5 ms·

Technical Skills Are Great, but Communication and Curiosity Are Better

35 points by kylegalbraith 8y ago

mpweiher 8y ago
This is a popular meme, but I don't believe it is actually true. Having technical skills is an absolute requirement. Not framework X or language Y, those will change. But you need to actually be able to program a computer. There are many people who have wonderful curiosity and are great communicators, but will not be able to actually program.
- commandlinefan 8y ago
  I am getting a little tired of the "programming is the least important part of programming" platitude. Yes, yes, talk and learn and soft skills and people skills and all that, but there's a reason why it's programmers who do the programming.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - vokep 8y ago
    The thing is, if you have a bunch of "programmers" who barely have actual programming skill, but a lot of curiosity and good attitude, they will get far more done, and what they get done will be far more useful, than if you have a bunch of programmers that are really good at coding but not much more. At least, thats the theory.
    - dominotw 8y ago
      Don't you have to have lots of curiosity to be 'really good at coding', esp these days.
- screye 8y ago
  I don't think the sort of article is supposed to be taken at face value. The average reader for such a piece, would be the already hardworking folk looking for advice on on how to further succeed at work. Every academic institution and test we give, preselect for those with technical expertise. This makes it so, that the average reader already clears the high technical bar, but is sorely lacking in other areas. I've always taken these articles to mean, that the extra online course or learning one extra language isn't going to make the difference. Rather, it will be going from being sub-par to above average in other soft skills that will make the difference. Taken in isolation, these articles do seem to be misguided. Especially when some HR people on LinkedIn keep incessantly sharing such pieces across the internet.
dannykwells 8y ago
I agree with this. At my organization our technical is not that bad and is pretty short. Our process to look for communication, curiosity, thought maturity is much more intensive. This process has meant that yes, we need to have technical mentoring in place, but everyone is motivated and learns fast, and so technical barriers are overcome quickly once identified.
averros 8y ago
Computers don't care about your communication skills. They don't tolerate bullshit.
j7ake 8y ago
I think a good analogy is that a musician requires high technical skill, but also needs to create art. Playing scales is not making art. The best pianists all have great technical ability, but it's their ability to communicate their musical feelings and explore the music that makes them great. Being a pianist that can play all the scales perfectly is not well-regarded a a musician. Technical skills are still a requirement. Let's not kid ourselves.
xiaodai 8y ago
Can I put a counter-point? For certain highly technical roles, being curious about how to invert a b-tree is MUCH less important than actually being able to invert a b-tree! So the title of the article should clarify to whether the statement applies in all situations.

35 points by kylegalbraith 8y ago

This is a popular meme, but I don't believe it is actually true. Having technical skills is an absolute requirement. Not framework X or language Y, those will change. But you need to actually be able to program a computer. There are many people who have wonderful curiosity and are great communicators, but will not be able to actually program.

commandlinefan 8y ago
I am getting a little tired of the "programming is the least important part of programming" platitude. Yes, yes, talk and learn and soft skills and people skills and all that, but there's a reason why it's programmers who do the programming.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- vokep 8y ago
  The thing is, if you have a bunch of "programmers" who barely have actual programming skill, but a lot of curiosity and good attitude, they will get far more done, and what they get done will be far more useful, than if you have a bunch of programmers that are really good at coding but not much more. At least, thats the theory.
  - dominotw 8y ago
    Don't you have to have lots of curiosity to be 'really good at coding', esp these days.
screye 8y ago
I don't think the sort of article is supposed to be taken at face value. The average reader for such a piece, would be the already hardworking folk looking for advice on on how to further succeed at work. Every academic institution and test we give, preselect for those with technical expertise. This makes it so, that the average reader already clears the high technical bar, but is sorely lacking in other areas. I've always taken these articles to mean, that the extra online course or learning one extra language isn't going to make the difference. Rather, it will be going from being sub-par to above average in other soft skills that will make the difference. Taken in isolation, these articles do seem to be misguided. Especially when some HR people on LinkedIn keep incessantly sharing such pieces across the internet.

dannykwells 8y ago

I agree with this. At my organization our technical is not that bad and is pretty short. Our process to look for communication, curiosity, thought maturity is much more intensive. This process has meant that yes, we need to have technical mentoring in place, but everyone is motivated and learns fast, and so technical barriers are overcome quickly once identified.

averros 8y ago

Computers don't care about your communication skills. They don't tolerate bullshit.

j7ake 8y ago

I think a good analogy is that a musician requires high technical skill, but also needs to create art. Playing scales is not making art. The best pianists all have great technical ability, but it's their ability to communicate their musical feelings and explore the music that makes them great. Being a pianist that can play all the scales perfectly is not well-regarded a a musician. Technical skills are still a requirement. Let's not kid ourselves.

xiaodai 8y ago

Can I put a counter-point? For certain highly technical roles, being curious about how to invert a b-tree is MUCH less important than actually being able to invert a b-tree! So the title of the article should clarify to whether the statement applies in all situations.