Soft skills should be much higher on the list. Software engineers, depending on the org, will be asked to interact with a lot of non-engineering, non-technical types that are in a position to make decisions. If you can't explain a problem or proposed solution in a way that they can understand, things are going to be harder than they need to be. Sometimes you'll need to extract requirements from these individuals for a feature because BAs and PMs are coming up short in getting the right details. Learning how to talk with people through their idea and not make them feel stupid but instead make them feel like they are a partner goes a long way.
rspivak|1 year ago