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Stacy Kirchner
CST 300 Writing Lab
11 September 2022
Software Industry

Part I – The Industry

Living in a software filled society today, it is no surprise that the software industry is

growing at an incredibly fast rate. Most people can easily name or recognize a few giants in the

software industry. A few examples of these giants are Oracle, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Meta,

and Adobe. The software industry consists of any company that creates, produces, or sells

software. A common job in the software industry is a software developer. From 2021-2031,

software developers are projected to grow twenty-five percent, which is much faster than the

average (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022).

Adobe is known in many households today since many of their programs can easily be

found on computers and phones. Adobe has headquarters in San Jose with several branches

throughout the United States and worldwide; employing more than 26,000 employees (Adobe,

n.d.). Some of their commonly used products are Acrobat, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Creative

Cloud. Some of Adobe’s applications are cloud-based making them Software as a Service

(SAAS) products. SAAS allows users of the application to access the software over the internet

and is often considered a pay as you go service.

Adobe was founded in California in December 1982 by John Warnock and Charles

Geschke. Warnock and Geschke worked at Xerox together before creating the page description

language PostScript, which would be the start of Adobe (Schimada, 2006). After creating

PostScript, Xerox declined to be a partner of PostScript, so Warnock and Geschke ventured off

forming their own company (Schimada, 2006). After success of Postscript, Adobe created a user-

friendly component to PostScript named Display PostScript. Microsoft and Apple became
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frustrated with licensing fees of PostScript and decided to create their own product, which they

named TrueType (Schimada, 2006). Despite Microsoft and Apple being rivals, the companies

formed a new alliance with the aim to dominate PostScript, which became known as the Font

Wars. TrueType was ultimately inferior, and the Font wars ended with a victory for Adobe.

Apple returned to Adobe’s side once Steve Jobs came back to Apple from NeXT (Schimada,

2006). Apple and Adobe then worked together to advance TrueType. Microsoft made the

mistake of standardizing Arial in TrueType instead of Helvetica, which designers interpreted as

Microsoft not having respect for the design community’s traditional standards (Schimada, 2006).

Adobe on the other hand was well respected by the design community and Microsoft needed

Adobe’s assistance in gaining more credibility in this area. The outcome resulted in Microsoft

and Adobe combining their products to help each other. Although the Font Wars started with

these companies competing, it ended with the companies assisting each other to better their

products.

Adobe would also move on to create more software for other areas of the design

community. Although, Adobe has created a lot of software, the company has also acquired

software through several acquisitions. On Adobe’s website they offer 95 products and services

with Creative Cloud being their most popular product, followed by Acrobat Pro and Photoshop

(Adobe, 2022). Adobe’s Photoshop is used by more than 90% of creative professionals

worldwide (Adobe, n.d.). Adobe Document Cloud is one of Adobe’s products where users can

create, sign, and share documents electronically, which is greatly reducing costs and

environmental impact. In comparison to the paper-based document process, Document Cloud

can save ninety percent of the cost and reduce ninety-five percent of environmental impact

(Adobe, n.d.).
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A criticism of Adobe from their customers is that the company has expensive

cancellation fees if they decide to cancel their subscriptions. Customers have even suggested that

it is morally correct to pirate Adobe’s software in retaliation for their penalty cancellation fees

(Sulleyman, 2021). Several years before this criticism, Adobe also received backlash because of

a data breach. In 2013, 2.9 million customers had their passwords and payment information

stolen during a cyber-attack (Adobe in Source and Customer Data Security Break, 2013).

Although Adobe did not believe any bank information was stolen, Adobe offered a one-year

complimentary subscription to have their credit monitored as a precaution (Adobe in Source and

Customer Data Security Break, 2013). Adobe also reset the passwords for any accounts that were

believed to be compromised (Adobe in Source and Customer Data Security Break, 2013). Since

Adobe software is on billions of computers, it is alarming that encrypted information was able to

be accessed.

