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Mercedes Garcia
CST 300 Writing Lab
23 January 2018

Software Engineering

Computer technology has grown rapidly in the last two decades reaching all aspects of

society: politics, business, and communication. Industries, such as agriculture, healthcare,

education, and entertainment, have all used information technology to aid and enhance

production for each respected industry. Discussing the rise of technology, Ian Brenner (2016)

from Time.com states:

A 2013 study from Oxford University predicts that up to 47 percent of U.S.

jobs will be computerized in the next 10-20 years. And with the rise of

websites like WebMD, LegalZoom and E*Trade, even white-collar

professionals like lawyers, doctors and financial middlemen are under

threat from technology. Are any jobs safe? (Middle section, para. 2)

With the rise of technology, the need for software engineers is greater than ever. Software

engineers write code to develop and design software. Although many industries employ

software engineers, tech companies such as Facebook, Microsoft, Google, Apple, IBM, and

Amazon, require massive teams of software engineers to keep their companies thriving.

Apple, Inc. paved the way for user-friendly technology and it is the company I aspire to

work for as a software engineer. The fact that a software engineering position at Apple is

highly coveted and highly competitive is a testament to the company’s reputation and

influence in the world.

Apple, Inc. is one of the biggest tech companies today. It produces several successful

products such as iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, MacBook, and Apple Watch. Examining
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Apple’s array of user-friendly products, Gary Marshall (2013) from techradar.com states,

“Apple products have revolutionized the way we work and play and listen to music. It has

transformed entire industries, created new kinds of computing…”. (Introduction section, para. 2)

Along with its products, Apple also provides services such as iCloud, App Store, Apple Music,

and Siri. According to Apple’s website, the company employs 80,000 across all 50 states, not

including U.S jobs created and supported by the App Store (2016, December).

Apple, Inc. was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne on April 1,

1976 in Cupertino, CA. Steve Wozniak dropped out of the University of California, Berkeley to

work for Hewlett – Packard where he engineered calculators. (Bort, 2013) While at Hewlett –

Packard, Wozniak begged the company to make Apple 1, an early personal computer, but was

turned down five times. (Karkaria, 2013) As a weekend hobby, Wozniak worked on building his

own computer as a result of not being able to afford the Altair 800, the first personal computer

kit. (People and Discoveries, 1998) Urvaksh Karkaria (2013) from Atlanta Business Chronicle

describes Wozniak’s role in the development of Apple I, “Wozniak designed the hardware,

circuit board designs, and operating system for the Apple I.” (Middle section, para. 6) Steve Jobs

and Steve Wozniak became friends when Jobs was in middle school and Wozniak was in High

School. Both shared a passion for electronics and belonged to Homebrew Computer Club, a

group of hobbyists that built computers. (People and Discoveries, 1998) In 1976, Wozniak built

Apple I from his bedroom, Ron Wayne was in charge of creating the Apple I Operating Manual,

and Steve Jobs focused on marketing the personal computer. (Apple I, n.d) After debuting to the

Homebrew Computer Club, Apple I was sold for $666.66. (The Homebrew Computer Club, n.d)

Apple I was later replaced by the iconic Apple II on April 16, 1977. (McCracken, 2012) Apple II

was built with the intention of it being user-friendly, not solely targeted to hobbyists, but
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intended for the average consumer. Harry McCracken (2012) from Time.com explains Apple II’s

revolutionary traits, “as one of a trio of consumer-friendly, ready-to-use systems that were taking

personal computer beyond its hobbyist origins.” (Middle section, para. 4) Today, Apple II is

revered as the first successful personal computer to achieve commercial success; paving the way

for attractive and pre-assembled personal computers. (Lee, 2015) Since its inception in 1976,

Apple Inc. has evolved into the largest tech company today introducing the world to smartphones

with the iPhone along with several mobile devices like the iPod, a digital music player, and iPad,

a touchscreen computer tablet. (Marshall, 2013)

While fighting pancreatic cancer, Steve Jobs appointed Timothy Cook as CEO who at the

time was Apple’s Chief Operating Officer. (Elmer-Dewitt, 2008) Just before Jobs’ death on

October 5, 2011, Timothy Cook was officially named Apple’s CEO on August 24, 2011.

