Most Important Skills for a Software Engineer at Workday
Ryan, a Software Engineer at Workday, emphasizes that "critical thinking and problem-solving skills" are paramount due to the constant need for creative solutions, and that social skills are also key to success in this collaborative role, contrasting the stereotype of programmers as isolated figures. He equates improving problem-solving with "working out," in that repeated practice strengthens the ability to solve problems.
Software Engineering, Problem-Solving, Critical Thinking, Teamwork, Communication Skills
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Ryan Vivian
Software Engineer
Workday
California State University, East Bay
N/A
Computer Science
Technology
Product / Service / Software Development and Management
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Transfer Student, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills are essential and can be developed over time, similar to working out.
2. Software engineering involves teamwork and collaboration, requiring strong social skills to ask for help and work effectively with others.
3. The stereotype of programmers working in isolation is inaccurate; communication and teamwork are integral to the role.
Transcript
What skills are most important for a job like yours?
For software engineers, I think the most important skills would be critical thinking and problem-solving skills. There's never an easy way to solve the problems we run into on a day-to-day basis. So you have to be clever and try to come up with different ways to solve these issues.
The good news is, it gets easier with time. It's a skill that you can build upon, and it's kind of like working out. The more you do it, the stronger you get.
The other thing is social skills. A lot of people think of programmers as people who are just in a dark room with their hoodie on. But it's not like that at all.
You're always working on a team, and you never know what you're doing because everything you're working on is new. So you always have to reach out to people and ask for help. Having those social skills is really key, even though it's a technical job.
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