Difficulty of Software Engineering and Ways to Overcome Common Challenges

As businesses and organizations work to keep pace in an evolving digital landscape, the need for software engineers has soared—along with interest from individuals looking to pursue a career in this field. For those without programming skills or even a background in technology, software engineering may initially seem hard to understand.

Fortunately, aspiring software engineers can access online resources and learn from a wide range of courses to overcome challenges associated with the role. What an effective software engineer needs—and what sets this job apart from other tech roles—is a combination of specialized skills and a willingness to embrace broader technical concepts.

A crucial field in the IT industry, software engineering is influenced by many factors, including changing market conditions, technological innovations, and increasing software development complexities. The ability to navigate these factors while managing existing processes is necessary to excel in software engineering.

Software Engineering Challenges

Whether they’re trying to stay current on shifting technology trends or dealing with limited infrastructure and resources, skilled software engineers are trained to anticipate and overcome various challenges in the workplace. The resulting experience gained helps these professionals adjust and adapt to the ever-changing demands of the job. Below are some common challenges that software engineers face throughout their careers.

Challenge 1: Rapid Technological Advancement

The rate at which technology is advancing may produce high pressure for software engineers. Software engineers juggle myriad tasks in their day-to-day work, from internalizing concepts such as stacks and libraries to writing and debugging code. Continuous learning and leveraging trends in software development help them stand out in a highly competitive job market.

Challenge 2: Growing Customer and Client Demands

Software engineers generally work on conceptual projects designed and developed to meet customer and client demands. Even within the most straightforward application or product development cycles, software engineers must understand underlying business concepts to ensure that the required features satisfy end users’ needs.

Challenge 3: Time Constraints

Software engineering is a time-consuming endeavor. Engineers often work in high-pressure environments and must complete projects within tight deadlines. When interacting with clients globally or across multiple time zones, these demands may prove especially challenging. Pressing time constraints can negatively affect a software development team’s efficiency, potentially leading to lower-quality end products. For this reason, software engineers should strategize on managing and using time wisely.

Challenge 4: Limited Infrastructure

A shortage of IT resources—or the outright lack of a stable IT infrastructure—constitutes one of the toughest challenges that software engineers face in the modern tech landscape. This may include limited high-performance software engineering tools and computing platforms in addition to inefficient data storage architectures. Software engineers must rely heavily on a robust infrastructure to perform their jobs effectively.

If the necessary hardware and software resources aren’t available or accessible, productivity among software engineering teams may be reduced, affecting a product's or service's overall results.

Challenge 5: Software Testing Conflicts

During software engineering projects, conflict may arise between software engineers and quality assurance testers. Some of the factors contributing to this type of interpersonal workplace challenge range from mounting work pressures and diverging opinions on product quality to differences in job roles and responsibilities. Poor management of software testing conflicts can damage a project's integrity and delay the release of finished software programs.

Challenge 6: Changing Software Requirements

Software requirements tend to be very fluid and can change frequently. This might make it difficult for engineers to design and develop software that meets users’ needs without planning for future software updates and bug fixes. This challenge is especially true when building cutting-edge software that users expect to rely on for years.

Challenge 7: Software Security

Programming secure software is a complex and challenging task in part because cybercriminals can exploit many different types of vulnerabilities. It might be difficult for software engineers to implement secure software features if they do not actively research ways to defend against hacking, malware, phishing, insider and third-party threats, and more.

Challenge 8: Software Scalability and Availability

Software that isn’t designed to scale up can quickly become a bottleneck as the number of users and frequency of user interactivity increase. Such a bottleneck often leads to performance problems, outages, and in some cases, data loss.

To write scalable and widely available software, engineers need to:

• Use scalable architecture.
• Incorporate efficient algorithms and data structures.
• Practice server load balancing.
• Emphasize reliability.
• Test for crashes, errors, and other bugs.
• Develop a disaster recovery plan in case of emergencies.

Challenge 9: Software Accessibility and Usability

Overly complex software can frustrate or confuse users. Software engineers and developers should remember to build user-friendly assets, keep user interface (UI) designs consistent, and solicit user feedback frequently. Engineers must test software thoroughly and monitor software both during production and after it’s launched.

Why Software Engineering Is Difficult

A significant portion of a software engineer’s job is devoted to programming. However, as these professionals assume greater responsibilities and advance in their careers, they dedicate more time to conceptualizing and analyzing the design behind software systems. As such, software engineers must strive to adopt a mindset of increased curiosity, foster a love for professional development, and master soft skills such as leadership and strategic thinking.

How to Become a Successful Software Engineer

Despite being in a competitive and challenging field, a software engineering career offers many rewarding benefits, including a promising job outlook and an attractive salary.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects the employment of software engineers to grow by 17% from 2023 to 2033. According to the BLS, the average annual salary for software engineers in May 2023 was $132,270.

While education requirements to become a software engineer vary, most employers prefer to hire software engineers who hold at least a bachelor’s degree in software engineering, information technology, computer science, or a similar subject. Some engineers go on to earn a relevant master’s degree or pursue certification in order to increase their earning potential.

Next Steps

If you’re looking to begin or advance in your IT career, consider earning a software engineering degree at WGU. This program—developed with input from industry experts—teaches the software engineering skills you’ll need to thrive. While you study, you can also earn several industry certifications at no extra cost.

Plus, with WGU’s competency-based learning model, you can progress through your online coursework as quickly as you master the material, potentially saving time and money.

Learn more today.