ICT system developer to software developer
An ICT system developer already meets 66% of what the software developer role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
50.1/ 100
1 How much of what a software developer is expected to do is already part of an ICT system developer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the software developer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A software developer role treats 13 of its required skills as things an ICT system developer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- ICT debugging tools
- analyse software specifications
- computer programming
- create flowchart diagram
- debug software
- develop automated migration methods
What stands in the way is 11 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 76 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A software developer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an ICT system developer background worth leading with.
- already held blockchain openness information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held blockchain platforms information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held defence standard procedures services
- already held smart contract information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held Xcode information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held adapt to changes in technological development plans communication, collaboration and creativity
All 76 carried skills, including the 13 the software developer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 32 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn engineering processes required
- still to learn engineering principles required
- still to learn technical drawings required
- still to learn interpret technical requirements required
- still to learn identify customer requirements required
- still to learn perform scientific research required
- still to learn define technical requirements required
- still to learn manage engineering project required
- still to learn web services required
- optional, not held ABAP optional
- optional, not held Ajax Framework optional
- optional, not held Apache Tomcat optional
- optional, not held CoffeeScript optional
- optional, not held Drupal optional
- optional, not held Erlang optional
- optional, not held IBM WebSphere optional
- optional, not held JavaScript Framework optional
- optional, not held NoSQL optional
- optional, not held Oracle Application Development Framework optional
- optional, not held SPARK optional
- optional, not held SQL optional
- optional, not held Smalltalk (computer programming) optional
- optional, not held WordPress optional
- optional, not held software frameworks optional
- optional, not held trading software optional
- optional, not held data visualisation software optional
- optional, not held screen reader optional
- still to learn use technical drawing software required
- optional, not held do cloud refactoring optional
- optional, not held utilise machine learning optional
- still to learn project management required
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a software developer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 engineering processes study this
- 02 interpret technical requirements practise this
- 03 project management study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 76 skills that carry over
- already held ICT debugging tools knowledge
- already held analyse software specifications skill
- already held computer programming knowledge
- already held create flowchart diagram skill
- already held debug software skill
- already held develop automated migration methods skill
- already held develop software prototype skill
- already held integrated development environment software knowledge
- already held tools for software configuration management knowledge
- already held use an application-specific interface skill
- already held use software design patterns skill
- already held use software libraries skill
- already held utilise computer-aided software engineering tools skill
- already held AJAX knowledge
- already held APL knowledge
- already held ASP.NET knowledge
- already held Ansible knowledge
- already held Apache Maven knowledge
- already held Assembly (computer programming) knowledge
- already held C# knowledge
- already held C++ knowledge
- already held COBOL knowledge
- already held Common Lisp knowledge
- already held Eclipse (integrated development environment software) knowledge
- already held Groovy knowledge
- already held Haskell knowledge
- already held ICT security legislation knowledge
- already held Internet of Things knowledge
- already held Java (computer programming) knowledge
- already held JavaScript knowledge
- already held Jenkins (tools for software configuration management) knowledge
- already held KDevelop knowledge
- already held Lisp knowledge
- already held MATLAB knowledge
- already held ML (computer programming) knowledge
- already held Microsoft Visual C++ knowledge
- already held Objective-C knowledge
- already held OpenEdge Advanced Business Language knowledge
- already held PHP knowledge
- already held Pascal (computer programming) knowledge
- already held Perl knowledge
- already held Prolog (computer programming) knowledge
- already held Puppet (tools for software configuration management) knowledge
- already held Python (computer programming) knowledge
- already held R knowledge
- already held Ruby (computer programming) knowledge
- already held SAP R3 knowledge
- already held SAS language knowledge
- already held STAF knowledge
- already held Salt (tools for software configuration management) knowledge
- already held Scala knowledge
- already held Scratch (computer programming) knowledge
- already held Swift (computer programming) knowledge
- already held TypeScript knowledge
- already held VBScript knowledge
- already held Visual Basic knowledge
- already held World Wide Web Consortium standards knowledge
- already held Xcode knowledge
- already held adapt to changes in technological development plans skill
- already held blockchain openness knowledge
- already held blockchain platforms knowledge
- already held collect customer feedback on applications skill
- already held defence standard procedures knowledge
- already held design user interface skill
- already held develop creative ideas skill
- already held integrate system components skill
- already held migrate existing data skill
- already held object-oriented modelling knowledge
- already held smart contract knowledge
- already held software anomalies knowledge
- already held use automatic programming skill
- already held use concurrent programming skill
- already held use functional programming skill
- already held use logic programming skill
- already held use object-oriented programming skill
- already held use query languages skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held cyber attack counter-measures optional
21 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held ABAP optional
- optional, not held Ajax Framework optional
- optional, not held Apache Tomcat optional
- optional, not held CoffeeScript optional
- optional, not held Drupal optional
- optional, not held Erlang optional
- optional, not held IBM WebSphere optional
- optional, not held JavaScript Framework optional
- optional, not held NoSQL optional
- optional, not held Oracle Application Development Framework optional
- optional, not held SPARK optional
- optional, not held SQL optional
- optional, not held Smalltalk (computer programming) optional
- optional, not held WordPress optional
- optional, not held cyber attack counter-measures optional
- optional, not held do cloud refactoring optional
- optional, not held software frameworks optional
- optional, not held trading software optional
- optional, not held utilise machine learning optional
- optional, not held data visualisation software optional
- optional, not held screen reader optional
21 held skills the software developer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role ICT system integration knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT system programming knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply ICT systems theory skill
- not needed by the target role attack vectors knowledge
- not needed by the target role automate cloud tasks skill
- not needed by the target role core banking software knowledge
- not needed by the target role design cloud architecture skill
- not needed by the target role design database scheme skill
- not needed by the target role design for organisational complexity skill
- not needed by the target role develop with cloud services skill
- not needed by the target role digital systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify ICT system weaknesses skill
- not needed by the target role implement anti-virus software skill
- not needed by the target role interpret technical texts skill
- not needed by the target role keep up with the latest information systems solutions skill
- not needed by the target role monitor system performance skill
- not needed by the target role plan migration to cloud skill
- not needed by the target role security engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role solve ICT system problems skill
- not needed by the target role system design knowledge
- not needed by the target role systems theory knowledge
24 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn engineering processes required
- still to learn project management required
- still to learn web services required
- still to learn engineering principles required
- still to learn technical drawings required
- optional, not held ABAP optional
- optional, not held Ajax Framework optional
- optional, not held Apache Tomcat optional
- optional, not held CoffeeScript optional
- optional, not held Drupal optional
- optional, not held Erlang optional
- optional, not held IBM WebSphere optional
- optional, not held JavaScript Framework optional
- optional, not held NoSQL optional
- optional, not held Oracle Application Development Framework optional
- optional, not held SPARK optional
- optional, not held SQL optional
- optional, not held Smalltalk (computer programming) optional
- optional, not held WordPress optional
- optional, not held cyber attack counter-measures optional
- optional, not held software frameworks optional
- optional, not held trading software optional
- optional, not held data visualisation software optional
- optional, not held screen reader optional
Common questions about this move
Can an ICT system developer become a software developer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An ICT system developer already covers 66% of what a software developer is expected to do: 76 skills carry over, 13 of which the software developer role treats as required.
What skills does an ICT system developer need to become a software developer?
11 required skills are missing, plus 21 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is engineering processes.
How hard is the move from ICT system developer to software developer?
Its learning distance is 50.1 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.