With LLMs advancing and may take over coding tasks, software engineers should focus on skills like selling, writing, and problem-solving.
You need to be a software engineer for longer if you think LLMs will take over more "coding" than writing.
But yes, communicating well and selling is crucial to maximize situations.
While coding remains important, skills like problem-solving, communication, and selling ideas are becoming just as essential. LLMs can assist with tasks, but they can’t replace the creativity and critical thinking that only humans bring. Focusing on these skills ensures we stay ahead as the industry changes.
The name engineering hints at it.
> skills like problem-solving, communication, and selling ideas are becoming just as essential
They always were. Coding was the easy part and you definitely were coding the wrong thing if you were not "problem solving".
Your conclusion of giving value to those things is right regardless of how you get there so I'll stop being an asshole but just remember that it was never specifically about coding but about automated systems with simplicity, maintainability and evolvability as characteristics.
You must have heard the phrase about spending more time reading than writing (code). Or thinking.