One of the key components which has an impact on the performance and productivity of individuals in the organization is motivation. Software engineering lacks the studies on motivation. Even though those studies which have been done so far are mostly from Western countries. This paper tries to fill this gap by understanding motivators and de-motivators in the field of software engineering from Malaysian perspective. Questionnaire method was used to collect the data. Results show that recognition, technically challenging work, job security and feedback are the major motivators in the field of software engineering. As far as de-motivators are concerned, main de-motivators includes lack of promotional opportunities, less competitive pay and unfair reward system. These results confirmed that the importance of motivators and de-motivators vary between Western and Malaysian cultures. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.