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Not Just Code: The Real Skills That Define Great Software Engineers

Sergio Fiorillo on February 05, 2025

When starting out in software development, most people focus on one big question: Which programming language should I learn? But what if I told you...
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Ben Halpern

I think we need this kind of dialog more than ever

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Olga Braginskaya

Loved this! Coding is just one piece of the puzzle—understanding the problem, communicating well, and staying adaptable make all the difference. Asking questions and seeing the bigger picture always lead to better results. Great breakdown!

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Johan Maes

Thank you for this article! I agree that, once you've successfully transitioned between programming languages a few times in your career, technological requirements should no longer be a barrier to applying for a position. Unfortunately, I believe this remains a significant hurdle for many recruiters and employers.

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Dan Maroff • Edited

I'll go one step further. Don't get too technical or delve deep into "how things work" with business folks. The more they know about how you do things the worse life becomes for you and your development team. Just solve their business problems and keep technical aspects on a need to know basis. First off, business gets bored with technical details. Second, keeping them on their side of the fence keeps you in control of the technical details and offers cover for buffering precious time for deliverables or just flat out saying the ever important "No!" when a requested feature is just not feasible.

For instance ... we have a director at work who talks in-depth database terminology with the business, and if these people aren't bored of these conversations they're offering up suggestions to complexity they truly don't understand. This is a terrible habit that leads to unnecessary work and time wasted. Keep meetings succinct and business logic focused.

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Cesar Aguirre

Communication skills are key, even more important than your coding skills. Often our job is to be interpreters between tech language and business language.

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Ericode254

Totally agree

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Andrey Rusev

So true! I keep saying that coding is basically the last part of the job...

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Dylan Su

Absolutely with your theory! a million for sharing it. I can't wait to apply your insights in my work and everyday life!!!

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Jakub Wisniewski

This article nails it! Beyond coding, it's the soft skills—problem-solving, communication, adaptability—that truly define a top-tier software engineer. Let's keep honing these essentials! 💡

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Steve

"you need to understand not only the problem the product solves but also the reasoning behind features or changes"
I think "problem the product solves" and "the reasoning behind features or changes" are identical in meaning bro.
But thank you for a great post overall.

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Andy Engle

Why ChatGPT won't be able to take your job. ☝🏼