Python Jobs
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Programming is an excellent pathway into a job with constantly evolving technology. Knowing one programming language is enough to land an awesome job because of how versatile. Let's focus on jobs that Python programmers typically get. Python programmers pursue as software developers, web developers, data scientists, and machine learning engineers. These jobs might sound somewhat similar, but they differ in many aspects, whether preferred skills, pay, growth, or even requirements. The python language is very flexible and can be used in various ways and for different tasks from one despite being in the same field.
Software developers' job
Software developers are one of the first jobs that come to mind when you think of jobs that relate to computers/technology, and it's for a good reason too. Software developers do software-related jobs, such as making programs, applications, or even giant networks. This job's duties are not based on strictly writing code, although it is used as a basis. Some of the other main things that software developers do are analyze the problem given to them, create a solution, test it out, and develop it further. One of the critical factors in creating a plan, whether a flowchart or a diagram, is not only to help themselves but other programmers too that are in on the project. With all these factors in play, this job is for python programmers whose strengths are problem-solving and teamwork. Teamwork is essential as the projects they do are usually collaborative, so the work environment often involves other people.
Software developers' statistics and info
This job has good pay as the median reaches over the 100k mark per year as of 2020. Another reason programmers shouldn't gloss over this job is that the job growth projection from 2020 and 2030 is estimated to be about 22%, much higher than the average. Becoming a software developer has some expected requirements as some other programming jobs typically need a bachelor's degree in computer, engineering, or mathematics. One of the reasons Python is practical for software developers is that it is a general-purpose programming language, meaning that it can be used for various projects that software developers might need to take on. Another reason Python is one of the chosen languages for this job is that it is one of the most readable languages, so making changes or working in a group setting would not be much of a hassle. A quick overview of this job can be found below:
Web developers
Web developers are also one of the most available jobs in programming because they have a very critical role in businesses and companies. A web developer's job generally entails creating and maintaining simple or custom websites. A web developer can fit three categories: back-end, front-end, and full-stack.
- A back-end web developer's role in making the website's structure, writing the code, testing it out, and developing it.
- Front-end web developers mainly focus on the aspects that users interact with, such as the pages they see, by designing the layout and graphics.
- Full-stack developers are a combination of back-end and front-end developers who do their work.
Python programmers might not want to pursue front-end development because other languages such as HTML and JavaScript will be much more impactful in this category. However, back-end development is an entirely different story because one of the most commonly used languages here is Python, so just specializing in it is more than enough. And knowing a variety of other programming languages gives the option of doing full-stack development as well.
Being a programming job, problem-solving is essential to this job, and communication between customers is another crucial aspect. While teamwork is needed for specific times, it isn't as prevalent compared to something like software developers.
Web developers' statistics and info
The pay that web developers receive is not as much as software developers but is still relatively high as the median income is about 77k per year. Another area in that web developers might not do well as software developers are job growth, being at about 13% between 2020 and 2030. However, this is still considered faster than average. One of the reasons why web developers do slightly worse in the mentioned categories is because of the ease in requirements to become one. The requirements are about the same as software developers who prefer a web development degree in the desired field. But with experience and a high school diploma can still be qualified for a job.
Data scientists
Data scientists are not quite well known as the previous careers mentioned because they are somewhat new to the scene, but they have made a name for themselves and a great reason. Whenever you think of data scientists, you assume that they do something along the lines of gathering data and then analyzing said data. That is generally correct, as what data scientists do is that they try to find potential trends and patterns compiled from datasets that they receive. After they find a pattern/trend that can be applied, they then use algorithms and data models to predict outcomes for the future. Data scientists and data analysts are similar in jobs, but the critical difference between these two is that data scientists create questions about the given data. This is somewhat different from the jobs mentioned because rather than just solving a problem, a data scientist also creates questions. This job heavily depends on data tools and one of which is Python. Python is an excellent language for gathering data, and its strengths are seen within this job. This means that a programmer that loves the aspect of collecting vast amounts of info and forming questions should not ignore this job.
Data scientists' statistics and info
With this new job in this field, data scientists have a tremendous growth rate estimated to be about 31.4% between 2020 and 2030. It will likely stay high for a long time because many people see just how vital data scientists can be. With this job's responsibilities, they are paid relatively well, as the median salary is hovering at about 100k per year. With these statistics and responsibilities, it's expected that the requirements are similar to that of a software developer, and they are with needing a bachelor's in a related field. However, even though that is the requirement, getting a master's degree is recommended since many data scientist jobs today require it. Python is one of the chosen languages for this job because a significant component is storage, and Python excels in that category.
Machine learning engineer
Machine learning engineers are another career that does not immediately pop into our minds when thinking of tech jobs because it fills a relative niche yet important role. Machine learning engineers are like data scientists because they use large data sets to analyze and make predictions. Still, in this case, they develop artificial intelligence systems to do that job for them. This job has various tasks such as assessing/organizing data, testing the system, and monitoring/optimizing machine learning processes. Like many other jobs relating to programming, they must have a good sense of problem-solving, and as data scientists, they should be good at handling data. Machine learning engineers have a crucial part that differs from the rest of the jobs, emphasizing learning. The other careers mentioned usually have a task with a clear goal in mind, but it is not quite as simple as this career because they are constantly trying to build on artificial intelligence.
Machine learning engineer statistics and info
Machine learning engineers are on the higher end in terms of pay, with the median salary in Seattle being about 170k per year. This difference in the amount of money compared to the other jobs is expected to have higher requirements. The minimum requirement is a bachelor's degree. Still, it is recommended that it is not uncommon for some job positions to require a master's or Ph. D. As data scientists, this is a relatively new career in this field, so the growth rate has been rather high in the past four years there's been about a 75% growth in AI and machine learning jobs. The reason why machine learning engineers utilize Python is that the programming language allows for quickly creating models for machine learning because of how it excels in readability.
Takeaway on Python Jobs
These are just some of the jobs that use Python as an essential tool, and even though the same language is used, Python gives many options as to how the programmer can use it for their jobs because of how flexible it is. While these jobs share many similarities, like having a core part be problem-solving, they are pretty different in their tasks. Software developers develop code for various types of software, web developers specialize in creating the code used for websites, data scientists utilize data to form questions/answers, and machine learning engineers create artificial intelligence. With these differences, all it takes is for a programmer to have preferences to choose one over another. For example, if they are looking to get a job as fast as possible, they should pursue being a web developer since the requirements are rather generous. Still, if a programmer values money/job growth over other things, they should go for the alternatives. But even if one job pays better than another, it doesn't mean that one's better than the other.
A programmer does not have to strictly follow a job path forever because these jobs can often overlap; an example would be degrees where most of these jobs require/recommend a bachelor's degree in the field. Python is a crucial part of important industries such as web development, data science, machine learning, finance, and many other industries that require jobs like the ones mentioned in this essay. It is just a very flexible language that also provides many valuable features that can cater to various positions.
