Critical soft skills for software developers
What formal education should have taught me but did not
I’ve been working as a software developer for about a decade now. If I had a time machine and had to give my younger self one piece of career advice, it would be this:
Soft skills are as important, if not more important, than technical skills
When I was just starting out, I was completely convinced that technical skills are what makes or breaks a software developer’s career. I had the naive impression that developers who are great at building software would be the ones that get ahead faster. And wow, was I wrong.
As a work newbie, I quickly observed that developers who have passable technical competence but excellent soft skills were outperforming technical virtuosos in terms of career advancement and financial compensation.
I used to be on the same team with a developer who was ultra intelligent. He knew the intricacies Java Enterprise ecosystem like the back of his hand. He was one of the most competent coders I knew at that time. He could run simulations of complex multithreading scenarios in his head with little effort.
Unfortunately, his career progress was sluggish. It was hampered by the fact that it was not easy for others to work with him…