(Reisinger, 2016) Today, Tim Cook is still Apple’s top executive who also serves as a member

of Apple, Inc.’s Boards of Directors. Tim Cook received a Bachelor of Science degree in

Industrial Engineering from Auburn University and an MBA from Duke University. (Apple

Leadership, 2018) Before working at Apple, Cook was vice president of Corporate Materials for

Compaq and was at IBM for 12 years as a director for distribution of IBM’s personal computers

in North and Latin America. (Apple Leadership, 2018) During Cook’s first year as CEO, Apple

had a $41.7 billion profit. (Reisinger, 2016) Since Cook’s leadership in 2011, Apple has seen

major successes in new markets, Don Reisinger (2016) from Fortune.com points out:

Cook has also helped Apple push into new territories. He led Apple into the

wearables market and quickly made the Apple Watch the world’s most successful

wearable. With his $3 billion Beats acquisition, Cook is helping Apple transition
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from a company reliant upon music downloads to one that’s willing to take on the

likes of Spotify in others in music streaming. (Middle section, para. 13)

Cook has proved to be an effective and successful CEO, pushing Apple into new ventures

and territories.

Apple’s current development experts and leaders include Eddy Cue, Apple’s top

developer in the area of Internet Software and Services and Craig Federeghi, Apple’s top

software engineer, both reporting directly to Tim Cook (Apple Leadership, 2018). As Senior

Vice President of Internet Software and Services, Eddy Cue directs Apple’s stores such as

iTunes Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, Maps, Search Ads, and iCloud services. (Apple

Leadership, 2018) Cue’s career at Apple started in 1989 as a manager of software engineering

and customer support. Craig Federighi is Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering

where he supervises the expansion of iOS, macOS and Siri. (Apple Leadership, 2018) According

to Apple’s website (2018), Federighi’s teams, “are responsible for delivering the software at the

heart of Apple’s innovative products, including the user interface, applications and frameworks.”

(Introduction section, para. 1) Federeghi has both a Bachelor of Science in Electrical

Engineering and Computer Science and a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from

University of California, Berkeley. (Apple Leadership, 2018) With their collective expertise,

both Cue and Federeghi have proven to be Apple’s major players in the areas of Internet

Software and Software Engineering.

Apple’s current products include devices that range from MacBook, iPhone, Apple TV,

Apple Watch, and everything in between. As far as services, Apple has the iCloud drive service

which provides secure data storage for all Apple’s devices and Apple Music, a music streaming

service. (Apple, 2018) Apple’s top selling products include iPhone, iPad, and MacBook. In 2017,
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Jefferson Graham (2017) from USA Today reported that Apple’s iPhone was “the best-selling

tech product of 2017, selling more units than the No. 2 through No. 5 products combined.”

(Introduction section, para. 1) In 2003, Apple’s iTunes Store revolutionized the music industry

by selling downloadable music legally. Almost 15 years later iTunes Store continues to be one of

Apple’s top services, Mark Harris (2018) from Lifewire.com states, “Today, the iTunes Store is

the largest seller of digital music in the U.S and has sold over 10 Billion songs.” (Introduction

section, para. 1) Apple has been able to combine its products and services for optimum

functionality and performance.

