As someone who's worked as both a software engineer and a software engineering manager, I’ve come to believe something that might surprise you: from a career growth perspective, coding ability is overvalued. That’s not to say programming skills aren’t essential—they are the baseline for getting a job and building a strong foundation. But once you’ve demonstrated that ability—for example, while working toward a senior/principal engineer position—focusing exclusively on improving your technical skills offers diminishing returns.

The skills that set you apart

Think about what differentiates a junior engineer from a senior engineer or a principal engineer. Early in your career, 80% of your work involves programming, but at higher levels, the job broadens to include things like code reviews, architecture discussions, roadmap planning, and cross-functional collaboration. These activities require communication, risk assessment, documentation, and problem-solving skills.

The common thread is delivering value—not just writing code. Technology is a tool, not the goal. Your ability to solve business problems and communicate effectively with non-technical stakeholders not only sets you apart, but scales your influence.

The bigger picture

As software engineers, we’re part of a larger effort to solve customer problems. While PMs, UX designers, and managers contribute their unique perspectives, our strength lies in marrying technical expertise with business insight. If you focus on improving your ability to explain technical concepts, prioritize risks, and build trust, you’ll likely see a bigger impact on your career growth than refining your programming ability alone.

This is just my perspective based on my experience—your mileage may vary. The inspiration for this newsletter comes from a video I posted last year on this topic, and I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on this topic as well.