Employers Demand Software Engineers with Strong Soft Skills

In popular media, software engineers are often characterized as stationed in corners or basements with headphones on, coding all day. Their work is presented as a static routine. This could not be further from the truth, software development is a dynamic process that requires creativity, flexibility and critical thinking. And it’s hardly a solo endeavor. Software engineers are expected to have regular and meaningful interactions with various stakeholders, including teammates, co-workers from different business units, and end-users.

This is especially true at the enterprise-level, where software engineers are tied cross-functionally and collaboratively to the rest of the organization’s business units. Employers desperately want qualified employees with technical skills, but they must have employees with strong soft skills.

In other words, it’s not enough to know programming languages to have a flourishing career in software engineering. It might be enough to secure an entry-level job and command a decent salary, but there’s a limit to how far you’ll advance and grow.

That said, with the right combination of hard and soft skills, your career is filled with endless possibilities.

Why Soft Skills Matter in Software Development

If hard skills refer to your technical knowledge, soft skills are related to your personality, attitude and ability to interact with others. Some of the most in-demand soft skills include communication, teamwork, and adaptability. More than ever, business improvement and technology go hand-in-hand. Large organizations can’t afford to operate in silos. The ability to communicate and work with people who have different backgrounds and personalities is crucial.

Ironically, technology innovation itself drives the demand for superior social skills. In his study “The Growing Importance of Social Skills in the Labor Market,” economist David J. Deming noted that high-paying jobs increasingly require social skills. Even as they replace or complement many tasks performed by humans, “computers are still very poor at simulating human interaction.”

Learning Hard and Soft Skills

If you have strong soft skills, consider a software engineering career, even if you lack a background in computer science. You can learn hard skills, like coding and general concepts in information architecture. Likewise, aspiring software engineers who struggle with soft skills can improve with training.

As a leader in the development of emerging talent, Revature recruits and train talented graduates who want long-term careers in software engineering. We recognize the importance of hard and soft skills to having a successful career, so we offer a proprietary training program that emphasizes both.

We pay for our engineers to go through an intensive and customized 12-week program, where you’ll learn and practice hard and soft skills. By the time you finish, you’ll have a feel for the real-world, enterprise-level environment in which software engineers work. When your training is complete, we’ll place you in a job with one of our many clients.
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