Adobe dominates the design and creativity software space. As a brand, Adobe is also well

respected with it being placed on the Best Global Brands list for several years consecutively and

taking spot number twenty-one in 2021 (Interbrand, 2022). People magazine listed Adobe as

number sixteen on their list for Companies that Care in 2021, which was their fifth year on that

same list (Herbst, Kantor, Walters, 2021). The company has a good reputation as an employer

and has made it on several top employers lists. Fortunes has placed Adobe on their 100 Best

Companies to Work for list for 22 years in a row (Adobe, n.d.). In 2022, there have been layoffs

in some software companies, but Adobe has not had any layoffs so far; at least none that are

widely known (Turner, 2022). Not having layoffs while many other rival companies are doing

so, shows how financially successful Adobe is doing. In the second quarter of 2022, Adobe beat

analysts’ expectations by $39.15 million (Alaimo, 2022).

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When looking at trends of the Software industry, it is important to look at the trends of

occupations in the Computer and Information Technology field. Two occupations that can be

examined are software programmers and computer programmers, because software cannot be

created or implemented without these occupations. Surprisingly, Bureau of Labor Statistics gave

computer programmers a ten percent decline in job outlook for 2021 to 2031, which is not

consistent with the positive incline in all other careers within Computer and Information

Technology (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022). The declining job outlook makes one wonder if

there is an error in this statistic or if there is an expected influx of computer programmers within

the next ten years. There are still expected to be around 9,600 job openings for computer

programmers each year; resulting from replaced or retired employees (Bureau of Labor

Statistics, 2022). However, these statistics are probably not considering the growing software

industry, which will more than likely result in new jobs needed to be created for computer

programmers.

Unlike computer programmers though, software developers are expected to have a

twenty-five percent increase in their job outlook between 2021 and 2031, along with over

400,000 new employees (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022). A software developer does tend to

have all the job duties, and more, of a computer programmer. It is still strange that computer

programmer is the only occupation in the Computer and Information Technology field that does

not have a positive job outlook. It is possible that with the growth of the software industry, there

is also a push towards more people pursuing Computer and Information Technology careers.

Although, there is probably still a long while before careers within the software industry become

oversaturated, a degree in a field like Computer Science can allow an individual to achieve

further in their career than a self-taught programmer.

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Part 2 – My Plan

Most occupations in the software industry allow people to be both creative and problem

solvers. Software programmers, software developers, and software engineers are often used

interchangeably, and depending on the person they are defined as the same job. However, some

people see these three titles as being distinct occupations. Whether an individual defines these

titles as being the same or not, it is helpful to look at the job description, duties, and requirements

of these three titles when looking for a job. Being a software developer allows an individual to be

a part of the System Development Lifecycle, which is a process of different work phases that

helps a team produce software. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022), the median

pay in 2021 of software developers and quality assurance analysts was $52.41 per hour or

$109,020 per year. Quality assurance (QA) analysts are grouped with software developers for

Bureau of Labor’s statistics and can be considered a high-demand job as well. A QA analyst

helps identify problems and looks for areas of improvement within an application by testing and

reporting errors and defects. Although software programmers and QA analysts may work

together they should be considered separate occupations. Software programmers create the

software, where QA analysts test the software. Both of these careers sound appealing because

there is a high demand and they allow problem solving skills to be put to use, which can be quite

enjoyable.

Internships are a great way to gain needed experience while still studying in school.

Summer internships are common since many students choose not to take courses during the

summer. The summer before or after Senior year of school is a great time to do an internship.

Since internships can be quite competitive, looking for internships six months ahead is not

unreasonable. People desiring an internship should also apply to several, since it increases the
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chances of getting an offer for one. Adobe does offer internships, but there are also countless

other software companies that have internship opportunities. Many people often have their eyes

set on a well-known company for an internship, but smaller companies or newer companies can

also provide the knowledge and experience one is looking for in an internship. There is also a

greater chance of receiving an internship offer at a smaller company since their applicant pool is

smaller.

