“Technical” Skills

Meaning of “technical”

• In software contexts, “technical” usually just means “can code” or has an engineering/CS background.
• Others use “technical” more broadly as “field-specific practical skills” (including sewing, design, accounting), or “ability to work across abstraction layers.”
• Several note that every domain has its own technical skills; “non-technical” is often just “not programming / not our domain.”
• Some prefer terms like “domain expertise,” “conceptual skills,” or “people skills” for clarity.

Relative value of technical vs soft skills

• One camp feels technical skills are undervalued: engineers spend little time coding, promotions emphasize management and meetings.
• Another says the opposite: technical skills are table stakes, and soft skills (communication, leadership, coordination) determine advancement and are appropriately required for senior roles.
• A third view: non-technical skills (politics, sales, leadership) dominate money and power, so they are already overvalued relative to engineering.
• Regional and industry differences are mentioned (e.g., some cultures historically favor soft skills over engineering).

Managers and technical background

• Programmers asking “is the manager technical?” generally mean “can they do my job / understand my constraints?”
• Many describe bad outcomes with non-technical or only-slightly-technical managers making poor architecture decisions, being swayed by other managers or blogs, or failing to advocate for engineers.
• Others report excellent non-technical managers who understand their limits, trust specialists, and focus on people and process.
• There is debate whether managers need hands-on coding skills versus strong conceptual understanding and listening.

Difficulty and learning of different skills

• Some argue soft skills are “easy to pick up”; others counter that high-level communication, conflict resolution, and leadership can take years and are as demanding as advanced programming.
• Distinction is drawn between “skill floor” (basic competence) and “skill ceiling” (mastery), with time, interest, and context as major factors.

Language, labels, and culture

• Several see the article as over-fixated on semantics; changing words won’t change underlying power dynamics or evaluation.
• Others worry that rigid labels (“technical,” “creative,” “non-technical”) discourage people from developing broader skill sets.
• Some note that “soft” often just means “harder to measure,” not “less real.”