Hard skills for soft people 💅🏻

Before we begin—this is me, unfiltered. I’m not trying to sound polished or corporate here. I’ll only use ChatGPT to proofread for grammar or typos, but I won’t let it change a word of what I really want to say. So if you’re looking for perfection, this isn’t it.

Really? Soft people? I wouldn’t want to generalize us engineers as hard or soft, but I needed a title for this series.
Series, you say? 😳
I know I’ve been away for more than a year, but hey—I’m here, and I want to take things in a new direction.

Lately, I’ve noticed everyone using Cursor, Copilot, or ChatGPT to get code reviews and write better, cleaner code (making my older articles feel like legacy content 🥹).
But what I have today is a completely different article—something I’ve been thinking about for some time.

When was the last time you were cheered for writing “nice” code?
When was the last time you got applause for a new API you created?
When was the last time you were saluted for your technical expertise?

Probably a long time ago, when you were a “fresher” (hey! age is just a number, and you look good today 😉).

The idea here is that everyone these days can write pretty code, create APIs, and even write design documents (ERDs, system designs… etc).
BUT—not everyone has the soft skills to succeed and grow in this industry.

Actually, I think “soft skills” has been used way too much in TED Talks, and I’m really not into life coaching BS. So I’m calling it hard skills (hopefully I can be referenced later as the inventor of hard skills and get my award-winning book “Hard Skills” on everyone’s shelves 😎).

Long intro, I know—I just wanted to say hi 👋 and let you know what’s coming.

In today’s article, I’ll talk about the best hard skill I’ve learned, and one that has always been one of my strong points.
Drumroll, please... 🥁

STAY CURIOUS

Yes, that’s it—really. For real, that’s it.
All you need is to always ask questions. Never feel ashamed.

A colleague is talking about a technology that’s new to you? Ask them—just unmute and ask.
(Ohhh you work from the office? Heard my ancestors used to do that...)

A PM is talking about a new feature that doesn’t make sense? Let them know.
We, as engineers, build the solution, so sometimes we know more than anyone else.

Suggest a better solution and ask: why not that way?

When you get a requirement, don’t just go typing away on the keyboard —ask for metrics. Ask how it benefits the system or the users.

Sometimes when I don’t want to or don’t have space to ask, I just write down whatever intrigued me and google it later.(Wait—is google it still valid? Or is it chatgpt it now? 🤔)

Always stay on top of things—if a new tool is in beta, apply for it. If it’s limited access, message the founders and show interest.
Hey, Rails X is coming soon—read what it changes and why the changes were made!

I always check https://dev.to/ instead of watching reels. (That’s a lie—I also check reels 😁)
But I like its feed; feels a bit like Twitter and Yes, it will always be Twitter 🐦

All the examples above are just examples, and you can apply the same mindset to any meeting or work you’re doing.
The main idea is: Question Everything

I know sometimes we just want to do our work and log off to play some Fortnite or Warzone, but trust me (don’t have any valid reason why you should, really)—it’ll change the way you work. It’ll always be appreciated by the right people, and it’ll get you the attention you desperately need.

That’s it from me today—stay safe people, and I’ll be back with more helpful tips soon