Thoughts on People Skills

roles that require more interaction with our colleagues and customers. It’s at that point where a software engineering role shifts from primarily code-based to primarily people-based, and all of a sudden, it’s a different job.

Previously, transitioning to a people-focused role took over five years and typically involved several promotions. However, with the advent of AI in software engineering, this timeline is shortening significantly. Companies once hired mediocre programmers to perform essential coding tasks, but AI can now do the same work more cost-effectively, eliminating these roles. Rather than leading a team of programmers, a competent developer will oversee AI that writes the software, making people skills increasingly critical.

The term "people skills," often synonymous with "soft skills," is frequently dismissed by software engineers as non-essential. Previously, being excellent at writing and managing code almost guaranteed lifelong job security. This is why the stereotype of the asshole programmer persisted, as productivity ensured employment despite negative behavior. However, with AI capable of performing most coding tasks, such disruptive behavior is no longer tolerated, as there is no incentive to keep such employees.

In a workplace with fewer engineers, each responsible for overseeing AI that develops parts of the product, relationships become crucial. Productivity is now determined not just by coding skills, but by how effectively you coordinate with others. Success is dictated by the quality of your relationships with peers and managers.

As we prepare for this evolving world of software engineering, developing key people skills is essential. Here are some key skills to consider:

• Communication. Effective communication is a lifelong skill that yields significant benefits. Undercommunication often leads to more issues than overcommunication. Ensure everyone understands your work and its impact on others. Document, trace, and make visible all work-related activities. Communicate problems immediately, regardless of your confidence in resolving them. Aim to communicate clearly, concisely, accurately, and promptly.
• Collaboration. Professional relationships, like personal ones, are give-and-take situations. Absolutism and dogmatism hinder productivity. It's acceptable to hold strong opinions as long as they are flexible. Be open to the possibility that you could be wrong or that someone else may have a better solution. Aim for optimal solutions rather than proving a point or seeking credit. Sometimes you will lead discussions, and other times you will follow. Flexibility in your actions and approach facilitates teamwork.
• Compassion. You don't need to be friends with every colleague, but you should recognize that each is a human being with their own life experiences. Everyone faces challenges you may not be aware of, and bad days are inevitable. Understanding and respecting others' lived experiences and emotions makes you a more effective coworker. Praise successes, provide constructive feedback and encouragement during failures, and show genuine care and concern for the whole person.

People prefer to work with individuals they know, like, and trust. This has always been true, and there has always been a career ceiling for those who fail to learn this lesson. However, as coding becomes a commoditized service, more engineers will learn this lesson much sooner. Strengthening your people skills now is essential for your career advancement.

Key Takeaways

• As software engineers advance in their careers, their roles evolve to require more interaction with colleagues and customers, shifting from primarily code-based to people-based.
• The introduction of AI in software development is accelerating the shift to people-based roles, making people skills even more critical as AI handles more coding tasks.
• In a future where coding is commoditized, success will heavily depend on effective communication, collaboration, and compassion, as professional relationships become key to productivity and career advancement.

Understanding JavaScript Promises I just updated my e-book, Understanding JavaScript Promises, for 2024! It now includes information about Promise.withResolvers() and a whole new chapter on using and creating abortable functions. Buy the E-book

Stuff I've Enjoyed this Month

📝 DeepSeek FAQ by Ben Thompson (Stratechery)
It's hard to read the news without hearing something about DeepSeek and how it's disrupting (or not) the AI industry. This post includes all of the relevant details and why they matter (or don't).

📖 The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
A lot of us pick up financial habits through osmosis as we grow up, but how often do you stop and really think about why you do what you do? This book is really a psychology lesson on saving, spending, and investing.

📝Collection of insane and fun facts about SQLite by Avinash Sajjanshetty
Did you know that SQLite is maintained by three people and they do not accept outside contributions? Or that is originated on a US warship? Read more about the database that is growing increasingly popular.

🎬 Stop using position absolute -- use CSS Grid stacking! by Wes Bos
I'm still brushing up on modern CSS and didn't know about CSS Grid stacking. If you're using position: absolute to stack one element on top of another, this might be a better approach.

📝A Modern Replacement for Cookie Cruft by Ollie Williams
The oldest and grossest web API must be document.cookie.

🎬 The CSS display property is changing forever by Web Dev Simplified
Another interesting CSS tidbit I came across is how the display property is splitting its value into two: the first being how the element flows (block or inline) and the second being how its contents flow (flex, grid, etc.).

🍿 The Original Whirley Pop Popcorn Maker by Wabash ValleyFarms
My dad loves popcorn, but because he's become health-conscious, he was complaining that he couldn't find any popcorn in the store without a lot of other junk in it. So, I bought him this popcorn maker and it is amazing. A tablespoon of olive oil, a cup of kernels, and three minutes later you have the best popcorn in the world.

What I'm Working On

🏠 Real Estate: The hits just keep on coming! The boiler at one of my properties broke during a cold spell and required emergency repairs to the tune of $1,500. This has been a rough few months for repairs and I'm really hoping things settle down going forward. Follow my Instagram for real estate photos.

💻 Open Source: I released Mentoss, a library for mocking global fetch() calls in browsers and server runtimes. While there are other libraries out there, I found them to have poor APIs and documentation, leading to a frustrating developer experience. Read the intro post for more details.

💻 ESLint: The two things I've been spending time on are:

• I added a tolerant parsing mode to the CSS plugin that recovers from syntax errors in the same way browsers do.
• I finished the RFC to add back "extends" to ESLint configuration files.
• I wrote up ESLint's 2024 year in review where I reviewed our progress and financials.