Ask HN: How do you prioritize learning technical vs. soft skills?

2 pointsore0s3y ago1 comments

As a customer-centric full-stack engineer, I've been working with AI product engineering teams for the past few years. I realized that being able to translate eng-speak to wider audiences was helpful, and I became the go-to resource for sales & success. Want to know how our latest model release affects your customer? Ask me. Want to know the potential downsides of launching a new model to production? Ask me. Will our upcoming product be viable for your prospect? Ask me.

I feel like my technical skills like system design have not progressed. I also lack the math background to understand the AI models deeper than input/outputs. And lastly, my full-stack programming skills are great for creating fast MVP's. But I am not perceived as creating high-quality, readable, maintainable code.

I'm seeking to understand how other people navigate the path of picking new skills to learn. Any resources or advice would definitely be appreciated!

1 comments

ggeorgovassilis3y ago

> translate eng-speak to wider audiences was helpful

I think that is an essential skill. I'm pointing this out because it will become relevant in the next sentence.

> I feel like my technical skills like system design have not progressed

System architecture is about mediating between different levels of abstraction: translating business requirements into technical requirements and getting business stakeholders to talk to technical stakeholders.

An architect's personal competencies matter less than what they can motivate others to accomplish. Can you get business to formulate (and prioritise) the correct requirements, formulate processes properly, understand implementation limitations and manage risks? Can you motivate developers to integrate their workflow into architecture governance, align work according to business priorities, embed their output into the organisation's operational framework and cooperate with you?

Peering with architects will help if you have access to some, otherwise reading up on IT architecture eg [1] or [2].

[1] https://martinfowler.com/eaaCatalog/

[2] https://www.youtube.com/@GOTO-

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