Posted by Ben Appleton, Software Engineer

We get a lot of questions about software engineering opportunities at Google Australia. Here are some of the most frequent questions people ask me about engineering careers.

Are you happy with the software engineering career you’ve chosen? What are the good sides? (& the downside?)

Before coming to Google I studied electrical engineering, mathematics, and a PhD in image analysis at the University of Queensland. I've always enjoyed solving problems and I've been coding from a young age.

The biggest downside to engineering is the large gap between solving a problem in theory and in practice - you can think that you've solved a problem, only to discover when you try to build the solution that it was far more complicated than you had imagined. On the other hand, it's a lot of fun to see millions of people use something that you've built.

What are the key skills required for working in your area?

In software engineering, very strong problem solving and coding skills are an absolute
must. Team work is also important as we work in small, self-directed teams; everyone’s contribution is critical.