I believe that interpersonal skills are more essential to the work environment especially to teamwork oriented place than technical skills. For example, an engineer could be top-notch in his/her technical skills, but if he/she fails in communicating and explaining their thoughts clearly, the implementation of their technical knowledge would be impossible. As a college student, we have been involved in many projects in which we were working as groups and I am sure that we have dealt with some group members who do possess technical knowledge but they lack interpersonal skills, such as time management skills and communications skills, and they don't prepare for their presentation thinking that their intelligence will help them to succeed which would affect the whole group performance.

I feel that both interpersonal skills and technical skills are important at the same time to be successful this is because as an example as a BME engineer if you develop a device with your reasonably good technical skills and are not able to gain the confidence of the market which will come with considerable amount of your interpersonal skills which mostly are communicating and building your network.

I would say that Goleman’s perspective is not too far off. Because the type of work required by biomedical engineers is a collaborative effort you need a certain level of interpersonal skills in order to work with a group of intelligent strong-willed people. IF you are insufferable to work with nobody is going to ask for your help when an issue comes up, instead preferring to collaborate with someone who might have a little less knowledge on the subject but who is easier to work with. And this lack of EQ will affect the projects you get put on and can slow down the career you had planned out

Interestingly enough I have had experience on both sides of the spectrum within engineering in terms of what skills were needed to succeed. In my time on the supply chain side, having interpersonal skills were crucial to doing well, as you would always be having constant communication with several different functional groups. While technical skills could help, they didn't help nearly as much as being able to relate to others and understand what they are saying/where they are coming from. In my time in my current position in R&D, it has been rather the opposite, where technical skills have come more into play than interpersonal skills. While the IP skills are still very important, the day to day tasks I had did not hinge on those skills. Depending on where you end up, different mixes of skills may come into play (e.g. Project management may require equal tech and IP skills.)

I believe this "ratio" strongly depends on the nature of the position the individual(s) will be applying to. I've met many coworkers of mine that have highly technical roles that have surprisingly weak interpersonal skills. I have noticed that roles, such as product managers and sales engineers, that require very strong interpersonal skills, still require a great amount of technical knowledge in order to be effective in their duties. Therefore, I agree with your statement claiming the ratio for importance of technical vs interpersonal skills should be more focused towards technical skills when it comes to the biomedical engineering field. But as I had mentioned, the nature of the role ultimately dictates how important each of the two are.

Since the example @vcf3 has provided relates to biomedical engineering, I would have to say technical skills are more valuable than interpersonal skills. Certainly not the inverse they have proposed, but rather 60% on technical skills and 40% on interpersonal skills. An individual in this field would have greater success the closer these percentages are. Having the ability to understand the technicalities of the work while being able to interact with coworkers, is a good balance. If one is greater than the other, that individual becomes either socially awkward or incapable of working. Similarly, if an individual had 90% technical knowledge, the interview would be a disaster and likely would not get the job. I truly believe balance is key to success.

I would agree that the ratio should be a bit more even. As students of a technical path is it without a doubt that our technical background is crucial to the work that we do. However, it is also important to be able to work with others in harmony to achieve greater success. Although I will admit that certain roles do require different ratios as a manager may not be as involved in technical assignments but is responsible for interacting with those reporting to them. So I would admit that role plays a factor in the ratio required as well. 

@jl959 Agree here that we have to understand and recognize the purpose and specific variables of the role we are in for a particular project. Ultimately the nature of the position dictates the priority of skills-weather its interpersonal or technical. To be able to figure out the right blend of interpersonal and technical skills can be a difficult job, but if you have clear vision and know what to look for, it's doable. 

Interpersonal skill does not mean you have to be liked by others (favoritism). It means having good oral, written, and non-verbal communication skill as well. You can be determined, organized, and dedicated. This way, even if you are weak in one skill (maybe oral), you can still get the work done within timeline by getting stronger in other skills. 

I work in R&D and our project managers follow up with us regarding project sample submissions, test results, etc. Unless a project is prioritized by upper management, we normally work on multiple project simultaneously. Often times, we accomplish tasks requested by project managers that are persistent with inquiries and follow ups (because they are strict with their timelines). In this case, we don't look at which PM has better interpersonal skills. Whereas if a PM was very nice and had good interpersonal skill, but was very laid back, I would prioritize them at last.  

