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All evidence to the contrary. Hiring managers consistently mention the importance of communication skills to the hiring decision - indeed, some of the people commenting on this thread have been in the position of hiring engineers!</p>
<p>You may not feel that communications skills are not important, but they are. Relatively few engineering jobs these days are solitary. Engineers need to communicate clearly, effectively, and efficiently with coworkers, managers, and yes, even customers - if your product is sold to another company (as opposed to directly to consumers) then you can expect, as an engineer, to be called to talk to the customers about the technical details for which you are responsible. I was talking to VP’s at fortune 500 companies a month after I started my first engineering job! The best technical solution in the world is useless if it doesn’t mesh with the rest of the system because you couldn’t communicate effectively with your team, or if it goes unused because you leave and no one can understand your documentation, or if the customer doesn’t understand or trust your statements when you try to explain the technical details.</p>
<p>So absolutely develop the technical skills, but don’t act like the communication skills aren’t important.</p>