Apple has proven to be a reputable company, leading today’s tech movement. In 2017,

Apple was ranked first for the world’s largest tech company and ranked 9th place as the largest

company in the world. (Stoller, 2017) Apple has seen major financial success, Kristen Stoller

(2017) from Forbes.com reports, “For the past year, Apple saw $217 billion in sales, $45 billion

in profit, $331 billion in assets and a market cap of $752 billion.” (Introduction section, para. 2)

As far as customer relations, it was reported by Don Reisinger (2017) from Fortune.com that

Apple has fallen in the customer relations department stating:

In the first quarter of 2017, Apple landed in 20th place in the Reputation

Institute’s Global RepTrak 100, a ranking that measures public perception

towards major companies around the world. During the same period last

year, Apple ranked 10th in the study. (Introduction section, para 2)

However, in contrast to Apple’s customer relations reputation, Apple’s repu tation as an

employer ranked 7th according to Abigail Hess (2017) from cnbc.com stating, “The company

also has an impressive retention rate; approximately 10 percent of its retail workers turn over
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each year, compared to an industry-wide 80 percent.” (Middle section, para. 17) Overall, Apple’s

reputation as a company is respected and continues to grow.

Current trends in technology, specifically software engineering, are augmented reality

(AR), virtual reality (VR), and cloud database. Apple provides iCloud, according to Apple’s

website (iCloud, 2018), “iCloud securely and safely stores your photos, videos, documents, apps,

and more – and keeps them updated across all devices.” (Introduction section, para.1) Among the

iCloud, Apple has Apple Music, a music streaming service, App Store, and Apple Pay. Due to

the success of the iTunes Store and the rise of music streaming services such as Spotify, Apple

created Apple Music, a paid-only music streaming service. (Caldwell, 2017) Apple has been

participating in such trends in the last few years and has seen success in doing so.

Information technology has a wide range of positions in network security, computer

engineering, app development, and software engineering. A major interest of mine is software

engineering because of the major demand for qualified programmers in varied industries,

allowing for a wide scope of possibilities. With software engineering, you are essentially

creating something requiring imagination and skill. There is an art to writing code and creating

useful programs that benefit people’s lives. Approaches in obtaining a career in the software

engineering field is having a formal education in the study of Computer Science. Employers look

for four years of college education in Computer Science and experience in the field either from

internships or work experience.

Having a proper educational plan is essential in preparing for a position as a software

engineer. The CSUMB Online Computer Science Program has a set course schedule that is

sequential and focuses on software engineering development. For example, CST 338 (Software

Design) focuses on concepts in large scale software using object- oriented programming
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techniques. (CST338, n.d) That will very helpful with practicing real world programming by

using object-oriented programming. Another course in the CS Online Program is CST 336, it

focuses on internet programming using web application development skills like PHP, MySQL,

JavaScript. (CST336, n.d) An important course that will prepare students for a software

engineering job is the last course in the program, CST 499: Directed Group Capstone. In this

course, students will develop, design, and implement a chosen program. (CST 499, n.d)

Outside of school, preparation for a position as a software engineer include internships,

entry-level jobs, networking, and becoming a member of software engineering organizations.

Internships are massively helpful with putting in practice the skills learned in the classroom; it

gives real-life experience working for a company. I plan to apply for internships nearing the end

of the two-year program, given that by then I should have more knowledge in programming.

Applying for entry-level jobs is a good step in starting a career in software engineering and can

be done while still in the CS Online Program. Some companies do hire employees that have two

years education in computer science and are working towards a four-year degree in the field.

Networking with other programmers or future programmers will help to learn new skills and find

new opportunities in the field. Local hackathons help to build skills and meet other programmers,

so participation in them is very advantageous.

Software engineering is a flourishing field; the demand for software engineering is

directly proportional to the rise in technology in today’s society. Today, a software engineer can

find a position in virtually any industry such as agriculture, healthcare, and entertainment. Tech

companies in particular require skilled programmers for their companies to be successful. After

researching Apple, I now have more respect for software engineers, given the passion and talent

that is required to create useful products and services for the masses. After completing
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CSUMB’s Online Computer Science Program, I am confident that I will have gained the

required skills and knowledge needed for entering the software engineering field.
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References

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