[oceanplexian]

Personally I'm going to be the devil's advocate and say that soft skills are vastly overrated. Usually it's the "soft skills" people getting in the way of engineers, and as someone who's been on the other side of the fence purchasing a $1M/yr SaaS product, I want the sales people to get the hell out of the way and connect me with a real engineer.

Soft skills are a commodity. I can go to a small town used car dealer and find more soft skills than the entire C-Suite at most tech companies. If you're a good engineer, embrace the unique value you actually bring to the table.

[MattPalmer1086]

Speaking as a highly introverted guy, I realised long ago that I would be limiting myself hugely if I didn't learn to get along, communicate effectively, and yes, influence other people.

Soft skills are completely worth acquiring, especially if they don't come naturally to you. You don't have to make them your career focus, but rejecting them will definitely limit how awesomely you can apply your unique value.

[thefz]

I have observed that while having some can be beneficial, usually banging the "soft skills" drum are those that do not have the capability to learn much else anyway, as soft skills are the lowest hanging fruit.