Software Engineering is the process of applying engineering to design, development and maintenance of software. Most engineers who come from engineering schools are taught about engineering practices, programming languages , coding standards etc… but once you enter the world of professional software engineering and the dust settles down , you find the rules of the game are not exactly what you expected.

In the last 15 year I have dealt with software engineers who are rock solid , enjoying every minute of their work and others who are dreading to come to work everyday. After discussing and researching on both sides of the fence, what I have seen is that it is not the difference in skill set , the talents or IQ that makes the difference between the two , but the attitudes and the personality attributes that count the most. Listed below are five of the key attributes I’ve found that makes the biggest differences between the two groups

Passion

All great software engineers have a passion for giving solutions to variety of complex problems. It is in their nature to give solutions and they do not back down from challenges. Let’s face it, software engineers have either just finished solving a problem or are in a problem or heading towards a problem. So you need to have passion to find solutions to these problems. The solutions could be a software design, an analytical / logic design or a code change. But whatever way you look at is you need to have a passion for going into problems and giving solutions. If your cup of tea is not giving solutions to complex problems, then software engineering may not be the right hat for you to wear.

Desire to learn

Any software engineer I have come across who is worth his salt desires to learn. They desire to grow and expand their skill set as well as understand what their giving their software solution for. In order to do this a software engineer needs to have burning desire to learn.

If as engineers we are not sure of what solution we are developing we need to learn what we are developing our solution for. We need to learn what the requirements are. Gone are the days when an analyst would list down the specifications step-by-step with the intent of getting it developed in that order. Agile Development is an excellent example for this. It is expected for a software engineer to learn from clients and develop a solution that caters to clients needs.

The technologies in the industry are changing ever so rapidly that it is extremely hard to keep up, but as engineers it is expected. So desiring to learn and spending at least 1 hour per day on building themselves is key to any software engineer. They need to make sure they are in par with the industry needs and the latest technology , engineering trends.

How do you learn, well the best ways are

• Ask Questions
• Join a User group
• Read
• Try things out

Discipline

They say there are two pains in life, the pain of discipline which weighs ounces whilst the pain of regret which weighs tons. A true software engineer is totally focused and disciplined. Disciple is the difference between a cowboy and a seasoned engineer. I believe there are two areas that a software engineer really needs to be disciplined in

• To end what you start – You need to make sure that you complete things that you start, otherwise you will have foundations laid down allover but no building to show for that. With the technology changes and new challenges that are thrown to engineers by the industry, it is easy to get lost in trying out new things always. But it is extremely important to finish what you start. As a software engineer you need to have a reputation as a person who the industry can depend on to deliver and that does not come if you are not disciplined.
• To look before you leap – You need to think and see what are the consequence of doing something before doing. My metaphor for this is “Read the README before running the Software”. Most software engineers jump into something without doing the due diligence and this is asking for trouble down the line in any project. You need to spend that upfront time in planning (maybe not 100%) at least to a level where you know what needs to be done, where the potential road blocks can be and what can be done to overcome them. Sometimes you may not foresee all the challenges, but that is not in your control. But you need to be disciplined to spend that time upfront in planning before implementing.
• Learn from your mistakes – You need to be discipline enough to document what went wrong with each project and see how you can improve on this. Most of the time I have seen engineers make the same mistakes over and over again. This leads to loss of credibility and potentially damaging projects. So as a rule make notes of what went wrong and improve with every step you take. This requires a discipline to document , analyze and above all commit to improving yourself.

Flexibility

I have herd the term “I am a Java engineer” , “I am C# engineer” , “I am Python engineer” or “I am Database engineer” , “I am a Business component engineer” etc… so many times by Software Engineers. For me this is not what a software engineer should stand for. A software engineer should be flexible enough to adopt change. They should be able to learn and see what the current situation requires and becomes the very agent that provides the solution. Now you may choose to master an area of expertise, but you should not get locked to any. The more flexible you are in changing yourself to the current needs of the industry the better solutions you can give and more you will be valuable to the industry.

Apart from this a software engineer should always try things out and see how they will fit into to the solutions that he needs to give in the future. Do not be afraid to change or try new things due to future failure. Always be flexible and adaptable.

A good software engineer is not bound by a technology, a framework or any area of development. They provide solutions to the industry by looking at what is best suited and how best to get that solution implemented.

Enjoy

The last but the most important attribute I have seen by solid and successful engineers is that they enjoy being a software engineer. They love and thrive on the solutions that they give and what they are called upon to do.

They enjoy what they produce and how they go about producing great software solutions. I believe they actually view the work they do as an art rather then just a profession and this leads them to enjoy the process of creating their masterpiece.

So enjoy every moment how challenging it may seems at the time. Remember somewhere in the not to distant future you will look back in time at a challenge or some problem you went through and laugh at what you faced and how you overcame , so why wait… why not just enjoy the challenges and what you do now it self.

So there you have it, five attributes that I have seen over and over again from rock solid engineers. I know if you add these attributes to you , maybe you can also become one rock solid engineer.