10 The myth of hard & soft skills
10.1 Key Message
đź‘Ť Realization 1
Hard & soft are hierarchical adjectives that inadequately describe skill sets.
10.1.1 Hard skills & domain-specific skills are complementary, but often considered synonymous
- Domain-specific skills are niche, often technical skills necessary for a specific STEM discipline
- The term is often used synonymously with hard skills, which refers to generic technical skills which are shared among many STEM disciplines
- This raises the perceived value of hard skills from generic & basic to niche & valuable
| Domain-specific | “Hard” Skills | “Soft” Skills | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setting: | When conducting experiments | When working with data | When communicating results |
| Skill set: | Laboratory methods & instruments, Reagents, Animal handling, Experimental design | Programming, Data management, Computers & servers, Analysis methods, Result interpretation | Visual media, Oral presentations, Written papers |
10.1.2 Hard & Soft describe a binary value hierarchy of skills in STEM
- Hard recalls positive, high-value words - necessary & laudable
- Soft recalls negative, low-value words - optional & unimpressive
| Domain-specific & “Hard” Skills | “Soft” Skills |
|---|---|
| Essential | Optional |
| Difficult | Easy |
| Technical | Emotional |
| Objective | Subjective |
| Logic | Gut-feeling |
| Precise | Imprecise |
| Learnable knowledge | Innate ability |
| Measurable/quantifiable | unmeasurable/unquantifiable |
10.1.3 Lacklustre Training Reinforces Soft Skills as Low-value
- Training in soft skills is sometimes provided by individuals with poor technical of domain-specific skills, confirming that they are easy, subjective and unnecessary to study
- Attending long courses and demonstrating practical ability are essential for hard skills, but often optional or not even available for soft skills
- Training in hard skills often neglects to reveal how and where soft skills contributed to the success of a STEM project.
10.1.4 Hard & Soft are Outdated Terms
- Methods where hard and soft skills act synergistically are not easily described using a dichotomy, e.g.:
- Data visualisation combines domain-specific knowledge, statistics, programming, communication, design, etc.
- Broadly-defined skills that combine elements of both hard and soft skills are also poorly served.
- Research design combines deep technical understanding with critical & creative thinking and the collection, organisation & synthesis of knowledge
10.1.5 Hard & Soft Reinforce a Misogynistic STEM Culture that Diminishes Soft Traits
- “Hard” recalls masculine and “soft” recalls feminine traits, combined with the value hierarchy above, this reinforces a male-centric STEM ecosystem