How To Become an RPA Developer

How To Become an RPA Developer

Robotic process automation or RPA is a technology that manages complex business processes and tasks using machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI). If you have a keen interest in robotics and want to develop machines that work in the same manner as humans, you may enjoy a career as an RPA developer. Because of their job, RPA developers often require specialised degree courses, certifications and technical skills. In this article, we discuss what RPA developers do, how much they earn and provide a step-by-step guide on how to become an RPA developer.

How to become an RPA developer

To understand how to become an RPA developer, review these steps:

1. Get an education

Companies often prefer hiring RPA developers with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology (IT) and related fields. To gain admission to courses related to computer science, consider choosing the science stream in your 10+2. You can even consider PG diploma courses or MSc courses in machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Before deciding on the RPA course and college, gather details about the admission process, as every course may have a different one. Some may conduct an entrance test, while others may prefer admission through interviews or marks you have earned in 10+2. Advanced courses on RPA can increase your knowledge on the topic and help you gain employment faster.

2. Learn a programming language

It is common for an RPA developer to have knowledge of at least one programming language to start their career, although they may learn other languages as their career advances. Some common programming languages include Visual.NET (VB.NET), Python, JavaScript, C and C++. Based on your interest and the market’s demands, consider mastering one language during your bachelor’s or diploma course.

Many employers list multiple programming languages as a preferred qualification for their open job position. To differentiate yourself from other candidates, you can start by learning languages that are popular in the field. VB.NET is the primary language RPA developers use to access a library of pre-built methods. Also, hands-on experience with Python can help developers write custom code for and access libraries that can expand the RPA functionality.

3. Learn about databases and data analytics

Database integration is an integral part of RPA, so knowing databases like SQL or NoSQL can help you advance in your career. As RPA bots transform and organise automated tasks and unstructured and complex data, you may need to learn basic data analytics. It helps to understand the different array and variables that help you perform operations on data sets to understand the scope of those variables. You can enrol in a course on data analytics and SQL or learn using the free online tools available to you.

4. Enrol in a course

Various websites offer different RPA courses to choose from. Most of these courses provide a certification upon completion. Based on your interest and the RPA course, you can learn the basics of RPA between one week to six months.

5. Learn about automation tools

Knowledge of RPA automation tools can help you in automating your tasks. Direct experience with one or more tools is a great way to start and advance your career. These tools often help developers maximise the efficiency of a business model. To learn more about these tools, you can either enrol in an online course, complete an internship or take specific courses in school.

6. Enhance your skills

Because development is a highly competitive field, learning some unique skills through formal education or certification is usually a good idea. To enhance your skills, you may have to start by browsing through different job listings to understand more about what employers are looking for. Try developing or improving the skills you see to increase your chances of earning employment for a job you want.

What is an RPA developer?

An RPA developer is a professional who designs, builds and implements software like bots to automate tasks and enhance business process efficiency. They work with business analysts and operations teams to build and optimise workflow processes. To accomplish their job-specific duties, they may use many automation tools that result in automated processes. Some of the responsibilities of an RPA developer include:

• Providing guidance during product design
• Designing and planning automation tasks based on a business’s operational requirements
• Monitoring the code and design of automation
• Using RPA tools to resolve issues related to automation
• Using tools to configure automation
• Documenting the process of automation
• Collaborating with the development team and sharing expert knowledge during system integration or development
• Supporting the launch and implementation of RPA solutions

Common types of RPA developer job roles

Here are three types of RPA developer job roles you can pursue:

• Process designer: The primary responsibility of a process designer is understanding the business process workflow and monitoring changes that are likely to occur after implementing a bot in the business process. They work with automation architects to ensure that the quality of their software solutions or systems meets or exceeds industry standards.
• Automation architect: An automation architect is an integral part of an automation team. Their primary responsibility is creating technical specifications and architecture to fulfil different RPA projects.
• Production manager: The job of a production manager starts after testing and implementing the RPA project throughout the business. They are often responsible for addressing in-line prompts, reviewing analytics and giving the designer recommendations.

Average salary of an RPA developer

The national average salary of an RPA developer is 8LPA to 15LPA. The salary figures may vary depending upon your experience, skills, education and job location. You may experience salary increases as you advance in your career and gain more skills. As RPA is relatively a new field, companies often look for skilled RPA developers to fulfil their automation requirements.

Skills of an RPA developer

To excel in their job, an RPA developer usually has both hard and soft skills. Some of the common skills you may need to excel in this career are:

Proficiency with technology

As every business likely has a unique technology environment, employers may prefer candidates who have experience in different environments. Also, having familiarity with different technology environments can help you excel as a developer. It helps ensures you can integrate RPA with different systems.

Understanding of business processes

Having an understanding of a business process is important for RPA deployment. It helps developers find processes that require automation or are ideal for RPA. Also, a basic understanding of lean six sigma methodologies can help you excel at your work, as this is a common methodology in many industries that employ RPA developers.

Coding skills

Proficiency in one or more of these programming languages is desirable:

• Python: Python is a popular programming language for RPA because various bots use scripts written in Python.
• Visual basic (VB): VB is the primary language of many popular RPA automation tools. It also allows task automation within applications.
• C or C#: You may need to use C or C# when creating desktop RPA software.
• ASP.NET or .NET: Using either of these two languages, you can build both desktop and web applications.
• JavaScript: You may need to use JavaScript to create web-based RPA solutions. It is the primary scripting language for many popular automation tools.

Change management

As an RPA developer, you may need proficiency in technical change management. It is helpful because when you receive updates related to automated processes, it can cause an unwanted impact on the process. Understanding why and how a change affects an automated process is a desirable skill.