Most people in the performance engineering field agree that our skillset is derived from an intersection of disciplines that include testing, optimization, and systems engineering. Because of the interdisciplinary requirements, these skills can be difficult to accumulate organically, but it's possible! \r\n I recently met with this group of experienced performance engineers, and we talked about what we think the entry criteria are for burgeoning performance engineers. \r\n After much debate, we agreed upon the 17 skills that form the foundation for performance engineering. \r\n Understanding complex systems \r\n There aren’t more than a handful of people who can accurately explain how every component of a modern system of hardware and software works. We all depend on abstraction and subject matter experts to help fill in all the hazy areas in our understanding.…