What do the best engineers have in common?

Elisa UsaiSenior Delivery Manager @dbi services

Do you see common points among the top players in your teams?

According to me, yes. Afterwards, it's not just that point. What I see in my teams is that it's also expertise, quite deep, especially in consulting companies like ours, quite fine, it goes very, very into detail, and that's what's also cool about it: at the technical level, you can manage to become a real expert in your domain, in your technology, and there's a lot to do. It's great. You have to think not only about administration, but there are a lot of things that revolve around it: security, capacity planning, modeling too, performance, backup, restoration, etc. It's fascinating. They're passionate people.

Flora BarrieleOracle Database@AWS EMEA Black Belt

What are some traits or habits you've noticed in top profiles?

I like this question. It's a somewhat personal answer, but I think they're curious people, curious about technology of course, but also curious about people, in the sense that they're good listeners and empathetic. I feel like a therapist saying this, but what always bothered me a bit in my career, especially when I was young, was the "prison door" DBA stereotype: you ask him a question, he doesn't put himself in your shoes, doesn't try to understand where you're at, what you're struggling with.

Yves ColinCustomer Engineer Data Management @Google

Have you noticed particular traits or habits among top performers?

Yes, it's really about experimenting and being curious. People who push systems to their limits, or into contexts that no one has really fully validated yet, generally.

Cedric VillemainPresident / CEO @Data bene

What are the criteria at Data Bene for hiring the best people?

Clearly, PostgreSQL knowledge is very important. The interest in it, the involvement, the intellectual approach to databases, that matters a lot. But it's not only that. Let me share the experience of a friend who was recently hired by a large US company. He went through five or seven intense technical interviews. At the end they said "you're hired." He asked: what language do I code in? The guys said we don't care, pick whatever language you want, that's not our problem. Writing code is no longer a hiring criterion.

Franck PachotDeveloper Advocate @MongoDB

You have over 30 years of experience. With that perspective, what are the traits or habits the best people share?

What I see in people who last and really keep progressing is that they question their certainties. In databases especially, you quickly accumulate preconceived ideas. The best are the ones who verify rather than repeat what they have heard. You need to be able to see what your mental models are and use them correctly.

Bertrand DrouvotSenior Database Engineer @AWS

What skills matter the most for database engineering?

The most important thing is probably the mindset. You need a scientific approach based on facts. You need curiosity and the willingness to investigate problems deeply. Technically, fundamentals matter a lot. Understanding systems, networking, debugging, and being able to challenge assumptions is extremely important.