I know you can be an engineer and not be a tinkerer. But are there any qualities or personality traits that engineers should have/make a better engineer?
Among any of the more positive ones that everyone else is likely to list, patience and a strong tolerance for excessive tedium.
I think it’s laziness. Lazy engineer would think of a better way to build something without having to do work him or herself.
Good problem solving skills. Creative thinker. Ability to think many steps ahead.
If u want to rise up the corporate food chain, then your verbal communication/writing skills are just as important as your technical skills.
Interesting question. Different engineering positions require different skills from what I see. The common traits are: good visualization skills, good problem solving skills, good understanding of the ideas and principles behind the mathematics you use. Good communication skills are also important as no job is done in a vacuum.
Many engineers are lazy, as stated above, such that they are always looking for clever solutions to get out of work. Those solutions make it easier for everyone.
Many good engineers are also pessimists. They think of every way something can go wrong and then make sure it doesn’t. That attitude works as long as that pessimism is tempered with a good dose of realistic thinking.
Ability to see the big picture and having the 6th sense.
Empathy enough to understand fully the user experience of what you’re designing.
Arrogance enough to believe you can make something no one else ever has.
Paranoia enough to imagine all the ways that thing will fail.
[edit. Verb trouble]
To become an engineer, you need to get through the academics. So it’s important to have the ability to tolerate the prescribed sequence of tough, required courses. Most of them are chock full of problem set homework and/or labs/ projects. After graduation there are a variety of career options. During school, not so much.