Even just getting an internship can seem like a challenge in the software industry, which

is why it can be beneficial to have connections at a company. If an individual knows someone at

a desirable company, the individual can ask the acquaintance for a recommendation at the

company. Not only are conferences a great way to learn current information in the industry, but

they can also lead to meeting people, which can turn into connections. Even if a conference does

not initially seem interesting, it’s a great opportunity for networking and may lead to a new

interest. Another event that has good networking opportunities for aspiring programmers is a

hackathon, where people compete, either in person or virtual, and collaboratively program. Some

hackathons are free and available to anyone so there are no consequences to attending one,

putting one’s skills to use, and potentially making a new acquaintance.

With how competitive internships and jobs can be, it is important to be knowledgeable

and skilled to be qualified. The Computer Science Online (CSO) program at California State

University Monterey Bay (CSUMB) has a concentration in Software Engineering, making it a

good choice for students pursuing a career in Software Engineering. CST 438 – Software

Engineering is one class in the CSUMB CSO program students should pay extra attention to,

since it will provide detailed knowledge of Software Engineering. It is important for Computer
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Science students to remember that classes are not just something to complete, but an opportunity

to advance their skills and knowledge which will be vital when applying for jobs.

The software industry will continue to grow at an incredibly fast rate, making it a great

career choice. Large companies like Adobe are highly sought after because of their prominence

and great reputation as an employer. Researching Adobe helped show how many of these large

well-known software companies have earned their respect from being pioneers in their fields.

Whether it is within Adobe, or another company, software engineering and software

programming are both great careers to pursue in the software industry. Both careers are

achievable by earning a bachelor’s degree in computer science and doing an internship while

pursuing the degree. Despite the challenges that come with pursuing a career in the software

industry, this path can be quite enjoyable and rewarding for anyone with the passion to do so.
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References

Adobe Fast Facts. Adobe. https://www.adobe.com/content/dam/cc/en/fast-facts/pdfs/fast-

facts.pdf

Adobe in Source and Customer Data Security Break. (2013, October 4). BBC News.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-24392819

Adobe Products: Desktop, Web, and Mobile Applications | Adobe. (2022) Adobe.

https://www.adobe.com/products/catalog.html

Alaimo, B. (2022, August 18). Adobe: High Margins, Growth, And Fairly Valued.

SeekingAlpha. https://seekingalpha.com/article/4535595-adobe-high-margins-growth-

and-fairly-valued

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor (2022, September 8). Computer

Programers, Job Outlook. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-

information-technology/computer-programmers.htm

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. (2022, September 9). Software

Developers, Quality Assurance Analysts, and Tester, Occupational Outlook Handbook.

Retrieved from

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/Computer-and-Information-Technology/Software-

developers.htm

Herbst, D., Kantor, W., Walters, D., (2021, September 1). PEOPLE’s 100 Companies That Care

2021: Meet the Employers Putting Their Communities First. People.

https://people.com/human-interest/people-100-companies-that-care-2021/#c02513ab-

506d-44fa-9560-6876763be0aa

Interbrand. (2022). BGB Archive. https://interbrand.com/best-global-brands/

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Schimada, James. (2006, December 6). The Font Wars.[PDF file].

https://courses.cs.washington.edu/courses/csep590/06au/projects/font-wars.pdf

Sulleyman, A. (2021, April 13). $291 Adobe Cancelation Fee Sees Twitter Users Argue it’s

“Morally Correct” to Pirate Software. Newsweek. https://www.newsweek.com/adobe-

cancelation-fee-twitter-users-argue-morally-correct-pirate-software-1583146

Turner, J. (2022, August 31). Tech Companies That Have Made Layoffs in 2022. Tech.Co.

https://tech.co/news/tech-companies-layoffs