Soft Skills I Learned-LAUNCH TEAM FRC 6352

Through FIRST, students can learn a lot more than just engineering. In a robotics team, communication, writing, and even art and design are key factors for the team to work smoothly. This is one of the ways that FIRST has helped me and many other students to develop soft skills and become a better team player. Communication plays a pivotal role in team dynamics and the professional nature of our team. This skill can help any student during and after their time in FIRST. Whether it’s college or the professional world, the ability to clearly and concisely bring your point across to others is a key skill to have.

Leadership is another useful skill in STEM. It helps you and your team to stay on the same page in making important decisions and making sure that every voice is heard. To ensure everyone gets an opportunity to learn, any student can take charge in a project that piques their interest. But being a good leader does not come at the cost of teamwork. In fact, teamwork is an essential part of good leadership. Being able to work smoothly with teammates will positively impact a student’s life in the professional world as well as in day to day life.

A few soft skills that are not often thought about are critical thinking, creativity and time management. Critical thinking is very useful in FIRST due to the common challenges of engineering. It helps me to discern the positive or negative qualities between different design options for our team’s robot. Creativity also plays an important role in decision making. By thinking outside of the box, my teammates and I can come up with a myriad of design options to test and prototype. In the professional workplace, creativity and critical thinking are equally as important for making tough choices and testing different options. 

Time management is a skill that helps me to stay focused during team meetings and helps me to keep myself working on the task at hand. Managing your time properly can be incredibly important in the workplace, especially with tight deadlines or large projects that need to be done.

Adaptability is yet another very useful skill to learn. An adaptable person is able to very quickly adapt to changing circumstances and learn new abilities. Continuing to be helpful regardless of the situation ensures that you will always have a job to do and helps the team to recover from setbacks very quickly in order to keep moving forwards. Another soft skill that proves useful in bouncing back from setbacks is work ethic. By setting high standards for myself, I have ensured that I produce quality work for the whole team meeting and that I will always be there to help out in the professional world.

Lastly, motivation is a crucial aspect of working hard, alone or in a team. It helps me to set a better work ethic, stay more adaptable, manage my time responsibly, be creative, think critically, lead well and communicate effectively with other members of my team. By applying all of these soft skills I’ve learned in FIRST, I continue to contribute to my team and make sure everyone has a place to be.

- Daniel L. 

Sources Cited:
Monique Danao, “11 Essential Soft Skills In 2024”, Forbes.com, 2023