Schooling
Formal Education
To be a software developer, employers usually require a bachelor's degree or master's degree in the field of software engineering. ("Software Developers") A college degree is helpful for getting both general knowledge and information specific to your field. As other alternatives for post-secondary schooling, internships and technical schools are both good choices to learn the skills needed to be in this position. (Freedman 29-30) Both of these choices help you learn how to better apply the knowledge you're learning to be more ready for a career.
Background Knowledge and Out-of-School Education
Due to the complexity of developing programs, software developers need to have a good understanding of how computers and electronics work. Skills may also be required in the areas of product and service development, various categories of math, and customer service. ("Software Developers, Applications") To assist the learning some of these skills in preparation, it can help to participate in camps and clubs focused on technology and software as you're progressing through high school.
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Maintaining Employment
In the field of computing, it is not only important to know your information when employed, but also to keep updated in the current programming languages. This may require taking another course, or, more likely, using documentation and resources from books or the Internet. (Freedman 14) To reduce workload, it may also be useful to keep track of the current tools on the market so that you don't have to remake what already exists.