Software engineer is a good paying job and a pretty good career. Even better, you can break into the career without a college degree. This makes people think it's easy to get a job, but it isn't. It is easier to get a job as a software engineer if you have a college degree. This is because, like all other professional careers, software engineering requires more skills than coding. You have to be able to analyze information and think critically. You have to be able to organize your thoughts and communicate them. Listening to lectures, reading books, writing papers...it helps prepare you for this.