Found this on HN the other day. It resonates as we move into an age of AI. I’m still impressed by all the new things coming out but wow…sometimes they are wrong. And the people that are not only able to figure out why things are wrong, but then systematically work through a process to fix them…will be a-ok.
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Hard yes from me.
I spent 40 years building complex systems and the number one determinant skill of success for the literally hundreds of engineers I’ve hired has been problem solving. There is always some sort of problem or misbehavior that needs to get fixed. Being able to systematically track the problem through to a solution separates the good engineers from the mediocre.
Though it may be a learnable skill, I have seen many, even with advanced degrees from prestigious schools, that simply could not learn it. Their brains were just not wired that way. I remember a guy from Harvard that would hit a brick wall when came to complex problem solving.
Based on recent experience helping at a senior design lab this semester, I lean towards agreeing this skill is often undeveloped early on. I know I didn’t really have a strong sense of it until embarrassingly a few more years out of school.
For my interns I often used this book (or just this poster summary).
During the interview I like to ask about a hard bug they solved and learn about their process. Even during a programming problem or scenario description, you can get a sense of how things may go.
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Like most skills, it needs to be developed in early childhood. I got mine with the Lionel trains we set up every Christmas - my first experience with electricity, and lots of debugging.
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