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glennPattonWork3 wrote: Xmas is coming must not blot copy book this close to Santa's arrival
I'm sure he would understand. The local police, however, probably wouldn't. 
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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Well, the skills I've acquired over time as a software developer don't always translate into a positive in real life.
I'll leave it to XKCD to provide an example.
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Translating what the customer says they want ("customer" includes "manager" for those that may remember when TQM / ISO-9000 was all the rage) into what they actually need. This can be generalized to any relationship. 
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I was also going to say "translating." I was thinking more of between groups of my "internal customers" in the company. Translating desires between laser physics folk, marketing, mechanical engineers, firmware/software engineers, electronics engineers, R&D management. And then there's translating field failure reports into something useful.
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"I already told you! I talk to the engineers...."
lol
Yes though. I've worked with a bunch of the world at least so far as people who spoke languages I do not.
When people translate from their native to English they can say things in English which are exactly the same words as someone who has a different native language doing the same thing. But these people mean different things.
You only know that if you know them or if you know the common ways the individual/individual's culture tend to phrase things in English.
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I was reading others for inspiration, but I don't even need inspiration. This is the one.
Which really, if we're simplifying a bit, it comes down to empathy.
Put yourself in customer shoes with customer problems but with your own technical chops to figure out what to do about them.
But I also think if you develop this skill then you can be really useful outside yourself. You can also be a contributor who sort of mediates, catches, and corrects misunderstandings that can pit the deck a month before launch.
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I usually have less lumber left over after building a fence.
"Before entering on an understanding, I have meditated for a long time, and have foreseen what might happen. It is not genius which reveals to me suddenly, secretly, what I have to say or to do in a circumstance unexpected by other people; it is reflection, it is meditation." - Napoleon I
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My training and experience as an engineer is broadly applicable to problem-solving. I'm the Mr. Fix-It and the Mr. Put-It-Together in my family, although my daughter seems to have acquired the knack (despite a B.S. in Biology).
The best skill I've developed though is my writing ability. Being able to appreciate your audience, organize your thoughts, and then express them is profoundly useful. It's unbelievable at times when I deal with a smart, well-spoken engineer, and then their email reads like a prepubescent kid with dyslexia on Adderall.
Software Zen: delete this;
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I was told in college to never let an employer know how well I write, because they would assign me to tech writing, and I'd never get to design anything. I know that no one hires tech writers anymore, since Microsoft first introduced the concept of never shipping a manual with any product, but back then there was a real danger of being assigned a technical writing role if one had any ability to compose a readable sentence.
Will Rogers never met me.
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Roger Wright wrote: never let an employer know how well I write
That one hit me a few years ago, when they didn't replace the tech writer for the help to go with my application. She was amazingly good at it, too.Roger Wright wrote: no one hires tech writers anymore
We still have a couple technical writers (they sit right behind me). Our products are complex with maintenance and service procedures that can be dozens of steps long.
Software Zen: delete this;
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I think my most valuable skill is spotting patterns, and when they're broken. I've always been able to look at a problem, see how it is meant to work, and identify what needs to be changed to make it work, even as a child. It has been curse many times, and I didn't have a lot of friends growing up, as this is considered to be a bit spooky to some, and being a smartass to others.
Will Rogers never met me.
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Roger Wright wrote: a bit spooky to some, and being a smartass
A bit 'tetched, eh? 
Software Zen: delete this;
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Yep, so it would seem.
Will Rogers never met me.
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I was lucky enough to be raised as bilingual English/French.
I have not used the French much as an adult and street French itself has changed a bit since the 70s - however I still have the accent, can speak a bit and enjoy watching French documentaries/films.
It's been really useful because it's also made it easier for me to pick up and speak other languages as some French phonemes are very different to English phonemes.
Once you get a feel for different phonemes it makes speaking other languages easier - I still cringe a lot at how most English speakers pronounce the word "croissant" 
It's opened up a whole other world to me and I am grateful for having this facility.
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
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On lighter side...
my first for pay job in US was maintaining "industrial size " sawing machines...
their product was variety of plastic and "natural fiber " 50 pounds or smaller bags..
their byproduct was unbelievable oily fiber mess clogging everything...
I did learn skills and respect of operators for not being too concerned getting
" down to get dirty "...
and since I used screwdriver , instead of hammer , as my "teacher " Ernie ...
I guess my learned life skill is being able to "look things over "
and use the right tool to get the job done.
but sometime Mikey mouse wins...
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Knowing full well that no matter my coding skills there are people with far more knowledge and I can learn from even the junior-est person in the team. Having absolute zero ego about what I can do and ask for help when I don't understand something.
Zen and the art of software maintenance : rm -rf *
Maths is like love : a simple idea but it can get complicated.
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Being able to laugh at myself.
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I have always seen the beauty in the world around. That gives me perspective and hope in all situations, even when things feel hopeless, if I let my eyes roam around my surroundings, I can find beauty somewhere and it lifts my heart.
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Adapting, improvising, and overcoming obstacles/challenges.
I learned and honed this life skill as a Navy nuc, starting at 17 years old. I found it useful in successfully shifting technologies over the years (nuclear power to industrial controls programming/engineering to writing n-tier software to writing cloud native software today).
Our line of work as software engineers changes over time because the technologies and tools change, and because where we apply them changes, and the needs of our users changes.
The “adapt/improvise/overcome” skill requires a solid base of deductive reasoning. Just solving programming and systems issues or projects with yesterday’s “recipes” is grossly inadequate. Solving software engineering issues and projects for what they uniquely are (as well as what they have in common with other issues and projects) requires the skill set I mentioned.
While my instance of that skillset was learned and matured one way, how you, the reader, either obtained that skillset or can acquire it, may be different.
I see so many developers, when given a new project, or trying to fix a bug in existing code, just reach into their recipe box to see what most closely fits, then try to hammer that round peg in a square hole. The results of that approach are too often mediocre to a flat failure. By applying this skillset, which any developer of at least average intelligence, from any cultural background can acquire with intent and practice, they can figure out any issue or project in a way that results in quality, performance, reliability, and it “just works well”.
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Becoming adaptable to ever changing paradigms in life. It's a life skill to stay patient during times of change, and evolve with the change.
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Patience, persistence, awareness 
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As a computer engineer, I assume every other computer engineer is as competent.
That said, one inherited habit and one acquired, persistence and humility should be deemed essential.
In the pursuit of happiness, life throws many curve balls, so sometimes you have to do what's necessary to outlive a situation. Gotta eat and sleep before you conquer the world.
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Juan Pablo Reyes Altamirano wrote: As a computer engineer, I assume every other computer engineer is as competent.
That's the Dunning Kruger effect[^]
Most people who know about this effect know that is is associated with people who have a bit of knowledge/experience incorrectly thinking that they know a lot, the converse is also part of this effect in that those who know a lot assume that others know/understand a lot on a particular area too.
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
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