Soft skills are non-technical skills that help you to perform your job better. In space tech, you’ll have job-specific skills, technical skills to do your work, but there are also more general, required soft skills.
For instance, you might have amazing data analysis skills (technical), but you might not have the communication skills (soft) to communicate your findings with stakeholders. It’s going to be difficult to succeed without this top soft skill for tech jobs or a career in spacetech.
Soft skills are amongst the top skills that employers look for in any industry, including space tech.
What makes soft tech skills tricky is that they are more like character traits than technical skills, and there is some hot debate about whether someone can teach these soft skills for tech jobs. Regardless of whether someone can teach them, anyone can cultivate soft skills.
Here are some top soft skills for tech jobs to focus on to prepare you for a career in space tech.
The ability to relate to others, and to empathize, are good skills for employers to look for. If you are on a team (and you will be), interpersonal skills are crucial:
Businesses are a team of people - if they’re not working in harmony, then they’re not maximizing their efficiency. Soft skills like teamwork and empathy are essential because they help draw people together to work for a common goal.
Think about it like this. You might be on a one-person team (you probably won’t, but just imagine) where you never have to work with anyone. You still drink water though, and will see people at the water cooler.
If poor interpersonal skills mean you alienate everyone else in the business, then it’s going to have a negative impact. It’s easy to focus on more technical skills, but it’s important to develop these soft skills for any role. A positive work environment starts with team unity, and this is a professional skill to develop because it fosters cohesiveness.
Closely related to interpersonal skills, employers will look for effective communication skills. They will want to know that you can convey meaning in writing and out loud. Employers will also want evidence that you can understand both written and spoken communication. Clear written and verbal communication can keep a team on track and on the same page.
Having amazing knowledge and insights only gets you so far. It’s when you can effectively communicate them that they become valuable, and that’s why communication is one of the top professional skills on a resume employers look for. You can easily research professional communication skills tips and resources online to improve your communication skills.
Just because someone tells you something doesn’t mean it’s true. Likewise, just because someone tells you to do something doesn’t mean it makes sense. Critical thinking helps with problem-solving, so it’s a key professional skill to develop.
Employers want employees who can critically evaluate the information they deal with and the actions they’re being asked to take. This is where critical thinking comes in; it’s an ability to evaluate information and not just follow it blindly. Taking in information isn’t enough.
Critical thinking skills are among the top professional skills to develop that employers look for in Space Tech. They will want to know that you have the analytical skills to anticipate problems, and the ability to solve them if they arise.
While there are other soft skills that employers might look for, time management skills are essential for careers in spacetech. Employers want to know that you are punctual and that you can use your time wisely. They will also want to see that you can stay on task, and manage projects over a long period of time.
Many candidates might have similar technical skills, but which ones are going to be consistent and reliable? All employers want to be able to rely on their employees and know they’re going to get their work done on time; it might be simple, but it’s an incredibly important professional skill to develop.
In addition to those soft skills, Space Tech employers look for skills that demonstrate at least some proficiency with the technologies that you will use on the job. Here are some of the top technical skills employers look for in Space Tech.
Depending on the job description, you will need to demonstrate that you have some computer skills. These may include an understanding of cloud computing, systems analysis, and technical support skills.
All modern jobs require some degree of computing skills, but in an advanced industry like space tech, there will be even more focus on this. Top technical skills like cloud computing are essential for effectively storing, managing, and analyzing massive amounts of data. Technical support is a professional skill to develop as it keeps technical operations smooth. This is why it is essential to have this professional skill on your resume.
One of the computer skills that employers will often look for are IT skills. If you can demonstrate things like network management, and troubleshooting skills on your resume, that will be a big asset. This top technical skill is required for IT jobs for a career in spacetech.
There’s a huge demand for people with good IT skills, but there’s a real shortage of candidates with the required knowledge. For this reason, IT is one of the top technical skills employers look for, and it’s an important professional skill to develop. Many space tech jobs will require advanced IT skills, so it’s something to focus on in your application.
One of the most valuable professional skills to develop that sets you can highlight in Space Tech is the ability to code and develop software. SpaceSkills.Org says “specifically, demand appears to be highest for expertise in C and C++, Python, MATLAB, and Java. It should be noted that many adverts list multiple programming languages and state that experience with any is acceptable.”
Again, this is something where there’s huge demand but not enough supply. Businesses are desperate for experienced developers, and in space tech in particular, it’s one of the major professional skills on this list employers look for.
And finally, data analysis is one of the top technical skills that employers look for in the field.
Data analysis is the ability to take large data sets and turn them into useful information. All businesses collect data, but without data analysts to infer what the data means, it’s not useful. In today’s world, data analysis is ever more important. And, it’s certainly one of the top examples of professional skills employers look for.
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