundamentals. Having a

strong background on math and science will greatly increase the chance of success in the field. I

have taken many physics classes as well as math classes up to Calculus. The CSUMB program

only requires me to take up to Calculus 2 and does not require any physics. However, I believe

physics will in some ways prepare me for higher level coding so it is still a viable course to take

as an elective to prepare me for my career. Another class that I have still yet to take that is not

offered in the program would be discrete mathematics. This course will help strengthen the logic

behind coding and help me better understand the certain mathematical theories in a more

practical manner.

Besides the CSUMB Online program, I wish to find some real world experience in an

internship or perhaps even an entry-level job at a startup company where it will greatly prepare

me for my post-graduation endeavors. I hope to seek a position where I am in direct contact with

the coding and software outlines. Despite the extensive scope of education that I will be getting

at CSUMB, nothing will prepare me better than having an actual job or internship at a real life

company. This will give me a better understanding of being in a working and productive

environment that pertains to my industry of interest. While I have not thoroughly done research

on my internship of choice yet, I still firmly believe that a startup company somewhere in the bay

area would be the best choice for me. However, obtaining an internship will still require me to

have extensive knowledge on the field of software development.

Looking through the CSUMB CS Onlines twelve course lineup, the program aims to

prepare students for their career as well as setting them on the right path to success. These
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courses are intended to teach students how to design and create software applications. Towards

the end of the program, students are expected to use what they have learned and create softwares

and applications on a realistic and large-scale level. One of the courses in this program is CST

338, which is Software Design. This class will extensively cover the powerful and well-used

programming language called JAVA and use it to design many software and applications. It is an

extremely useful course because conceptualizing a piece of software is an important skill to

know. Furthermore, designing the graphic user interface (GUI) is also beneficial for

understanding end-user requirements. Moving on to CST 438, Software Engineering is a course

that emphasize on the actual building of software and applications. The course will also prepare

students to work in a real company by teaching the importance of working on projects as part of

a team.

In conclusion, every business whether small or large will need their own software

development division to write, edit, and test programs in order to effectively produce its own

computer programs and applications. There are numerous types of software and languages

pertaining to these software, and it requires a skilled software engineer to effectively use these

tools. The software development industry and a rapidly changing field and most software

engineers, including myself, will undoubtedly continue to learn while on the job. I hope to

become fluent and effective in my line of work by the time I finish my studies at CSUMB. I

aspire to work and collaborate well on massive and complex projects with other individuals who

share the same passion for software development like myself. Although I know there are still

much to learn and many skills to acquire, I believe that my time here at CSUMB will immensely

prepare me for the challenges to come.

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Reference

Bye bye Google, hello Alphabet - The Express Tribune. (2015, October 2). Retrieved January

17, 2016, from http://tribune.com.pk/story/966346/bye-bye-google-hello-alphabet/

Carlson, N. (2015). This unknown Google exec fought a brutal internal battle and now controls a

$60 billion business. Retrieved February 02, 2016, from

http://www.businessinsider.com/google-exec-sridhar-ramaswamy-controls-a-60-billion-

business-2015-4

G is for Google. (n.d.). Retrieved February 02, 2016, from

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https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2015/08/google-alphabet.html

Gillett, R. (2015). Here's what it's REALLY like to work at Google, the 'world's most attractive'

employer. Retrieved February 02, 2016, from http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-

what-its-really-like-to-work-at-google-the-worlds-most-attractive-employer-2015-9

Robertson, A., & Dzieza, J. (2015, May 28). The 12 most important announcements from

Google I/O 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2016, from

http://www.theverge.com/2015/5/28/8676769/google-io-2015-highlights-announcements-

recap

Smith, J. (2015). Google is the 'world's most attractive' employer - here are the other companies

people dream of working for. Retrieved February 02, 2016, from

http://www.businessinsider.com/most-attractive-companies-2015-6

Software Engineers: Job Duties & Requirements. (n.d.). Retrieved February 02, 2016, from

http://study.com/articles/Software_Engineers_Job_Duties_and_Requirements_for_Beco

ming_a_Software_Engineer.html

Urmson, C. (2015). The View from the Front Seat of the Google Self-Driving Car -

Backchannel. Retrieved February 02, 2016, from https://medium.com/backchannel/the-

view-from-the-front-seat-of-the-google-self-driving-car-46fc9f3e6088#.yaiw025b3