“It’s hard,” Shubham Malhotra says right off the bat in regards to being a software engineer, “but what isn’t? If you want to be good at something, it’s going to be a tough climb. If you just want to pay your bills, sure, the world is in need of software developers all the time, but for you to really make an impact, it’s going to be tough.” 

The tech industry has been taking off in leaps and bounds in recent years. Tech begets tech, and every new innovation keeps driving even more creative solutions. The world is now drowning in a sea of tech but there is always room for improvement. For such a fast-paced industry, what are some of the crucial skills – aside from the obvious – that one should have? 

What skills are absolutely essential to becoming a successful software developer? 

“People skills.” Malhotra, who has innovated solutions such as Scan Writing on AWS that manages handwritten documents, and also created an algorithm to reduce file size, all before he even graduated from RIT with a GPA of 3.60, knows exactly how important it is to be able to work collaboratively and effectively with people, “A lot of the times people tend to envision software engineers and developers working solo, hunched over a computer for hundreds of hours to come up with a solution, but the truth is that you usually have teams working together, putting together the cogs so that you have something cohesive.”

According to the tech whiz, talent will only get you around 80% of the way, but having soft skills, such as the ability to work well with others, communicate effectively, and collaborate in a seamless manner, are those who will actually go far. 

“There’s a saying that if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together, but the fact is that you can’t go anywhere alone in tech. It is a community, a global collaborative effort.”

Is it true that the moment you stop learning, you become obsolete and replaceable? 

Aside from soft skills, there is the expectation that software developers will constantly upgrade themselves. That’s why Shubham Malhotra is proficient in not just the common coding languages such as Java, C#, C/C++, Python, PHP, and PS, he is also familiar with JavaScript, Django, Laravel, Node.js, HTML, CSS, Bootstrap, jquerry, MongoDB, MySQL, Postgres-SQL, DynamoDB, and so much more. 

“I didn’t pick these languages and understand them overnight, but over time as you work in this industry, you will come in contact with something you don’t know and if there’s something you don’t know, you need to study it and learn it. If learning feels like a chore, you’re in the wrong industry,” Malhotra laughs, “the best thing about technology is that it’s constantly evolving and always keeping you on your toes. It makes it exciting, it’s what makes it fun.”