I want to become a Software Architect. What advice would you give to a junior in college?
Yohance W. asked a question to Casey C.
It's my dream to become great at designing, executing, and maintaining software at larger scales. What advice would you give me?
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- Category: Career tips, Career advice
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Hello Yohance W.,
Thanks for the question - I think it's good that you're already thinking about this while still in college!
From my experience, becoming a Software Architect doesn't usually happen right after graduation. In my humble opinion, the role grows from a strong technical foundation first. So while you're in college, focus on the basics - be solid in programming, data structures, and how software is built and tested. If you get a chance to work on a real project (internship, school project, open source), try to understand not only your part, but how your piece fits with the rest.
hmmm... what else... ah! soft skills and ownership. In my current work, a lot of architecture is about collaboration across multiple components/domains. I learned a lot of that by taking responsibility early. I actually started in a different path than architecture and grew into it over time - you can read more about that here: https://nokia.career-inspiration.com/insider/casey-c.
Feel free to send me a follow-up question if you want to narrow it down.
Best regards,
Casey