I agree with many of the points brought up. I think that both are extremely important throughout the process of obtaining and working in the field. Without interpersonal skills, it would be hard to gain job opportunities and excel in interviews to land the job to begin your career. When working, you need to be able to work with all types of people to accomplish the task at hand, as well as move up and progress in your career. If you lack technical skills, however, you will also struggle to keep your job. In a career of engineering, I feel as though the technical skills and more importantly your ability to problem solve are crucial in maintaining your job. A lot of technical skills you can learn as you continue and will be taught on the job, but without the ability to adapt it could be hard to advance in a field where that is needed to accomplish projects.

Does anyone else think that problem solving, and adapting to situations is as or more important than technical skills? 

i feel as an engineer both interpersonal skills and technical skills are both important to insure a project going smooth. but interpersonal skills should be weighted more. team must work together to get it done. it required engineers with technical skills to do their assignment but they can still learn know knowledge. if a few people in a group does not have interpersonal skills, it will make other group members nightmare during projects. so i think 60-70% of interpersonal skills make sense

i think interpersonal skills should be 60-70%. the way to measure how good a engineer is the ability to how how to learn new technology fast and put them in use during the project. the technical skills are relevant to get a project done but not as important as interpersonal skills. group numbers need to collaborate with each other. if they against each other and during what they want and in their own ways the project will never get done. so i think interpersonal skills should be weighted more than technical skills. 

This is a really great topic since it brings the stereotype that "engineers don't know how to communicate." I think that interpersonal skills are important to succeed in the field since there is collaboration needed on many projects in the BME field, whether that's with other engineers, doctors, customers, etc. While engineers are more than capable of carrying out and delivering an exceptional project, it is important to be able to effectively communicate the project to others. To succeed in the engineering field, a balanced interpersonal and technical skill level is needed in order to fulfill a project/product and then appropriately present it. While daunting at first, I found myself extremely grateful that during undergrad, BME professors at NJIT would not place a heavy weight percentage on our group projects but also the way in which we communicate and present them. Having to present projects in almost every class when it came to junior and senior year allowed us to really build upon our interpersonal skills whether that was working in a team or presenting. While these skills can be overlooked, they are important in industry to ensure a healthy and successful working environment. While I cannot place an exact ratio of technical to interpersonal, I agree and would say that a well balanced mix is needed in the field.  

I believe this perspective depends on multiple factors such as what field you are in, position/role, or the size of the company. If we focus specifically on life in industry where there are consumers and users; according to the PMI Talent Triangle, a manager requires technical project management, leadership, as well as strategic and business management skills. Therefore, Daniel Goleman's perspective on an individual's success relying on 70% interpersonal skills and 30% technical knowledge does seem to correlate with what's expected from project managers and their day-to-day responsibilities. For those who are working directly on the product I would say the percentages would be the opposite, as these individuals day-to-day is focused around product design and development.

I believe there is not set value for either skill, but it does vary based on the situation. If the situation or work requires more interpersonal skills, then it is apparent that has more value than something like technical. However, if the work is isolating a worker, then making sure the work gets done relies on the technical skill. I believe the role of the individual within a project shapes which skills are more valuable. A manager needs to be good with both the technical aspect and interpersonal, as is part of their responsibilities. A regular employee might need a more even spread, because the work they do needs to have quality, but likewise communicating their work is important. 

This topic has been an age-old topic on what is more important, technical skills or interpersonal skills. In my opinion it is highly important to be able to communicate what your wants are and to clearly express yourself when in a meeting. This can be the difference between someone who is highly knowledgeable but is unable to communicate their needs and what they have found compared to someone who is able to clearly tell what they know but lacks the technical background. The person who is able to effectively communicate is much more likely to be paid attention to and is able to move forward in the project. They will have an easier time being able to express their findings and to be clear with their peers. One thing that studying in my undergraduate has helped me is public speaking and being able to coherently put together my thoughts all while being taught technical skills that are useful to being an engineer. By doing presentations and talking and collaborating with our peers, it was evident that being able to communicate was important is still is a valuable lesson that all engineers should learn.